Effective home property management requires managers/owners to retort regularly to tenant complaints when troubles are reported. They really need to respond just as if it were their own home. Failing to look after problems is high in set of reasons tenants start buying new places to call home. And right now it’s really a renters market, as there are many empty rental units in the marketplace.

I speak from personal experience for this as I was renting a home when several problems developed. The owner/landlord didn’t answer problems he considered “nice to have” features although not requirements. A couple examples:

– When I moved in I quickly learned the sprinkler system had several leaks as well as some sprinkler heads were busted off of the pipes. I complained and the owner said he would care for it. This took for a number of months. I finally got tired of dragging the hose around to water and paying a higher water bill (sprinkler system was on reclaimed water), so I informed him that I stopped watering. He still didn’t correct it, along with the yard started to die. Not wanting my dogs to trace in mud, I reluctantly learned how to fix the system. The landlord didn’t even offer to cover the various!

– Another example happens when water softener salt tank cracked and leaked. Again he didn’t respond for months. I got tired of waiting and patched the tank with a few plastic and epoxy. It was clear my landlord didn’t care so long as he didn’t think your home was at urgent need for repair.

Home property management is around taking good care of the tenants needs and, if the manager isn’t the owner, making certain they’re meeting the owners’ expectations. In my second example the salt water leaked onto the garage floor and rusted the water heater, which rusted through and failed 3-4 months later. About 6 months from then on the bottom of the garage door became so rusty it started to sink. I’m sure between the two problems my landlord spent at the very least $600, when he could have fixed it using a bit of plastic and epoxy. He would have prevented the extensive damage. It’s important for the non-owning home property manager to never let problems transform into bigger problems. A well maintained house will create the owner or home property manager’s client more revenue.

The old saying is true “a stitch in time saves nine.” That same stitch are able to keep a happy tenant in a rental unit for a long period. And long- kew property manager should be the goal of each home property management professional, owner or otherwise.