How often do you raise rents?

[James Erickson]

I'm trying to determine how often I should raise the rents on my rental units.  Do fellow landlords raise them yearly without fail or do you all raise them when operating expenses such as taxes and insurance increase?  Thanks for the help.

[Jennifer L.]

Raising rents has to be done on a case by case basis. Have a great tenant who leaves you alone and pays on time? You probably don't want to raise the rent every year. Is the rental market going crazy in your area? Then it may be time to raise the rent. Are there a ton of vacancies in your area? You might not want to risk raising the rent and losing your tenant.