So, you want to find good tenants for your rental property in Sarasota. It almost sounds odd saying it, as if anyone has ever said, “What I really want are bad tenants for my Sarasota rental property!” Such words have never been spoken. However, well-intentioned landlords unwittingly set themselves up for bad tenants by doing all the wrong things upfront. This article will help steer you towards smart leasing practices and away from the worst.
Find Good Tenants for Your Rental Property in Sarasota with These 5 Tips:
These are some things that you must do to find quality tenants for your Sarasota rental:
1. Perform a Rental Analysis
Do a proper rental analysis to determine a competitive price. Incorrectly pricing your property is a surefire way to attract the wrong tenants. This tip is critical to find good tenants for your rental property in Sarasota, and it ties into the other suggestions as well. A rental analysis will also give you an edge on and understanding of your competition.
2. Investigate Comparable Properties
Know what comparable area properties are offering and try to be as good—or better. Your property has to be competitive in terms of appearance and features. Remember, your investment is being compared to other properties by your prospective tenants.
3. Stay Flexible
Maintain flexible showing times, seven days a week. Prospective tenants will pass on your property unless you make it extremely easy to view.
4. Keep Your Investment Clean
Keep the property immaculately clean. The tenant’s expectations are no different than if they were walking into a hotel room for the first time.
5. Friendliness Counts!
Be nice, have a welcoming demeanor, and smile—your attitude and demeanor at the first meeting can turn off prospective tenants if not handled correctly.
Avoid These Bad Habits When Looking for Good Tenants
You might be surprised at how often landlords unintentionally chase off prospective tenants. Problems pop up in the things they do, the way they act, and the things they say. One has to imagine that these same landlords mean the best and don’t purposefully chase off good tenants. They simply don’t realize how certain behaviors are harming their leasing efforts.
You see, in addition to the databases that we as professional property managers have paid access to, we often go the extra mile to keep on top. We investigate the rental markets we serve by calling on and visiting the for-rent-by-owner properties in our area. In doing so, we often encounter all sorts of things that undermine a landlord’s efforts to get their property rented. These are also things that are likely driving good, prospective tenants away. Here are some examples:
- Failure to return phone calls.
- Failure to respond to emails.
- Gruff, condescending demeanor.
- Inflexible showing times.
- Poor “curb-appeal” of properties on initial arrival.
- Unclean properties.
- Properties in disrepair.
- Unprofessional leasing paperwork.
If you want to attract high-quality tenants to your properties, you should actively avoid emulating any of the above. While you can’t judge a tenant just by looking at them, one can often get a good feel for a property from its appearance alone.
Property Managers Find Good Tenants for Your Rental Property in Sarasota
Effective leasing is part business, part legal, and part stage production. All aspects of the leasing process need to be handled speedily, accurately, and with grace. Professional leasing agents and property managers (especially those who are NARPM members) are trained in all aspects of the leasing cycle. Their expertise ranges from showings to paperwork processing—which ensures that vacancies are filled as quickly as possible, for the highest fair-market rent.
Add to that the convenience factor for owners who don’t have to worry about scheduling and showings. Let’s not forget the intricacies of the Fair Housing Laws, Americans With Disabilities Act, and Florida Landlord and Tenant statutes! It isn’t surprising that the smartest landlords tend to leave finding a suitable tenant to professional property managers.
Conclusion
Effective leasing is part business, part legal, and part stage production—all aspects of the leasing process need to be handled expertly. There are definite “do’s” and “don’ts” when it comes to finding good tenants for your rental property in Sarasota. Follow the guidelines outlined above to ensure yourself a smooth and profitable leasing experience. If you prefer to leave the “heavy lifting” to others, contact a professional property management company (a member of NARPM) to handle the leasing for you. Good luck!
About the Author
John Michailidis, JD, is the Broker/Managing-Member of Real Property Management of Sarasota & Manatee, a Sarasota, FL based residential property management company. Real Property Management of Sarasota & Manatee provides both Full-Service and Lease-Only services to Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, and North Port area landlords. If you own residential investment real estate anywhere in Manatee or Sarasota counties, do feel free to reach out to our team at 941-216-0005, or through our website.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
