Five Things Waukesha Residents Try to Get Away With

As a landlord, finding the ideal resident to rent out your property is the most important part in leasing, and you need to spend significant time checking references and income and doing background checks. However, regardless of how much due diligence you perform, you may still meet problems with residents. Here are five common things that residents try to get away with.

Paying Rent

The first is not paying rent on time. Residents will try to exploit landlords and come up with excuses on why they have not paid their rent on time. Common excuses vary from “I’m waiting for my paycheck from work to come in” to “You haven’t repaired damages in the house, so I shouldn’t have to pay rent until they are fixed.” The best way to avoid these excuses is to maintain records of rent collection so your residents can never claim they paid you when they have not, always perform necessary repairs on your property, and keep up with regular evaluations of the property to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Extra Occupants

Up next, residents try to get away with a person living at the property who is not on the lease. Most people rent in areas where they know people or have friends, which is not a concern until your resident has a friend staying with him or her who you are unaware of. If someone is living at the property and isn’t on the lease, various problems can develop, from damaged property to noise complaints. The best way to keep this from happening is to make sure to state in the lease that no other person may live in the property except those on the lease and that failure to comply will lead to eviction.

Furry Friends

The third thing residents try to get away with is keeping pets in a “no pet policy” property. Many residents will wait weeks or even months after they move in to try and sneak a pet into the property without the consent of the landlord and without paying a pet fee, if applicable. Prevent this by maintaining regular assessments on your property and checking to see whether any pets have shown up.

Accidental Damages

The fourth thing is damages. Accidents happen and items break, but who pays for the damages? If your lease is in order, and you do evaluations before and after with the resident, you won’t have to be the one who pays the price. Make sure to make a list and do a walk through the property together on the first day your resident moves in, noting all preexisting damages. Then, the day before your resident moves out, walk through the property with the same list that has all the preexisting damages so your resident can’t claim that they did not cause the new damages to your property.

Avoiding Evictions

The fifth and last thing residents try to get away with is escaping eviction. Residents will try and argue, and occasionally even take legal action, that they are being unjustly evicted. To avoid these conflicts, have a clear and concise lease that states the rules explicitly and states what qualifies as terms for eviction. This way, if the resident attempts to take legal action, you have a good chance of winning your case, and if the resident refuses to move, you can take legal action to remove them from your property and get it back on the market to rent.

In Conclusion

Don’t want to deal with the stress of bad residents? With Real Property Management Greater Milwaukee, you don’t have to. We can handle everything from damages to complaints and evictions, keeping your identity secure and keeping your mind sane. Don’t stress yourself out over a bad resident. Let us do the work for you! To find out more about the services we offer, contact us online or call us at 262-309-6961 today.