Should I accept pets?
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 63% of Americans have at least one pet. If you don’t accept pets in your rental you automatically disqualify 63% of your applicants. Sometimes after a rental sits vacant for an extended amount of time, the owners change their mind and agree to accept pets. Then almost immediately, the vacancy is filled. Perhaps they lost hundreds or thousands of dollars in lost rent while waiting for a tenant. That lost rent probably exceeds any possible damage caused by the pet.
If your rental property is a 4 plex or larger, we typically advise you only accept small pets because generally the common grounds are small. If your rental property is a single family home or duplex, then we advise that you consider all types and sizes of pets.
If the property owner should decide to allow pets, we have a very strict pet policy that includes a pet application, pet addendum and increased rent that goes to the property owner.
Some owners have strong allergies to certain kinds of pets while others just won’t be able to sleep at night knowing they have a 75 pound Labrador in their home. No problem, we completely understand and we will find good tenants who do not have pets and we will ensure that they comply to that rule.
Additionally, some pet owners simply neglect to care for their pet and damages occur. Real Property Management will certainly hold the tenants accountable for these damages and the costs, but if the security deposit isn’t enough to cover them, it will be a slow process to recover them. So we totally understand if the property owner believes that the negatives outweigh the positives.
