Raising the rent

[Rob McCray]

I have 9 doors all in a small town. Sometimes that can cause an issue. We have 1 unit that a friends child lives in with their young family. They have been great tenants and in the place for about 3 years. They were in a bind when our place came open and I let them in without raising the rent to what it should have been at the time. I have raised it once since but am still about $300-$400 below market. I'm looking for the best way to approach rental increases? Should I sit down and go over comparable properties or will that mean much to a tenant?

[LeeAnn Owens]

Don’t be afraid to raise it to market rate, but don’t forget the value of having a good tenant (if they are good tenants). You could consider having them take care of something around the property that you’re currently paying for. I was in a similar situation earlier this year, I had tenants that were paying under market rent and I didn’t want to increase it too much, so I raised it a bit but had one take over plowing and another take over landscapping for a small rent reduction.