Every property owner dreams of renting out their real estate investments in Fort Worth to tenants that are clean, responsible, and good communicators. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, and knowing how to treat your tenants from the start could make the difference between a positive relationship and a negative one. When you tell a tenant in Fort Worth, “rent out my home”, you’re actually telling them much more. Instead of assuming they know, lay out exactly what you mean. If you don’t want to worry about what to do and what not to do, you can hand the tenant relations and communication over to a team of experts like Specialized Property Management. With over 30 years of experience dealing with every tenant situation you can imagine, we know how to promptly and professionally communicate with your tenants to improve your relationship with them and protect your real estate investments in Fort Worth. 

Clear Tenant Communication

From the very beginning, it’s important to set expectations. In Fort Worth, “rent out my home” should also mean take care of my home, call me or my property management company for maintenance issues, and comply with the signed lease agreement. Make sure you both know which method of communication works best for you and the renters, whether it’s email, texting, phone calls, or some combination. Clear communication is key to a happy tenant-landlord relationship. Once both parties know how to communicate, everything else will be much easier moving forward. At Specialized Property Management, we encourage frequent, open communication to create a healthy property owner-tenant relationship. 

Define Consequences

Make sure your tenant reads the lease agreement and understands all of your rules along with their associated consequences. For example, if you don’t want pets living in your real estate investments in Fort Worth, your tenant should know what would happen if they were seen with an unauthorized pet. It’s up to you whether you want to charge a fine, a pet fee each month, or ask them to leave. But it’s also up to you, as a property owner, to make the consequences you choose clear from the start. Specialized Property Management has dealt with noncompliance on many occasions and we can help make sure that the situation doesn’t get emotional or out of hand. We’ll handle everything professionally for you to save you from costly legal fees if things get messy. 

Be Clear About Rent and Keep Rent Rates Fair 

Tenants shouldn’t have any questions about how much rent is and how it is collected each month for your real estate investments in Fort Worth. Make sure they know when rent is due and when it is late, and don’t make any exceptions. Fees should incur in the case of late rent and written notices should be sent if they don’t pay. Eviction is the next step if necessary. Just make sure that you are strict from the start and consistent. One month of making an exception could turn into something you’ll regret for the next six months. If you have a tenant who is responsible and reliable, always paying their rent on time, resist the urge to increase the rent rate. They may be renting from you because they believe rent is fair and you don’t want to risk them leaving and facing months of vacancies. Specialized Property Management will help you set a competitive rent rate in the beginning and inform you of when the market goes up or down and when it’s a good time to increase or decrease your rates. 

Offer Low-Cost Amenities

Making tenants happy isn’t just about clear communication. Another way to foster a good relationship is to provide low-cost amenities. These will help your real estate investments in Fort Worth appeal to more people and sell faster. They’ll also make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for your tenants, making them appreciate you more. Some of the top rental amenities that renters want are below: 

1. Covered Parking and Garages: In Fort Worth, summer temperatures can be unbearable! Tenants will be looking to rent places with shade, especially for their cars. If you can provide covered parking or a garage, you’ll avoid complaints and problems in the future while helping your property sell faster now. 
2. A Fenced Yard: Tenants who rent don’t want to feel like they’re in an apartment. A fenced yard provides privacy and helps tenants feel like they have their own home. If they know that they can relax in their backyard or if they have pets, they’ll be much more likely to rent from you if you have a fenced yard available. 
3. Upgraded Appliances: When you break down the costs of new kitchen appliances, it’s a small sacrifice to make in order to entice more tenants to rent your real estate investments in Fort Worth. They will make your whole property feel updated, make tenants happy, and cause fewer maintenance issues in the future. 
4. Washer and Dryer in Unit: No one wants to carry their laundry to and from the laundromat when they can just do laundry at home. It’s a major selling point to have a washer and dryer, even if it’s small, available inside your property. 
5. New Paint: It’s the simple details, like a fresh coat of paint, that give any home a new, clean look and smell. It won’t cost you much in the long run and it could help attract your ideal tenant. 

Respond Quickly to Tenants

One downside of renting for tenants is that they don’t have control over everything that goes on in their home, or your real estate investments in Fort Worth. That’s why, if they don’t get a prompt response from you, the property owner, or your property management team, it can feel very frustrating. They want to feel like their needs are a priority and that their issue will be fixed quickly. In order to have a positive relationship with your tenant, they must do their part, but you also must do yours. Be reliable, or employ Specialized Property Management, who will answer all tenant phone calls and emails 24/7 so you don’t have to always be on call. If you choose to self manage and can’t respond to a tenant in 24 hours, make sure to apologize for the delay to minimize complaints. If you are working on a resolution, keep your tenant updated. Let them know that they are heard and that their issue is being worked on. Inform them again once the issue has been completely resolved. 

Provide a Few Ways to File Complaints

Complaints about your real estate investments in Fort Worth from tenants may be unavoidable, but if they are unhappy with the method of filing a complaint, it will just add insult to injury. Helping them communicate and making sure tenants feel heard is more important than resolving the issue in some instances. Specialized Property Management may implement complaint registries such as these to create a simple and smooth process for tenants: 

• 24/7 emergency hotline
• Non-emergency number for business hours
• Email address
• Electronic submission form through a website or tenant portal

Respect Tenant Privacy

Always communicate and give plenty of notice to tenants before you show up at their house. At the very least, give them 24 hours notice and send a friendly reminder as the allotted time gets closer. Try your best to never inconvenience your tenants and make them feel like your real estate investment in Fort Worth is truly their private space. 

Give Your Tenants Gifts

Did you know that gifts given to tenants by Fort Worth rental property management companies are tax-deductible? The tax code dictates that if a gift is given for business reasons, the expense deduction is limited to $25 per person, per year. If you give gifts to every person renting from you and you have more than one rental property, these deductions can add up, saving you money and showing appreciation for your tenants. Some ideas of gifts your tenants might like during the holidays are: 

• Money deducted from next month’s rent
• Gift cards
• Gift baskets put together by you, or ordered online, with any theme you choose
• Appliance upgrades. For example, replacing the washer and dryer if they’re outdated
• Cleaning services from the local maid service, carpet cleaners, or window washers
• Holiday light hanging for the holidays
• Hire a professional to paint a room their choice of color
• Flowers
• Baked goods made by yourself or from the local bakery 

Tenant communications can be tough to navigate, but if you follow the above tips closely, you should be able to foster and maintain a healthy, positive, and professional relationship with your renters. You may think that in Fort Worth “rent out my home” means one thing, but unless you communicate what you’re thinking to your tenant, they won’t know. Most tenants are happy to comply as long as you treat them with respect and hold up your rent of the deal. If you’re not sure if you’re up for the consistency and reliability that being a self-managing property owner requires, let Specialized Fort Worth Property Management do it for you. Our team of experts will take care of all the details and make sure that both you and your tenants are happy, possibly making you love your tenants even more! Contact us today to find out more about our services.