Hey landlords, military renters love when they walk into a well-kept home with an organized rental binder in plain sight. To them, it indicates you’re invested in the property and securing a positive relationship for the lease term.
If you haven’t started a binder yet, it can be as simple as a folder or as elaborate as a colorful Etsy shop purchase, complete with three rings, pockets, and plastic sleeve protectors. What’s important is the information tucked inside.
If you add these 11 essentials, you’ll lessen your renters’ worries and save a lot of back-and-forth communication time because you’ve tucked the answers in a neatly arranged binder.
Sometimes it’s challenging to find a military landlord in an emergency, especially if they’re an active-duty servicemember who doesn’t have their cell accessible all day. If you have a preference for how tenants should communicate with you for maintenance requests, let them know. Leave your tenants multiple ways to find you.
Get ready for landlord life and read 7 Common Issues Landlords Face and How to Tackle Them.
Security professionals recommend landlords re-key the locks before each tenant, so be sure they have the main doors' current keys. But you also should share the other important keys.
If your tenants feel prepared to take on regular maintenance and troubleshoot everyday issues that pop up, you’ll field fewer phone calls and pay fewer maintenance fees.
Every house has a couple of quirks, but you’ll have to clue your tenants in so they know how to use the unique door lock system or show them the exact shimmy needed to open the finicky windows. Also include:
Even though it might take some time to assemble your rental home binder, your future tenants will appreciate the investment. Take a look at 5 Positive Traits Military Renters Look for in a Landlord.
When an emergency happens, sometimes it's hard to locate the source. If your tenants know where to look, they can minimize the damage.
Renters won’t know when you last cleaned the ducts or when the furnace filters were changed. A month-to-month guide providing home upkeep chores mitigates big problems like burst pipes in January.
Whether you manage the repairs yourself, hire out, or have a home warranty, your tenants need to know who to contact and the account and phone numbers. If you’re a long-distance landlord, you might consider setting up accounts with important vendors before your tenants arrive in case of an emergency such as a burst pipe.
If you require your tenants to patch nail holes and repaint, then leave them your exact instructions and the products and matching paint you want them to use.
Here’s more information about The Ins and Outs of Turning Over a Rental Property.
In a bind, especially if you don’t live locally, a willing friend or neighbor can be a lifesaver for your tenant, so give them some alternate contact info and support.
The more neighborhood information you can share, the faster your tenants will settle in and enjoy your home.
If you have anything else you’d like your tenants to be aware of, add it to the binder. Even if they don’t use it, future tenants might. Adding a welcome letter is a nice touch, too.
As a landlord, you don’t want to overwhelm renters with too many details of the house that aren’t their responsibility. So, pick points important to your mental health and ask they refer to the binder every so often to stay ahead of the needed upkeep in the home. You can also tell them you’ll send occasional emails reminding them of important dates and maintenance.