Is Your Tenant `Winning`?

[JoeRagona]

Landlords and tenants have been on opposite ends of what is `normal` and `expected` for years, decades in fact.

So how as an investor can you tip the odds in your favour to win this war?


First off, if you look at your tenants as the enemy, you`ve lost.


Secondly, I trust there is no war. The `war` is in your mind. What is really present is the `opportunity` to set your business apart from everyone else.


Now I`m not going to dismiss there are unavoidable situations that no matter what you do, it`s not good enough, but if you really boil it down, maybe it is our fault the situation is at hand in the first place.


I can see the heads shaking in disagreement, but really the circumstances within our business is the result of choices we make. Yes, even the unavoidable ones; and that is a hard reality to face.


Think about this, many investors ignore their
tenants once in place believing anything they do out of the ordinary is
useless; that tenants will not appreciate, or even acknowledge the
extra care.


That may be true as you don`t get a `thank you` every time or at all from some, but it`s what they DON`T do
that counts. They don`t bother you for minor things or expect
non-emergency issues to be corrected immediately; they become more
accommodating and they don`t treat the home like a `rental`. They value it as their home.


Employ high standards to your company and to the extensions of it
including your properties and tenants & you will have a much easier
time and create more free time for you.

My Tenants Are Set-Up To WIN

I set up my relationships from the start with open communication being very accommodating. I OVER-SHOOT what they `expect`` and that`s the key, what they expect is what everyone else has been delivering for years; crappy accommodations, disrespect and absenteeism.


Being a sophisticated investor takes a few extra steps, a bit more time and care from you but in the end`it really is worth it. I`ll admit, nothing is perfect, but how you look at and react to a situation determines your success.

Case Study
Last Friday morning I received a call from one of my tenants
informing me the water heater had a problem with the pilot light. He
had to go to the basement multiple times a day to reset it. He was very
cool about it & just wanted it repaired or course. He didn`t DEMAND I be there in an hour.

The funny thing is, we had dealt with the same issue last year and I
told him because it was Friday, it may be Monday before someone was able
come. That meant he may have to deal with this inconvenience for a couple more days.


He replied `No problem Joe, it`s been going on for a few weeks anyway.` `A few weeks?` I asked, `why didn`t you call me sooner?` He told me `I didn`t want to bother you`.

Why My Tenants Are Like This

We (my team and me) strive to set up great relationships and treat
every tenant with respect. I am no better than they are and what I want
to provide in both a physical property and service is what I would like. That means I attract someone like me , and I don`t know about you, but I can deal with me all day long .


Instead of looking at it as YOU doing THEM a favour by supplying living accommodations and EXPECTING someone to rent from you, maybe it`s YOU who is fortunate to have someone taking care of your asset.

What About Those Problem Tenants?

It`s hard to do, but look at this `tuition` as how to choose better
tenants. Maybe step up your first filter (questionnaire) and have more
communication during their stay and do what you promised. Try not to be
so desperate to fill your space with less than adequate candidates.


I think we tend to throw blame everywhere else but ourselves and we don`t like to be accountable for anything. If you saw my talk at the property show April 30[sup]th[/sup],
you will know I didn`t particularly like to be accountable because it
meant I made a mistake ` the moment I proudly accepted accountability
for every choice in my business and life, things began to change in my
favour.

The Reward

I received a call from my tenant thanking me for dealing with the
issue so quickly. All I did was what any of you should do; call the
service company to take care of it and they were there in hours.


If you treat people like dirt and are upset when they don`t pay rent, have unrealistic demands, don`t take care of the property or worse, damage it, then you may want to look again at how you value your Real Estate business and the customers that pay you.

I would love to hear your thoughts - post below to engage in the conversation!!!

 

[alisonEnewell]

Joe,

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on how to treat tenants. We are working on purchasing our first investment property and one of the things that my husband gets nervous about is tenant issues (which I suspect is normal).

We believe in treating people respectfully and he is a master at customer service so I think this serves as a bit of a looking glass into our landlording future. Also, when I read him your post, it served as confirmation that what we believe is where it's at!

Cheers to your success as a good person and thank you for sharing this story on this day inparticular!

Alison

 

[JoeRagona]

Hi Alison,



Thank you for your comments. I too transferred my customer service from other businesses to this career. It really is the best way to look at things. We can all learn from our tenant 'issues' and I believe many of them can be avoided with simple approaches to your Real Estate business.



I thank you for your kind words and wish you the same while being very happy the post was timely for you.

 

[dplummer]

Joey, I too enjoyed your post! I share your believe in customer service to tenants. I was at my first LTB hearing last week. You could really tell the harden & bitter "old time" landlords. In their minds it was a war & a controversial battle. I was thinking to myself that I hope I never turn out that way. The days of renting to the first person who showed up with cash are gone. Screening, back ground & credit checks, employment verification, questions & gut feeling of perspective tenants are the norm ( or should be) today. All the best!



