First Rental Property

What’s up Everybody,

It is the first day of the month today.

The first day of the month is always a very important day for real estate investors.

If you are a real estate investor, then it is more than likely that you have also acted as a landlord for some period of time.

It goes without saying that there are good and bad landlords out there.

As a new real estate investor, it is important that you become a good landlord, and not a bad one.

But how do you become a good landlord?

Well, I will share with you some key points that I believe help to contribute to someone being a good landlord.  These are all things that I do, that I believe have helped me to stay proactive as a landlord.

Here is my list.  Feel free to add to the list in the comments section below…

How to be a proactive landlord

• Contact your tenants at least once a month.

I always make it a point to contact my tenants on the first of each month.  I do this because I understand that I am in the customer service business as a landlord.  My tenants are my customers, and I want to ensure that my customers are happy.  If there is anything that is bothering my customers, I want to know about it, so that I can proactively take steps in order to fix this.

• respond to customer requests promptly

Don’t you hate it when you have a customer service issue, you need something taken care of right away, you call a customer service rep, and you never get a call back? Or maybe you do get a call back, but the call back comes a week or more later…  During this time, the issue that you had called about has been frustrating you to no end!  I hate it when this happens to me.  That is why whenever, I have a request from one of my tenants (customers), I do my best to address the issue as fast as I can.  It may be that I personally won’t be able to solve the issue for them, but what I do is ensure that I give them the necessary resources so that the problem can be addressed and quickly solved.  One of my greatest resources that I can provide to my customers is my trusty handyman.

• maintain a good working relationship with your handyman

If you are not using the services of a property management company, you will have to have a trusty handyman that you can rely on.  Whenever you have an issue come up with your customers, that you cannot handle yourself, and that requires the services of a handyman, you need to contact your handyman right away so that he/she will be able to fix the problem in a timely manner. Thanks to our partners, you can find online to suit every preference and budget, from budget to top-of-the-range super stylish models.

• Provide periodic gifts to good tenants to show your appreciation

Providing periodic gifts to tenants/customers throughout the year is a great way to show them that you appreciate them.  I am a fan of sending something out to my customers during Christmas time.  In addition, sending a gift to them at certain anniversary dates (such as the one year anniversary date) of them renting from you is a smart idea.  This generosity on your end is essential in maintaining a high level of customer service.  Just as large corporations acknowledge their valued customers, so should you be acknowledging your valued customers.

Add to the conversation.  Let me know what things you are doing in order to be proactive as a landlord.  If you are not a landlord yet, what are some of the things that you will implement once you do become one?

I have included a short video clip of a property that I will be closing on later this year.  Check out the video below.  You can also subscribe to my You Tube Channel, where I will be posting more videos like this one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cArIuN2F0[/youtube]

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