You may want to check out our environmental pages to help you become aware of potential problems and perhaps how to deal with them. Tenants can and do manipulate landlords when there appears to be no defined consequences for breaking rules. A very informal tenant landlord relationship gives this appearance. On the other hand, formal organized rent procedures provide a powerful collection tool and business like appearance. Professional property managers have standard procedures in place to provide this all important part of their business.
Tenants obey the rules because there appears to be serious consequences.
A review of typical vacancy advertising in a local newspaper would lead you to believe that pets are poison in rental housing. Many property managers have discovered, however, that a more prudent pet policy can be profitable. Older adults often make the very best tenants. In fact, more than one third of rental housing residents have pets, whether the landlord approves or not. Most pet owner tenants are actually willing to pay pet deposits, or even higher rent to keep it.