One of the fundamental realities of pet ownership is that there will be some labor intensive time and effort in caring for your pets. Cleaning up after them will require extra time and effort as well. If a day of cleanup is missed, it can seem like you missed a month. This is one major reason why when an individual decides to rent out a property the gut feeling is often that they should not allow pets in the rental. The underlying hesitancy is rooted in the fear that renters will fail to properly care for the pets, as well as the mess that said pets will make both inside and outside of the property. Ultimately the primary concern is for the value of the asset. Nobody wants to see property value decline because of damage and additional wear and tear caused by animals belonging to renters. While these fears are occasionally warranted, they don’t necessarily have to be. Frequently, things can actually go in the exact opposite direction. In this blog post, we are going to explore some of the reasons why allowing pets can be beneficial.
Increase the pool of prospective tenants for your rental
While the exact number fluctuates north and south, on average somewhere around 50% of rental properties are considered pet friendly. When an owner decides that allowing pets isn’t the right move, they are effectively eliminating a lot of potential renters. Conversely, by making the choice to have a pet friendly property, they are significantly increasing their pool of potential tenants. Although numbers throughout studies show some variance, some studies have shown that up to 75% of renters own pets. These pet owning tenants are usually all too familiar with the fact that finding a property to rent that allows pets can be a challenge. The shortage of properties that allow pets also helps to drive up both the price of rent and demand for these assets.
Increase your renewal rate
It is often a very stressful process when renters move out of your property. Some of the concern is that when replacement renters are found, they might not be as proficient at taking care of the place as the previous ones were. What if it is challenging to get them to pay their rent in a timely fashion? Perhaps they might be less neat and tidy than the previous tenants. What if they won’t comply with landlord requests? There is also the underlying possibility of having to go without rent payments for some time while searching for new occupants. Deciding to allow pets in your property can foster the creation of loyal and long lasting tenants. The probability of tenants choosing to renew their lease increases dramatically when they are in a pet friendly circumstance.
Increase your earning potential
Discovering ways to increase revenue is an important part of being a successful real estate investor. If your property allows pets, there are some methods that can be utilized to make this happen. Many landlords have started requiring a pet deposit that is due when the renters move in. It is generally a nonrefundable or only partially refundable deposit. The reasoning behind the additional deposit is theoretically to cover the cost of a more intensive cleaning than normally would be necessary. There are times that tenants have taken such good care of the property that the extra cleaning isn’t required. When this occurs, the deposit just becomes additional revenue for the property owner. Many pet friendly properties also charge an additional “pet rent” fee every month. It doesn’t have to be a very large fee in order to make a substantial difference in revenue. Even an extra $30 a month fee will add up to be $360 extra in annual revenue.
Increase the quality of tenants that your property is attracting
Inside the various segments of the general population, pet owners are generally considered to be classified with the more responsible segment. Caring for pets is no small undertaking. Individuals who are willing to care for pets are often times inclined to go above and beyond in other areas of their lives as well. This increases the probability that these types of individuals will take additional care in maintaining your property. They may even go as far as treating it the same way they would treat a home they owned themselves.
When determining whether or not you should allow pets in a rental property, it is prudent to consider the various reasons that it can actually be a beneficial decision. If you are worried about managing a pet friendly property or have questions about how to structure everything properly, don’t hesitate to reach out to Twin Cities property management companies like PMI MSP.