What have you learned to keep long-term tenants?

[Robert Biggerstaff]

What tricks and tips have you learned to keep long-term tenants in place?

[Jim K.]

@Robert Biggerstaff

There's an awful lot, Robert. It's also going to depend on what kind of landlord you are. For us, as self-managing DIY landlords in low-income rentals, a very simple thing we've done from the beginning is that we have never tried to outdress or outdrive our tenants. The first car I used for maintenance calls was my buddy's white-and-rust Honda Odyssey with 200,000 miles on the odometer. Best car ever for a low-income landlord. I don't think I've thrown away a pair of stained jeans in six or seven years. I have a set of long-sleeve shirts with holes in them for winter and a set of short-sleeve shirts with holes in them for summer. I have a strategically stained blue hoodie and a strategically stained Carhartt jacket for maintenance and renovation calls.

The tenant knows you own the roof over their head. Emphasizing the wealth gap between you and them is not only gauche and churlish, it's bad for business.