Investing in rental property means your work doesn’t end when you buy the property. It continues to finding tenant who are interested to rent your property. Aside from being an investor, you are a landlord. Thus, building relationship with your tenants is inevitable. Some landlord even have closer relationship with their tenants for various reasons. Some landlords even befriend their tenants to the points when they can hang out just like best friends. Is it good or bad thing for landlord to befriend their tenants?
Forming friendship with tenants
To decide if it is good or bad thing to befriend tenants depends on individual perspective. For some people, it may sound like a good thing because it can help building mutual trust and understanding, it will be easier to build effective communication as well. It can also lead to tenants prolonging their lease. However, it is not good thing to befriend your tenants from business perspective. Here’s the reason why:
- Getting close to your tenants is actually a good idea. You don’t want to stay in awkward phase relationship with people that you will see for a long term even though not every day. However, it is highly advised to form business relationship instead of friendship. There is possibility that your tenant will get too comfortable. They may start asking some favors outside tenancy agreement. They may also become nonchalant about delaying their rental payment because they consider you as a friend.
- Forming friendship with tenants is not always a good idea because you will become more lenient with everything your tenants ask. You will find yourself getting easier with letting them off even when they break the rules. You will let them off even when they don’t maintain the property properly.
- With friendship comes blurry lines. It can lead to problems in the future because there will be holes for that to happen eventually. What if your tenants just so chill about holding a party in your property and your neighbor start complaining about the noise and all? This is truly a problem you don’t have to face if you can maintain business relationship with your tenants.
- If it is getting hard for you to maintain business relationship with your tenants, just remind yourself about the possibility of problem you may face in the future. Some of problems could be harmful. However, some of them could be costly as well. If you choose to form friendship with your tenants and you make business-oriented decision, it may strain your friendship as well as put your business on the line.
Furthermore, it is advised to maintain business relationship. It is absolutely fine to form healthy relationship with your tenants to the points when you don’t have to exchange awkward greeting whenever you meet. Healthy business relationship can also form effective communication because both parties will have mutual understanding of each other’s rights and responsibilities. Thus, there will be mutual respect formed along the way without the need to crossing boundaries and risk tenancy agreement.
