If you want to be a good landlord in San Francisco, there are five simple rules that can help you be successful.
Timely Rent Payments
Make sure your tenants are paying rent on time. Charge a late fee when the money comes in after the due date. Don’t let your tenants get into the habit of paying rent late. As a landlord, you have to be fair but firm.
Maintenance and Repairs
Be timely in your response to maintenance and repair requests. It doesn’t cost any more to fix a problem today instead of next week. When tenants notify you of a problem, take care of it right away. If you don’t have the resources and you can’t find someone to do the work, hire a property management company. We manage repairs and maintenance all the time and we have a reliable vendor list.
Provide High Quality Properties
When you have a vacant unit, clean it up, make modern updates and deliver a clean, well-maintained and appealing apartment to your new tenants. No one wants to live in a dirty place with old, broken down appliances. If that’s what you rent out, you’ll get someone who doesn’t care about where they live. Tenants like that cause problems for owners and they don’t take care of properties.
Security Deposits
Be fair with security deposits. When a tenant moves out, you’ll have to put money into the home before you turn it over to a new tenant. There will be normal wear and tear, and it shouldn’t all be at the tenant’s expense. Consider whether the tenant has lived there for one year or four years. You’ll treat those tenants differently when it comes to charges against their security deposits.
Rent Control Laws
If you are a landlord in San Francisco, you need to be familiar with rent control laws. You have a lot of rights in San Francisco, but you’ll give them away or lose them if you don’t follow the rules and regulations in this city. If you’re not going to work with a property manager, I strongly recommend you join the San Francisco Apartment Association, or SFAA. It’s a great resource and you can attend their meetings, read their materials and increase your knowledge 
about things like rent control laws.
If you have any questions about what it takes to be a good landlord, please contact us at Gordon Property Management and we’d be happy to discuss it further.
