So you are running a business!

[Ihe O.]

I keep reading people here saying  "Your rental properties are a business" as a precursor to  some inflexible dogma about sticking to the letter of agreements and pursuance of remedies for breaches. 

Let me point out something about business.

Serious businesses disregard their T&C's all the time.

Banks and credit card companies waive fees every day (it's known as the proverbial gesture of goodwill). United Airlines settled with the passenger they deemed entitled to kick off the plane. I just sued a multinational corporation and even though their service agreement states their liability is limited to the amount I paid they have just settled for a 4 figure amount.

So what follows from this?

Serious businesses waive their rules for customers that they want to keep.

A word in that last sentence brings me to another point. I keep reading about training your tenant. They are not your students or your kids. Don't refer to them as if they are.

If you are running a business then your tenants are your customers. Treat them like one. 

Last but not least.

Run your business. Don't let your business run you.

[Nathan Gesner]

You have to act like a business before you waive policies and procedures like a business.

Can you walk into a coffee shop and get a free cup of coffee? No. Their policy is that you give them money and then they give you the coffee. They may choose to deviate from that policy and give you a free cup of coffee if they make a mistake and want to retain you as a customer or if they want to reward your loyalty. They establish the rule first, then they choose when and how to deviate from it.

We typically tell someone to run their rentals like a business because they are not. They let customers walk all over them, negotiate basic terms, violate agreements, etc. That's not how you run a business.

We do have to train some tenants. Everyone that buys a car, cable TV, or a cell phone understands they have to pay their bills by the due date or there will be consequences. they don't see a private Landlord the same way and will try to manipulate your emotions in order to gain some benefit. You have the choice of establishing policies and then training them to see you as a business, or you can just wing it and see what happens.

I see this all the time as a Property Manager. Tenants see me as a business because I act like one. I don't have to train them very often. But when they meet the Landlord face-to-face, they try negotiating for concessions more often than not. My property management agreement specifically forbids a Landlord from communicating directly with the Tenant because I know the tenants will attempt to negotiate something. Our advice for private Landlords to train their tenants is valid advice.