by Lex Shan
People around the globe have taken measures into slowing down the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing and self-isolation.
Here are some proven tips to help you manage your rental properties during the coronavirus outbreak.
RENTAL SHOWING
First question first, should you continue to show your vacant rental property?
The answer is yes. People who are coming out to look at rentals now are desperate to find housing. They are less picky and there is a higher chance of them applying.
Here’s what we can do during a rental showing while following health and safety protocols.
Communicate ahead of time that there’s no need for a handshake. We all want to make sure that social distancing is being followed to avoid the spread of the virus.
Group as many showings on the same day as possible but in different time slots. This way, you minimize the trips you make and keep each showing group small. Make sure you also follow the local maximum number of people per showing guidelines.
Wear masks and bring sanitizers to your showings. Your prospective tenants will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
MAINTENANCE REQUESTS
Now, how about handling maintenance service requests?
With the Shelter-in-place order, expect that you’ll be getting more maintenance requests from tenants who will now notice small issues that didn’t bother them before.
Come up with an objective list of what is considered urgent repairs and evaluate each request against your list. Having an objective list ensures that tenants are treated fairly.
Your tenants need to understand that some non-urgent repairs need to be postponed in order to protect their own health as well as the health of the service providers.
If you decide to do the work yourself, use preventive measures such as wearing gloves and masks. Make sure you have disinfecting wipes in your car to wipe frequently touched surfaces such as your steering wheel, phone, and wallet.
Allot extra time when heading to the hardware stores because a lot of the establishment institutes traffic control, it’s going to take longer to get into the store as well as checking out.
MODIFY ADS
Modify your rental ads criteria to require applicants to be able to show more bank reserves. You don’t want to sign a lease with a tenant who can only pay security deposit with one month of rent and then nothing after.
OTHER TIPS
If your new tenant has a government housing voucher such as Section 8, you should check to see if your local housing authority is working during this special time before you spend time processing their application. If the government is not open, there is no telling when these tenants can actually move in.
It’s also wise to check with your local city and county government about eviction restriction, late fee policies, etc.
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