When you are signing a new lease with your new tenant, include the monthly rental amount. THEN ADD THE FOLLOWING:
Tenant will___ will not____ have a one time option to extend this lease for_____ year/s for the monthly rent of $______ As long as tenant has met all of the landlords requirements
The above addition will save you a lot of anxiety when it comes time to renew.
Good renting
Now to this week’s tip.
Often it is difficult to elicit responsive or satisfactory answers from a prospective tenant. (That, of course, is grounds to reject them.) But sometimes everything looks good on a rental application, but something bothers you. Here is how to get the applicant to tell you things he might not otherwise tell you.
Creative silence. People hate silence. After you ask a question, SHUT UP! If they are not forthcoming with an answer, don’t help them. Wait for them to say something. After they have answered, wait for a few seconds. They may hate the silence and tell you something they had not intended to tell you.
Ask open-ended questions. The key words are “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.” No question with one of those words included in it can be answered yes or no. Another way to phrase a question is “Tell me about. . .”
Here are some sample questions which cannot be answered with just a word or two.
- What did you like about your last landlord?
- Tell me about your neighbors at your last apartment.
- Why did you move from they house you rented before the most recent one?
- When did you decide to move?
- What are your hobbies?
- What kind of electronic equipment do you have?
- Why would you or wouldn’t you rent from you present landlord again?
I think you get the idea. None of the above questions can be answered in less than a sentence. The prospective tenant will have to tell you something real.
In my seminar “How to Stop Bad Tenants at the Curb” we spend at least an hour on just how to ask questions of applicants to get the answers you want. For more information on speeches and seminars, go to: Speeches and seminars.
