Are you tired of being a landlord in Atlanta? Is managing rental property more work than you thought it would be? It all seems easy at first. You bought a new home and kept your old home as a rental, or you inherited a home and decided to turn it into a cash flow machine. But, your expectations and the true reality of the landlord process didn’t really line up.
Paul, the Optimistic Landlord
Here’s a quick story about Paul and his rental property.
Paul heard horror stories about landlord-tenant situations, but he figured he could make it different. He was smart and studied being a landlord online, he filtered rent prospects with a good application and structured a strong lease. Paul got top dollar for his rental and had a wonderful start.
Paul started getting upset and then frustrated. He was stuck between trying to help a tenant and trying to make the property profitable. The situation got worse when Paul no longer wanted to talk to the tenant and began avoiding the property altogether.
If Paul’s story sounds like yours, we want you to take a deep breath, relax and let’s help you find a smart way out of this bad rental property scenario. Also, don’t be hard on yourself. Issues happen and even professionals make mistakes too. So, before deciding to evict your tenant or find another tenant, here’s what we recommend:
Contract is Everything
As much as you can, avoid allowing a ‘Tenancy at Will,’ even if you know your renter. Tenancy At Will is when a tenant stays on your property, pays rent, and enjoys the benefits of being your tenant without signing a contract. If you have a signed, written agreement, we call that a Lease Tenancy.
Contracts are essential because they protect both you and your tenant from disputes that are difficult to handle. When you raise an issue in court, the terms in the contract are recognized and will serve as the primary basis for deciding how to settle. However, if no agreement was signed between you and the tenant, it will be harder for you both to settle — that may even risk for the court to be in favor of your tenant.
So, prepare a contract, and have it peer-reviewed by a professional or a friend. As much as possible, have it reviewed by someone who has experience in real estate leases.
Have a Mediated Discussion With Your Tenant
Not all disputes need to end in court. If you’ve tried talking to your tenant and it still didn’t solve the problem, you may want to give it another shot. This time, talk to your tenant with a third person who has no bias between both parties.
Hire Professional Property Management
Professional property managers ensure that your rental property is well-maintained, that your tenants are not abusive of your property, and handle issues with tenants. If your tenant fails to pay on time, it’s the manager’s job to talk to the tenant, not you. A good management company should make you more money than what you pay them in fees. If not, they can be as costly as a rough tenant situation. So, interview and evaluate property managers just like you do with tenants, don’t accept the first person willing to take the job, and be sure to monitor the management company periodically.
Develop a Policies and Procedures Manual
As simple as this sounds, it can take so much of the stress off you and your conversations with tenants. The policies will help you deal with items as they arise so you aren’t caught off guard, and the procedures will lay out what you need to do in each scenario. The manual can be such a powerful resource for you that it will make being a landlord less stressful. Also, following a policies and procedures manual will keep you compliant with strict housing laws.
Sell to a Local Home Buyer Like Us
If you tried everything that you can and the process is exhausting your energy, time, and money, talk to us at Spire. Spire Property Solutions is a professional home buyer in Georgia, and we can buy your tenant-occupied property. We buy houses for cash in the Atlanta area, and we can close quickly. You can sell your home fast, in as-is condition (no need to evict your tenants) , get your money back, and move on to less stressful investments!
To get started, fill out the form below or call us at (678) 318 – 1801. Our team is ready to help you out 24/7!