There is a great deal to learn about the real estate investment business. While everything can look great about your investment property on paper, dealing with people is not so cut and dried as working with numbers. Whatever you do, do not skip any step in screening tenants, especially checking references and contacting previous landlords. Even with the most up-to-date and thorough screening processes, landlords can expect even the best tenants to cause some damage.
Tenants are the life bread of your business plan, and you must understand what kind of trouble you may face if you lack previous property management and don’t have strong people skills. By taking the time to understand the consequences, you will know where to focus your time and energy, and resources to avert damage to your investments before it ever occurs. Read on to discover what to do if your tenants cause damage to your St Louis rental property.
Cause
The first thing you need to do if your tenants cause damage to your St Louis rental property is to carefully examine the rental unit to determine the cause of the damage. Unfortunately, accidents happen; even the best of tenants may cause unforeseen damage that goes beyond the normal wear and tear that is a part of the expense of owning rental properties. Other damages can occur when tenants fail to maintain their housing correctly. And while dealing with repairs is a necessary part of rental property management, landlords could prevent damage from angry tenants for tenants.
Tenant Responsibility
Once your tenants cause damage to your St Louis rental property and you have determined the cause, you will need to take steps to ensure the tenant pays the repair expenses they are responsible for following the terms outlined in the rental agreement. Often landlords deduct the total costs for such damages from security deposits at the end of the lease agreement. If the damage is extreme, you may need to take legal action against the tenants. Should your attorney or insurance company request the information, you will require photographic evidence and documentation of the damage and keep any estimates and receipts from the repairs.
Landlord Responsibility
If your tenants continually cause damage to your St Louis rental property, you should examine your property management skills and responsibility in maintaining tenant communications. For example, tenants may learn that you simply do not respond to their calls, causing minor problems to become significant damage. Middle-of-the-night phone calls and disputes over parking spaces can become irksome, but these little things matter more than you may realize. Building solid relationships with tenants can help avoid issues with deliberate damage and help maintain the integrity of your property.
Patriot Investment Group
Working with Patriot Investment Group makes it easy to be a landlord. Before your tenants cause damage to your St Louis rental property, why not let the pros at Patriot Investment Group help you with your property management game? Patriot Investment Group knows the laws that protect landlords like you and can help you with your screening process, rental agreements, and every other aspect of managing your investment properties, lowering the overall risks of damage ever happening. From real estate investment and exit strategies to locating the best rental properties in St Louis, Patriot Investment Group can help you build your skills; Patriot Investment Group makes it easy to be a successful landlord! Patriot Investment Group has a full-service team of the most highly regarded experts from every walk of the real estate industry. Patriot Investment Group can do it all or work with you to help you manage your properties. Let Patriot Investment Group help you keep your tenants happy and reduce your turnovers and repair expenses. Contact Patriot Investment Group at 314-710-2685.