Majority of American families own pets these days. Still there are millions of individuals who cannot stand the sight of a pet. Pets can be adorable, and they can be potentially dangerous for people other than their master and family members. As a landlord, you face this dilemma of whether to allow families with pets in your property or not. Irrespective of your feelings towards dogs and cats, you must think differently when you become a landlord. You must look at the pros and cons of allowing pets in your property before taking a decision in this regard even if you are a pet lover.

Pros of allowing pets

By allowing pets in your rental property, you can earn more income. You can charge a separate fee per pet per month from your tenants. You can also demand a refundable advance deposit from tenants who wish to keep pets in their homes.
In present times, many landlords prohibit families with pets in their properties. You can take advantage of this fact and attract more families with pets in your property. If there are few properties allowing pets in your area, you can gain competitive edge over other property owners.
By allowing pets in your property, you ensure long term tenants for yourself. This is because pet owners continue to live where their pets have settled down. Besides, they also find it difficult to find a suitable property easily.
Most families having pets are sensible and their pets are not potentially dangerous for other tenants.

Cons of allowing pets

Pets are after all animals and they can cause damage to your rental property no matter whether they are trained or not. Your business can suffer from financial losses that are difficult to cover up with the security deposits you have received form pet owners.
Dogs tend to bark unnecessarily at odd hours of the day. Many tenants are irritated by the noise produced by barking of dogs. You may see tenant turnover because of of allowing of pets in your property. Cats can scratch hard wood flooring and both dogs and pets can make carpets dirty.
Many tenants cannot stand the smell of pets. Pet lovers are used to this smell and they don’t even feel the smell, but other tenants may start to complain about pet smell. Also, some pet owners ignore the poop created by their dogs and cats which can be a source of irritation for other tenants.
Fleas and other kinds of bacteria are found in places where pets live. Pets can pose health problems for other tenants in your property.
Large dogs can terrorize contractors and vendors coming to your property for carrying out repairs.
You could face a big problem if a pet bites anyone inside your property.

As a landlord, you must take a decision that is more favorable for you. If you feel that by allowing pets in your property, you can attract more families who will live for long term in your property, it is better to allow pets. You can also think of additional income that can be generated from the families owning pets. On the other hand, if you feel that very few tenants will be amenable to the idea of living in a property that allows pets, it is better to stay away from pets. Whatever you decide, you should have a pet policy in place, and you should enforce it strictly in your property. You can allow only small pets with breeds of dogs that are not potentially dangerous for human beings. You can nip potential problems because of pets in the bud by disallowing pets in your real estate investment property.

If you’d like to talk more about property management, or you need help with Everest Property Management, please contact us at Everest Realty.

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