Dealing With Nightmare Tenants or Roommates
Nightmare tenants and roommates do happen from time to time when you roll the dice and live with someone new. Tenants can be handled much easier than a roommate as you will not have to have daily contact with them. Living with someone does not mean that you have to like that person but a mutual respect should be had. Take a proactive approach to building a good relationship early on when living with someone. This can make all of the difference! Writing up an ironclad lease agreement can also establish expectations of rent payments, maintenance, and things like whether smoking in the house is allowed. The following are tips that can help deal with both nightmare tenants and roommates.
Opt For A Property Management Company To Avoid Issues
Housing Gurus understands that there can be nightmare tenants as well as landlords. To avoid being labeled a landlord that is overzealous just opt to hire a property management company. This allows you as the owner of the home to earn truly passive income as you won’t have to deal with issues related to the tenant. Yes, maintenance costs will continue to happen, but the management company can be the one to handle these. No more receiving calls from tenants in the middle of the night! Property managers have a lot of experience, and can help guide you through the stickier things like evictions and court.
Be Clear On Expectations On Housework
Most issues with roommates arise when one roommate does not feel like the other is living up to their end of the household chores. This can include taking the trash out and cleaning up dishes that were used. While this seems simple, plenty of people have different standards on what clean truly is. Setting up some kind of chore delegation system can be a huge help so one person is not stuck with the chore they loathe permanently. Before moving in with someone, sit down to talk about this as you might find that this is an issue that could eventually rear its ugly head.
Communicate Clearly With Documentation
When communicating with a roommate or tenant, sending texts or emails is never a bad thing. This helps document things that were spoken. A favorite defense by tenants that are late on rent is “nobody told me that” or “I spoke to this person and they said it was fine to pay late”. Documentation is also important if you have to go to court to evict a person which does happen more than people realize. Avoid “he said, she said” with proper documents.
If In College, The Semester Is Almost Over!
One thing about rooming with random people that attend your college is that you simply might not get along. As long as both parties are respectful to a point, most roommates can do a great job avoiding each other. Plenty of roommates do not get along and by the end of a semester, if in the dorms, you can request to switch roommates. This does not mean that you get your pick of roommates but rather will be put with another random person. Rooming with acquaintances often times is recommended as some close friends do not continue their friendships after living together. Being friends with someone is very different than living together: gross or annoying habits can be a challenge when you’re with them every day.
Living with a roommate or having a tenant that is nothing short of a nightmare is not going to be a great experience. Try to work out issues early and often! Most people are reasonable, but remember with random roommates, you truly are taking a big gamble.