More rent vs. good tenant

[Jorge Espinosa]

So I have one income property only so I’m new to this. It’s a detached duplex so basically a mother in law suite. 1/1 with laundry unit, their own electric meter, water meter and tenant pays all utilities. I’m in broward county 2 miles away from Hollywood beach. Rent right now is 985$ per month based on previous owner.

Question is, do I go up to about $1100 in rent to keep the good, quiet tenant or do I try to go for the 1400-1500$ rent I think I can get take a chance on the tenant I get?

[Brandon Rush]

Hey Jorge,

I am right in between @John Underwood and @Bruce Woodruff on this one. Having a good tenant is golden and I would personally take them every day over getting to market rent. All it takes is a couple of bad tenants to burn you and have you running for the hills. But, I do agree 100% that this is a business. One recommendation is grabbing a few comps from the area and presenting them to the tenant. Make sure you can prove that market rents are as high as you say they are. Tell the tenant that due to market rates you will need to increase rents but appreciate them as a tenant. Ask them what do they feel is a fair rate for their rent compared to the other rentals. This will make them throw a number out there and get you to a starting point. You never know, they may say, "I can pay what the market is asking". You throwing a number out first puts the tenant at an advantage.

Good luck!