It’s a topic of contention for landlords and tenants, as tenants want to decorate their apartments in a way that reflects their individual sense of style and personal tastes, but you want to retain the integrity of your property and avoid having to spend time returning your property to a neutral palette.

If you’re a landlord struggling with a tenant who wants to decorate you have to realize that anything you let this tenant do you may have to let other tenants do. So one tenant that seems to be very responsible and tasteful may be a safe bet for some interior decorating but the flighty and garish neighbor may expect the same considerations. It’s very important that you treat your tenants in the same manner, you could face discrimination suits if you don’t.

The one thing that tenants most often want to change is the paint color of a rental unit. You can hold fast to your neutral paint colors or you can establish some compromises that might work for both your tenants and you, consider a policy that requires them to repaint the apartment in the neutral color of your choice before they leave so they can add their own fun colors while they live there. If you still are a bit hesitant, how about requiring that they hire professional painters to restore the property to its previous color.

In regard to other decorating issues, consider writing up a document to include with the lease that will let your tenants know what is acceptable and what isn’t. You may even want to do a little research and give them some interior decorating guidelines that fit within your limitations.

Many people are hesitant to rent their property to college students and in some cases that caution is a good idea, but not all college students are irresponsible and inconsiderate. If you’re going to rent to college students you have to be meticulous about your screening process and make sure that you or your rental agent meet with each of them individually to get a feel for each prospective tenant.

Part of that initial screening process should include a credit check and a phone call to the student’s current employer, if there is one. If you don’t think the student makes enough to afford the rent then you may want to consider requiring a parent as the co-signer.

You may want to ban the college party entirely from your property but this is probably not reasonable in most cases. Instead you should add a clause that clearly states that if the police are called they will immediately be evicted.

Make sure you check with local tenancy laws as many cities have a limit on how many unrelated people can reside in one apartment, you don’t want to set up a situation where you’re immediately breaking the law.

Also make sure you ask for a large security deposit. Whereas most tenants may not do enough damage to warrant keeping even a portion of the security deposit, college aged students may do so much damage that it requires more than one month’s rent to repair.

The most important part of renting to college students is doing the research and making sure they’re a good credit risk and come highly recommended by former landlords or employers. Look for students that are responsible and have proven this in the past.

A bad tenant can be a nightmare, in fact they’ve even made horror films about this sort of thing. So any conscientious property owner will jump through the necessary hoops to make sure they’ve got the best tenants around. If you’re trying to find good tenants, use the following tips as a guideline and practice due diligence to make sure you’re getting good tenants.

Call Tenant References

Take the time necessary to call the tenant’s references, employers and previous landlords. It’s pretty rare for a personal reference to be bad, but you may get a more honest response from employers and previous landlords.

Check Credit Reports

Have prospective tenants sign a waiver that gives you the authority to check their credit report, then actually check it. This will tell you a lot about their financial responsibility.

Check Public Records

Check to see if there have been any criminal or civil proceedings against your prospective tenant. A history of domestic abuse, failure to pay bills, other criminal activities can all point to a bad tenant situation.

Have an Application Form for All

The reason for having a standardized form is twofold, it protects you and ensures you get all the information you need. Busy landlords know it’s easy to let things slip your mind, an application form or series of forms ensures you never forget to gather information. As a secondary measure, it prevents you from future discrimination suits by giving you proof that every applicant goes through the same process.

More and more people are looking for smaller housing alternatives to both save money and decrease their environmental footprint on the world. If you’re a landlord with some small apartments for rent you can make them more attractive to prospective renters by using the following tips.

Spruce up Storage

Make the current storage options more attractive by having them cleaned, repaired, painted a fresh coat of white, and perhaps revitalized. Look at cupboards, closets and bathroom storage and give it the care that will make it more attractive to renters.

Add More Storage

Optimize current storage for renters by making it more efficient, adding clothing racks, additional shelving or cubbies that make it more efficient than it currently is. Consider adding new storage by turning odd unused spaces, like under stairways, into storage alternatives.

Refresh the Space

Make the apartment seem more spacious by cleaning it thoroughly and refreshing the paint in a nice light neutral color to give an illusion of space.

Clever Lighting

Use lighting to also create an illusion of space. One overhead bulb will light the center of a room but the corners will fade into the background and seem to not exist, emphasize the further reaches of the room by having lights in the corners as well. And make sure the lighting is bright enough. If there is natural light, take advantage of it as much as possible.

If you want to rent your small apartments, emphasize the fact that it’s livable by focusing on the space, the cleanliness, and the illusion of space. You may also want to point out the financial benefits associated with your place, such as inexpensive rent and utilities.

One of the most important jobs a landlord and property manager has is finding good tenants. By using the tips below you can help ensure that you’re getting the best tenants possible.

Run Your Business

Being a landlord or a property manager is a job and you should handle all of the activities associated with that job as business. Even though you may want to give a friend or family member a break, you’re just setting your business up for trouble by being lax on the rules. You can rent to friends and family members, but keep it all business and treat everyone the same.

Follow a Procedure

Find the best tenants possible by establishing a routine for reviewing candidates and then following that routine for each and every possible tenant.

Screen Every Tenant

Keep to your procedure and screen each and every single applicant, always checking credit records and references.

Write it Down

Make sure everyone completes an application and signs it. You also need to have them sign and authorize a credit check and reference check. Get everything in writing to prevent future problems.

Be Fair

Protect yourself by treating every single applicant in a similar and fair manner. Now only can you be targeted by a discrimination suit if you favor one applicant over another, you may also be very surprised that the appearances of the applicants don’t always match up with their ability to pay and their responsibility level.

The key to being a successful landlord or property manager is having good tenants, by using the tips above you will be better able to make an informed decision on the best tenants for your property.

The process of evicting a tenant is difficult and can be tedious and although every state and city is different, it’s still not something to be taken lightly. An eviction means you will be losing tenants and have to go through the process of finding? new ones. It also may mean weeks or months or court visits and paperwork to get the current tenants out. And if you have a soft heart, it means you’re putting someone out of their home. But there are just situations where a landlord needs to stand up and take charge and evict tenants so that new and better ones can take their place. If the following situations occur take the steps necessary to evict your tenants.

If you’re not getting paid or you’re getting the rent late then this tenant is one you should think about removing. Not paying the rent is a leading cause for evictions and you shouldn’t have too much legal trouble removing this tenant as long as you’ve carefully documented your payments, late payments and the lack of payment.

Someone is breaking the lease. This is where you need to really have your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed. Check your governing laws to see if you have any special stipulations, like you have to give the tenants the right to cease and/or desist. There may be hoops you have to jump through for this sort of eviction, but it’s worth it.

The tenant is causing problems for other tenants, perhaps even forcing them to leave. This is even a stickier situation as you will have to document everything and get statements from other tenants, if the offending tenant is breaking the law you’ll also need proof of that. Follow any and all local laws for this sort of eviction as it’s a bit trickier than others, but well worth the process as it will improve the reputation of your property and make other tenants much happier.

Remember to check all of your local laws on evictions before you begin the proceedings, this will help you follow the correct steps and make the process smoother.