I guess no news is good news

I have been trying to figure out what to write about for a couple of weeks now. I got nothing. The first few months of being a landlord were stressful, time consuming and at times, felt like a money pit. Last month was different and it looks like this month is heading down the same path. There have been minor hiccups between the tenants and I but that is expected. I have learned that because I know I want to do this for a long time, little issues here and there are not a big deal because I have my eyes on the prize. A couple of things have made this landlord experience go on cruise control though. Online payments have definitely taken away the awkwardness of asking for your rent checks. Proactive land lording has also helped me cruise(for now). Offering as much value as I can to my customers (tenant) has been by far the most effective way to run my business.

Online payments solve many issues for landlords. For starters. online payments eliminate the awkward conversation and knocks on door when a land lord has to ask for the rent. Online payments also help you manage all the payments because you can have them all sent to the same bank account. Luckily for me, my tenants are tech savvy so having them pay online was an easy move. It can get difficult for people who aren't really fans of online payments but as of now, it has not been a problem. I personally use Cozy and I never have any issues receiving rent. The only knock I have on them is that it normally takes about 4 days to receive it but the important thing is that the rent is taken from their account on the first(if they are on Auto Pay). This has been one way in which I have made my Land lording experience as smooth as possible.

The second thing that has really helped me in my young property management career has been my proactive management approach. I have realized that being reactive only leads to angry tenants complaining about something broken or not working in their unit. By following up with tenants and doing things before they potentially happen can save you a lot of headaches. For example, summer is around the corner and I know that air conditioning is coming. Now because I have central air in my units, the first thing I did when spring arrived was check to see if everything works for cooling. Let's say it did not work, I would have been able to fix this before summer was here. It is one thing to fix air conditioning in the spring where its not needed yet. It is another thing to fix it when it is 90 degrees outside. Another example of this is actually listening to your tenants. I do not talk to my tenants much but when I do, I make sure to really listen to what they tell me even if we are having a casual conversation. They can sometimes tell you something that you might be able to use to help them have a better experience in your unit. For example, my tenants mentioned to me that one reason why they moved out their previous unit was because they did not feel safe. The first thing I did after hearing that was get them a security system. Even though I made it clear that it is not for them, just for the unit, they really appreciated the fact that I listened to their needs and I did something for them. I think this is the best property management approach because this will make them take more pride in their unit which will then limit the amount of things they will mess up. Everyone wins with this approach.

Offering value to my tenants has been one of the best things I have implemented in my approach to property management. There are many ways to offer value. Sometimes it's simply listening to a tenant. Sometimes its buying something that benefits the tenant and your unit. One thing is for sure though. The only way to know how you can add value is by listening.