A lease is one of the most vital pieces of being a landlord. It's the document that outlines your agreement with a tenant for how long they're going to stay, and also what the terms of that stay will be.
Without a solid lease, you'll find yourself in some sticky situations. Having a thorough lease in place will help everyone know exactly what to expect and what's expected of them.
When a lease is about to expire, you'll need to take on lease negotiations. This is where you determine what's been working and what needs to be changed. Check out these tips for helping everyone walk away happy.
Understand the Current Market
Before you even open the negotiation table, you need to do your research. There's nothing worse than coming unprepared with current lease terms.
Check out your local rental market to see the current price trends. This will factor into how the rent price will change in the coming year. If you have data to back up the changes you want, they'll make more sense to your tenant. That effort will go a long way.
Consider the History Together
As you're coming up with your ideal lease terms, think about your history with this tenant. Keeping tenants is much better than trying to find new, good ones.
So if you've had a good experience with them so far, think about how you can reward them while renewing a lease. This might be extending the time, keeping rates the same, or making some improvements to the place. Whatever it is, you want to show you're giving something too.
Rely on Open Communication
The main key to coming up with a good lease agreement is open communication. Be as clear as you can be from the very beginning. This helps make sure everyone is on the same page throughout the negotiations.
Be open about what things you need from the tenant, giving reasons and explanations where needed, and also listen to their point of view as well. The more healthy discussions you can have, the better.
Leave Enough Time
It's important to start your negotiations for lease terms with enough time to get it done well. Sometimes a lease agreement is broken unexpectedly. But more often, you'll have more than enough time to start coming up with your new terms. Leaving the negotiations for the last minute just puts added stress on everyone that's not needed.
Mastering Lease Negotiations as a Landlord
Once you've mastered lease negotiations, they won't be a source of dread anymore. You'll look forward to working with your tenants to find the most favorable terms for each of you.
Having a property management team is a huge help in these situations. Not only do they improve the tenants' experience, but they also can help you through the process.
Our team at PMI Prime Property cares about helping landlords with tenant relations. We offer a variety of services to improve everyone's experience. If you're interested in learning more about what we do for New Jersey landlords, contact us today!
