A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Our Business is Property Management in Orange County California
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about
what all investment property owners have to wrestle with every time a lease
comes up for renewal. Do you raise the rent, or do you leave things as they are
for another year?
Reading all the articles regarding rents going up and up and
up, a Landlord or Property Manager still have to deal with the real possibility of
losing a good Tenant if the landlord decides to raise the rent, but as a Property
Manager, I have to be fair to my clients and advise them that their
property may be worth more than the rents they are currently receiving.
I look at my job in
two ways, my first job it to take care of the property and allow my clients to
relax, understanding that I am in charge of dealing with the everyday issues
and problems that come up and making sure the property is well maintained and
rents are collected on time and keeping the properties occupied. My next job is to allow my clients to make as much
money as possible and sometimes that means that rents need to be raised.
I have for a long time been in the camp that if you have a
good Tenant that pays the rent on time, you should do what you can to keep
the Tenant happy. Keeping a long term Tenant is the best way to have a
profitable rental property business. I like to run the numbers for my clients
and explain to them how having a vacancy really hurts the bottom line. A vacant
property means spending money on preparation for a new Tenant and the loss of
income due to having no rent come in for a period of time. But I have changed
my attitude during these times of increasing rents around the State and around
the Country.
The problem Tenants have is that if they like where they are
living, a modest raise in the rent may be something that they just have to
accept. In years past a Tenant had many choices and they had the opportunity to
find a comparable property at the same or less rent then they are paying, but
those days are gone for now. Finding a new property to rent is not easy and at
times impossible and a Tenant also has to look at the cost of moving.
The Landlord is in control in this market and the “BIG BAD
WOLF” (Raising the Rent) that many landlords and Property Managers feared in
the past has now been neutralized and increasing the rent may the correct thing
to do from a business standpoint.
In my Business of Property Management in Orange County
California, I am not in the business of crushing a Tenant with a huge raise in
the rent and I advise my clients that if they do decide to raise the rent to do
it in a way that is fair to both parties. A large jump in the rent may force a
good Tenant to leave and that is bad for both parties. So when thinking about
raising the rent, moderation is the key and a small raise this year and another
the next year may make it easier for the Tenant to adjust.
Everything is cyclical and for now the Landlords are in
control, so as much as I want good Tenants to be happy and stay, from a
business standpoint this is the time for Landlords to put some profits in their
pockets. No one knows when the “BIG BAD WOLF” will again bring fear back to
the rental markets.
A.D. Cantelmo Property
Management Specializes in Property Management in Orange County
Ca.