Landlords, do you treat your tenants like bad children?

The Problem: Many landlords treat their paying tenants as if they were their enemies instead of their sources of income.

Here's what I discovered when renting apartments:
1. Age discrimination… younger prettier tenants get breaks not provided to older female tenants.
2. Pet discrimination… pet deposits for dogs are sometimes less than for cats.
3. Dangerously wet basements, rotten roofs and porches.
4. Flea and cockroach infestations.
5. Non-working lights and appliances.
6. Missing doors, broken windows, ripped screens.
7. Peeling paint.
8. Stained and smelly carpets.
9. Not returning security deposits or refunding overpayments.
10. Requiring tenants to pay other tenants’ utility bills.
11. Asking tenants to spy on neighbor tenants and expecting other free services from tenants.
12. Toxic chemicals used in repairs.
13. Lack of snow removal/salting, causing older tenants to fall and/or hurt themselves.
14. Different rules for different tenants.
15. Allowing tenants to bully and vandalize other tenants with no intercession.
16. Giving keys of single women’s apartments to male tradesmen without consent.
17. Charging for unnecessary, unwanted services.
18. Nicotine-stained walls.
19. Only emergency fire escape is through another tenant’s unit.
20. Leases that take away a tenant’s fundamental rights under the US constitution.
21. Allowing other tenants’ unneutered pets to run unleashed, reproducing, adding to feral colonies.
22. Foul odors throughout unit.
23. Demand for 13 months’ payments upfront before being shown available units.
24. Shards of glass imbedded in carpeting.
25. Exposure to fire hazards.
26. Leases with poor spelling, poor grammar, and confusing language.
27. Four- and five-page leases in tiny print written by lawyers who aren’t concerned about tenant rights.
28. Dog poop from other tenants’ pets where other tenants have to walk.
29. Allowing tenants to smoke drugs that tenants in adjoining units have to breathe.
30. Rewriting the lease before the tenant receives a signed copy.
31. Not providing tenant with a signed copy of the lease for several weeks.

The Solutions:
My services include:
1. Seminars for landlords and property managers to provide/brainstorm specific suggestions for better/kinder management practices.
2. Private (affordable) written reports for landlords – with photos - listing what in their units and leases could be improved to obtain/keep great tenants and reduce losses to their bottom line.
3. Quick, affordable, mediation to handle disputes between tenants and landlords.
4. A tenant hotline promising same day reply (unlimited), for a nominal annual fee.

The Results:
If tenants feel appreciated you’ll increase the likelihood of your tenants being honorable and responsible. The results of my services over time:
1. Not only more pleasant, but healthier rental accommodation across Erie county.
2. Better living standards for tenants.
3. More appreciative tenants who are more responsible.
4. Happier landlords and property managers who have fewer headaches, increased profit.

My Credentials:
I'm not an employee, but a retired public relations firm owner, with a dual-degree from Kent State University in Consumer Science, and Marketing/Communication who is also a former broadcaster and author of multiple how-to and how-not-to books. I have been a renter in the City of Erie, Millcreek, Lake City and Girard and owned/sold property outside of the United States. I studied and passed Pennsylvania’s real estate courses just to learn state law.

I am also:
Creator of BuyMyMobileHome.org
Author of Sell Your Mobile Home in 60 Days
Author of Jump Start Your Creative Genius
Author of The Bed and Breakfast Guest Etiquette Quiz

If you need my assistance, email me: handyande1@gmail.com