Make an early visit

[Brendan O'Brien]

A recent forum post linked to pictures of one of the messiest apartments I have ever seen. It was a disaster. This (plus my recent blog post on imposing and enforcing rules) made me think of another excellent idea for landlords. You should always make a couple of extra checks on new tenants within the first couple of months. Thie includes multiple drive bys and visits to common areas, and at least one visit to the apartment itself. You will see if the tenant is going downhill early (before the epic destruction phase) and be able to reinforce any rules. And if the tenant is a good tenant you will want to have stay, this establishes that you care about their happiness with the unit.