How to be Momma Bear Landlord

Are you willing to stand up for yourself, your property, and what you feel is right based on your interpretations of the law?

Pause! Before we get started let me preface this discussion. Just like in most fairy tales we have learned that there is a golden rule that you should ALWAYS treat others how you wish to be treated! And, as we have discussed numerously here, here and here, you rental should be treated as a business. Therefore, even though you have treated your tenants how you wish to be treated, sometimes you get that one tenant. You know the one that makes you pull out your hair.

For example: The tenant who paints the house one shade lighter throughout the whole house but doesn’t cut in at ALL! So it just looks like “tush.”(Although my language was much stronger when I saw it!) The key is to figure out early enough that taking a stand doesn’t become an “Alamo” sized event! Here my tricks to being a momma bear!

4 Ways to be a Momma Bear Landlord!

• If your gut says no or to run- RUN!! trust me eventually you will listen and at that point it will be an earth quake to fix. Trust me I tried to do something to preserve a friendship and not only did I lose that friendship ANYWAYS, I almost got an ulcer as my thanks! The kicker is I knew better! I should have listened to my gut.

• Put your Foot Down Early– Would you give in to your kid’s tantrum? While giving in might be easier; in the long run it just means that they will KEEP coming back.

• Don’t wait till the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” event happens– Trust me that NEVER ends well. In that case more often than not, you throw such a big fit that you look like the bad guy. So evaluate every decision, if you are not okay with it- say no! Honestly since becoming the MEAN landlord life has gotten so much better! Once I had established my clear expectations, I honestly didn’t have as many issues.

• Don’t take the easy way out– We have ALL been there. You know where you feel like if you say yes then the issues will go away! Well, bad tenants, like anything else, only gets worse! So follow you lease from the beginning, be respectful but when in doubt if it’s against your GUT and your lease says “no”  then you will be happier in the long run if you enforce it all the time; every time.

The key to of all of this, is that YOU, the landlord, are in charge of your destiny. No one cares about your house more than you do! Therefore if you do not look out for the well being of the home then no one else will. So be a MOMMA BEAR, stand up for your house the way you would a Child!

Remember, this is a child who is “literally” earning his way. If you protect, nurture, and get your house through its “moments” then it will reward you by being a golden goose for retirement! Your money earned towards your retirement dreams will be a reality and not some fairy tale.