Business improvement is crucial no matter the type of business you run. If you are a landlord, then your primary concerns include ensuring you are making more money than your costs and that your tenants are happy and safe. Now that we are battling a pandemic, you can no longer take their health for granted.
Challenges Landlords Face Mid-pandemic
Many landlords lost income after their tenants’ failure to pay off their monthly dues. Some lost their source of income during the crisis, rendering them cash-poor. Since many tenants only have a single source of income, this left them with nothing to pay their rent with.
With a negative cashflow and renter’s rights during the crisis, landlords are left struggling with their finances. The fact that tenants’ demands and expectations changed only made it more challenging to run a rental during the crisis. Since more people value both their physical and mental health, landlords are left with no choice but to find ways to cater to their tenants’ needs.
How Modern Landlords Are Improving Their Business
There are still some who managed to keep their rental business afloat during the crisis. As a matter of fact, many landlords managed to thrive by improving their business with timely solutions. They make sure to keep their tenant and future applicant’s health in mind before taking the next step.
Rental Disinfection and Sanitation
Before, landlords are only concerned about keeping their rentals move-in ready. They make sure the space is clean and safe for the next renters. Now, they invest in extra services to give their future tenants better peace of mind.
For one, they invest in disinfection and sanitation services. Many landlords would rather hire help in cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting the place. They even have the carpets professionally cleaned after the end of the tenancy to ensure these contaminant magnets are disinfected for the next tenants.
Landlords also make use of these services as a way to market their rentals. They make sure to mention that they are investing in such services to boost the confidence of applicants. During these trying times, many people would pay more just to find a rental where the landlords are prioritizing their health.
Space for Home Office
As more people shelter in place, they are also learning and working remotely. Landlords keep their eye on the latest trends concerning consumers and use this information to better cater to their tenant’s needs. For some, they recognize the need for home offices especially now that more people are working from home.
What they do is to ensure they market their units while mentioning the best areas that one can convert into a home office. They know the importance of a distraction-free workspace at home and are willing to give tenants just that. For other landlords, they are allowing existing tenants to use their extra space in the backyard and turn this into their outdoor home office.
Outdoor Living Space
With more people staying indoors, landlords are constantly looking for ways to incorporate more living space. Even in their limited space and the absence of individual yards, they are finding ways to give tenants extra outdoor space.
Some landlords chose to add fences to divide their property for each unit. This gives the renters the opportunity to enjoy their own backyard space. If before, they share a garden or backyard, they can now spend lazy afternoons and late nights confined in their yard.
Landlords are also allowing tenants to improve their balconies in the absence of a yard. Some repainted their balustrade. Others installed pergolas, awnings, or roller shades to shade their balcony.
Online Listings
Modern landlords don’t only rely on old-school signages, newspaper rental ads, and more to market empty units. Most of them now use online listings to boost their reach. They know that the first place people go to when looking for a rental is online and are using the opportunity to get their properties noticed.
Aside from social media, they also use apps to market the place and search for quality tenants. Thankfully, many free rental apps are available for both lenders and tenants. One can now post their rental property, include all the details the renters need to know, and even review submitted rental applications online.
Tenant Screening
Gone are the days when landlords simply allow anyone who can pay a security deposit to rent their units. Now, more landlords are meticulous when finding tenants. They use different tenant screening techniques to ensure the safety of other existing tenants and increase their chances of choosing quality applicants.
Landlords now check more than just the tenant’s ability to make monthly payments. They also check credit reports to gauge creditworthiness. They use online platforms to check the applicant’s credit scores and see if the applicant is a good payer.
A survey shows that there are more male landlords than females. One factor that contributes to these numbers is the fact that the real estate industry is dominated by males. But one thing that sets female landlords is their willingness to keep open communication with tenants. Doing the same will make it easier to build their trust, know their pain points, and find ways to better improve your rental.
