the-abcs-of-real-estate-investing-ken LifeFeeling

RENTING TO THE WRONG PERSON
We recently had a new resident who happened to be a convicted sex offender move into
one of the properties we manage. This person lied on their application by checking “no” to
the question that asks if they had ever been convicted of a felony.
Apparently this person moved from Texas to Arizona and broke the law by not
registering with the state until after moving into our property. We weren’t alerted to this by
our criminal and credit background screening company who processed the application.
You can imagine my shock when I received the letter issued by the local police
department to the neighborhood that a sex offender was living at the property. And you can
imagine the anger of the residents in the community when the local authorities notified them
and then the local media picked up the story.
The hundreds of residents and their families living at the property were up in arms.
Obviously, we had to act fast. We fielded dozens of phone calls from our current residents
worried about their children’s and their own safety and the property owners had a few
things to say as well. To solve the problem, I immediately contacted the resident and we
discussed the situation. I agreed to take care of the moving expenses for the person, who
wanted to relocate. The manager personally oversaw the move and the situation was
resolved.
This kind of swift action turned a bad situation into one that actually made us stronger.
We demonstrated that when concerns are raised, no matter how infrequently, we take them
seriously and try to be responsive. We didn’t make a big splash about the situation; we
simply told people who asked that the person had moved out. Had we not taken this course
of action, we would have experienced a mass exodus of good residents, guaranteed.
NOT TAKING CARE OF YOUR CURRENT RESIDENTS
There is no mystery to the trend that when you take care of your residents they are more
likely to renew their leases. This is human nature. We’ve all had bad experiences at a hotel
or department store and swore that we would never go back. It is no different in property
management.
Taking care of your residents means responding to their calls quickly. It means fixing
what needs to be fixed. It means a courteous, professional staff that is always happy to help.
It means doing everything you would expect yourself if you were a resident. The domino
effect here is that unhappy residents create vacancies and vacancies create cash flow
problems. Residents talk to one another and misery loves company. Taking care of residents
keeps your pool areas wonderful retreats instead of soapboxes for disgruntled residents.
Parking lots stay parking lots, not common areas for gripe sessions. Be proactive and create
a system that is responsive to your residents and you will keep them.
NOT BUDGETING FOR THE UNEXPECTED
Have you ever heard the phrase “stuff happens” ? Well, I am proof that when it does,
cleaning up after the mess takes longer and costs more than you always think it will. Be
prepared for problems that will develop as you own a property. I’m talking about things like
blown hot water tanks, floods that require new flooring and drywall, small fires that damage
cabinets and appliances, compressors that fail on the hottest day of the year, broken