You want someone to occupy your property in exchange for rent. Some tenants are great and others are from an outer world and can ruin a landlord’s life by fighting everything. Managing properties and being a landlord puts you in a position to deal with a multitude of tenant personalities. Knowing your tenant’s personality can help you to quickly figure how best to approach them and work with them.
Know your tenant's archetype
Ideally, if you can identify the personality in the tenant background search, you can eliminate a lot of problem. But sometimes, mistakes do happen during tenant screening and knowing the personality can help you to quickly mitigate the problem.
These tenants leave the property better than they found it. They are always on time with rent payments and keep up the house well, like it is their own. They may even improve the place by adding a few low maintenance plants here and there to perk up the appearance.
These tenants call you for everything. For example, they even call you to replace a light bulb. Gee… it’s just a bulb, have they heard of DIY?
These tenants never clean the house or the even the toilets during their entire stay… like ever (ugh). They may also spit around the house and smoke in the house.
They leave food everywhere inviting wildlife including German roaches. Multiple rounds of chemical treatment costs time and money. They also put permanent or difficult to remove stickers everywhere, giving a rehab nightmare.
These tenants like to argue for everything regardless of whether it is necessary while your blood pressure goes up unnecessarily! Take a deep breath and let it out…
They outright damage and abuse the place including breaking things.
The wall is not for punching!
These tenants come up with constant excuses to delay rent payment. Someone had a surgery, the same distant relative died again, etc. While some are genuine, others may be easily spotted with their brand-new bikes and gadgets.
Renters are people and they deserve empathy for their personal situation. While running your property as a business, you are still dealing with people. Therefore, it is important to balance business with empathy.
Knowing the tenant types helps you to figure out how to quickly place them in your mental map, what to expect from them and how to deal with them. Identifying the above archetype examples can give you an indication of what you have in store. Document every communication through HomeKasa, best property management software. Its free to start. By storing photos and communication exchanges, you can avoid headache as a landlord or property manager. Afterall, it’s your wealth. Manage it wisely but with empathy!