Doug

 

[housingrental]

Hi Doug

I've seen this many times too

It also make me step back and strengthen my will to never end up like them - and always try and focus on how I can make all stakeholders lives better in any situation

I think landlording for any length of time can take a bit out of you if you aren't customer service focused



[quote user=dplummer]J I was at my first LTB hearing last week. You could really tell the harden & bitter "old time" landlords. In their

Doug

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=housingrental]I think landlording for any length of time can take a bit out of you if you aren't customer service focused


or if not properly delegated !!



A real estate investor should focus on raising JV money and finding great assets to buy .. the rest should be delegated to properly trained and properly motivated professionals (e..g.: property managers, tax experts, accountants, lawyers, realtors, painters, ...)



If you love landlording .. and some folks do .. become a property manager and grow a property management business .. as it is a great & very profitable business for the right person and can make you independently wealthy regardless of asset value .. just ask our property manager in Dallas who manages over 30,000 units and doesn't own one !



Hence, besides owning the real estate there are many other avenues for wealth creation !!

 

[JoeRagona]

Thank you Doug. We have to realize that potential challenges such as what you described can happen but we have total control to try and filter out the bad seeds as best as possible. I wish you all the best in your tenant selection!!

 

[JoeRagona]

Very well said indeed Thomas. I agree everything should be delegated. I have my hands in the decision process somewhat right now but leave a lot to my team whom I hand picked also, know what I am looking for and whom I trust.



Its like all the employees I had in other businesses - if they were not doing their job, it may have related back to my choice in the first place so all the blame could not be solely on them.



If you have the proper team in place that you trust, this work is delegated to the proper people making the decision on 'the ground' for you.

 

[invst4profit]

Good post, good topic.



I make an effort to operate my business in regards to tenants as you describe.

Regarding the problem tenants, and I am not talking about those somewhat irritating individuals that occasionally get on ones nerves, I am talking about problem tenants the ones with the entitlement attitude as big as a elephant. We all eventually get them, often by inheriting tenants, and in every case I have faced it is necessary to hunker down and go to war until you successfully evict. They will never change there ways and all harbour a deep seated hatred for landlords and all authority figures.



They love to tell there landlord they know there rights and hold it over your head like a sledge hammer looking for every possible opportunity to cause trouble or dissension among other tenants.



Those among us that have witnessed hardened landlords at board hearing are witnessing experienced landlords that know there is only one way to deal with this type of tenant. I am that landlord at board hearings. I am a "hardened and bitter old time landlord" until I step out of the hearing room when I automatically revert back to my nice guy landlord persona. I am there to win not mediate or negotiate with tenants that have no intention of ever adhering to an agreement.



Any landlord that has faced there tenants free legal aid representatives a few times at the LTB learns to adapt to the game fairly quickly if they do not want to continually lose decisions and money.

Next time any landlord in Ontario is at a board hearing take a good look around the room. 99% of the tenants there are the dregs of society and it is far from there first time at a eviction hearing. It would be wise for all landlords to have a dual personality in order to do the business that needs to be done or have a PM do it for you.



Don't confuse the roll you see landlords playing at a Landlord Tenant Board hearing with the way a landlord may actually inter relate with his other tenants. If you are going to the board go prepared for war. I guarantee your tenant and there bottom feeder duty council will.

 

[JoeRagona]

Hi Greg,



Thanks for your comments - I do understand which type of tenant you are describing and you are right, I DON'T want to be in that situation. The one thing I avoid is inheriting tenants - because I have such a high standard of selection (just ask the people I work with) there is not a chance I would ever buy a property with a tenant already in place. That probably eliminates a good percentage of a potential issue.



Secondly, I've had to deal with a less-than ideal tenant also...on my first ever property, had to take them LTB three times and in the final hearing, they threatened to pay the amount owed and then sue me. I agreed to pay them some of their deposit back (from an RTO) while the rest of it ($8,000) was eaten away carrying the property while they didn't pay.



I blame only myself for that situation. Why? Because I didn't do the proper due diligence in the first place. What that did is taught me very valuable and expensive lessons, and it 'hardened' me up when I look at applicants today. However, on the bright side, this experience has led me to choose extremely great tenants. I am already a good judge of character, and I plan to use that in my selection process. If it fails and I hope it never does, then I will learn from that one also and refine my selection process.



If you have experienced these 'bottom feeders' you obviously have a great deal of experience when you DO have to return to the LTB. Also, it is my opinion that you have a model in which to avoid when you select new tenants.

 

[invst4profit]

A landlord can not always blame themselves for bad tenants. Some tenants turn bad with changes in there life that can not be anticipated such as loss of job, serious illness or the stresses of a marriage gone bad. You can try to work with them but if there state of mind is too far gone there is little a landlord can do.

In Ontario the riskiest ones to rent to are those on OW or ODSP. I now make it a practice of not renting to anyone I can not collect from in small claims court even if they would otherwise pass my screening.



I also screen to the nines but some still slip through. One I allowed in two years ago turned out to be a paranoid schizophrenic. I did everything right the problem is the individuals that were aware of his condition out and out lied to me during my screening.



I need to add a new question to my application. Are you crazy.