Whether you own one rental income property, a large apartment building, or simply rent out a bedroom in your motorhome. If you own a dwelling you rent out to tenants, chances are that you already adopted some policy about whether or not you will rent to tenants with pets. There is no landlord alive that hasn’t posted a “Now Renting” sign that invariable gets asked, “Do you allow pets?”
Okay, so should you allow tenants with pets into your property or not? There are certainly justifiable reasons why some landlords adamently won’t, but it might help to consider some reasons, especially if you’re a beginner at real estate investing, why it might not be a bad idea.
- You will get a pool of grateful tenants to pick from.
- Pet owners generally stay put longer than non-pet owners because it is difficult for them to find a landlord willing to accept pets.
- It increases the pool of tenants you can rent to, so it helps during periods of high vacancy.
- Most pet owners are willing to put down a large security deposit that will subsequently offset pet damages.
- You might be able to command a slightly higher rent when you allow pets.
Naturally, you want to have some controls in place (no six hundred pound cats or yelping dogs, please), but you might discover that pets are not as bad as you think, and might even be better than you think. You should at least consider it.
