Surprise Parties Should Be Fun & Managing Rental Home Expectations

 

“Frustration is a function of our expectations…”

(Stephen Covey)

 

You ever really look forward to seeing a movie?

 

Well, I have.  And several years ago, I was looking forward to seeing a movie that opened right before my birthday. 

 

I had a really long week, but just kept thinking of what it would be like for it to be Saturday and how I’d be feeling when I was watching this movie.  I’d be sitting in the air-conditioned theater, legs kicked up, eating popcorn, and enjoying a few hours of restful entertainment.  It was a dream in my mind to be sitting in that early showing. And being that it was going to be my birthday, there didn’t seem to be any obstacles to this unfolding like I had envisioned.

 

I had my birthday breakfast, my wife and kids left to run errands, and I was just killing time before the movie.  Then I heard a knock on the door.  It was my neighbor and he asked if I could help jump his wife’s car across the street at the recreation center. 

 

I quickly glanced down at the time on my phone.  I still had twenty minutes until I had to leave, so we hopped into my car and ran over to the recreation center.  I parked next to his wife’s car and he said that we needed to talk to her inside first.  I wasn’t sure why that was necessary, but I dutifully followed him.  He went down a hallway and then opened up a door to a room that I hadn’t been in before.

 

“SURPRISE!  Happy Birthday!”

 

I looked up and saw smiling friends and family all around this mysterious room filled with birthday streamers.  My wife was beaming, looking at me expectantly.  This should have been a really happy time, but my disappointed face said it all.

 

My perfect birthday plans had been foiled.  I was crestfallen.  This long-awaited movie wasn’t going to happen.

 

Expectations aren’t always rational, but they are very real.  My wife worked so hard at putting it together and people took time out of their day to celebrate my birthday; I should have been extremely thankful and had a massively happy day.  But my happiness was temporarily jolted.  I did not get what I expected and was feeling sour.

 

As Charlotte property managers, listing vacant homes for rent is somewhat straightforward.  We typically fix up and clean the homes before putting then on the market so everyone knows what to expect.  Prospective tenants are walking into a home that largely looks like it will when they move-in.  Rental home owners have already paid the fix-up costs.  Tenants could move-in immediately after rental application acceptance.  Everyone has relatively clear expectations on what is transpiring.

 

However, it’s not so clear when there are showings on an occupied rental home.  Prospective tenants see a home that is being lived in and this creates many potential questions: Is this home being painted after the current tenants move out?  Is the stained carpet being cleaned or replaced?  Are there any upgrades being done prior to move-in?  What items were brought by the tenant and will be removed, and what stays?  When will it be ready for me to move into?

 

The rental home owner also has questions: Can we avoid a full paint job when the existing tenants vacate?  Can the stained carpet stay?  How much of the security deposit can we use?  What are all these things going to cost?

 

The tenants and owners are asking the property manager for answers, but the property manager has questions too: What condition is the home going to be left in when the existing tenant leaves?  Is the tenant going to paint before move-out?  Are they any good at painting?  Will the stains come out of the carpet?  What will my final walk-through reveal about the house when everything is out?

 

Everyone has expectations.  Generally-speaking, the incoming tenants expect a nice-looking house with everything working when they move into it.  The exiting tenants expect to get most of their security deposit back.  The owner expects not having to pay a lot to fix-up the property for incoming tenants.  These don’t always gibe.

 

And when expectations are not met, people get upset.  Even on their birthday!

 

Many property managers and landlords don’t market occupied homes until they are vacated, partly to avoid issues like this.  It can seem like a great idea to get a jump on finding a tenant, but managing expectations while dealing with uncertainty can be challenging.

 

Smart landlords who do choose to go this route have conversations with all parties and try to set realistic expectations with all of them to avoid disappointing surprises.  As I’ve been told, surprise parties are supposed to be fun!

 

Happy Landlording!