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TRUMP UNIVERSITY WEALTH BUILDING 101

Before you meet the tenant, verify that your make-ready has not
overlooked any property defects such as a greasy stove, cracked win-
dows, soiled carpets, missing keys, broken locks, or unsafe (or dys-
functional) wiring, electrical boxes, or wall outlets. In my experience,
a flawless move-in sets the stage for a fl awless tenancy.

6. Retain top-fl ight tenants: Tenant turnover (typically) costs you money.

Even hotels prefer guests who stay a month to those who stay a couple
of nights. To retain your quality tenants, adhere to these guidelines:
• Keep tenants informed. When something out of the ordinary ( pest
spraying, construction noise, utilities shut-off, etc.) is about to hap-
pen, notify your tenants beforehand. Tenants rightfully get upset
when you unexpectedly disrupt their lives or invade their privacy.
• Plan preventive maintenance. Don’t wait for problems to arise and
then react. Breakdowns in the middle of the night add to your costs
of repair. They create ill-will among tenants ( “ That’s the third time
this winter the furnace blower has stopped working.”), and they
may generate repair costs and replacements that otherwise would
not have occurred (e.g., a broken step that results in injury and a
lawsuit; a water leak that causes wood rot).
• If you fail to care for your property, you can bet that your tenants will do
likewise. As your property deteriorates, your good tenants will leave.

To fill your vacancies, you will have to accept tenants of lower qual-
ity who (more than likely) see your property as a temporary stop-
ping point—not a home.
• Enforce house rules. Bad tenants drive out good tenants. If you
misjudge the quality of a tenant at move-in, remedy that error
immediately. Whether the problem(s) pertain to noise, pets, park-
ing, or careless handling of trash or garbage, do not permit any
tenant(s) to violate house rules. If you do, you’ll end up with an
apartment building full of rule-breakers.
7. Even perfect tenants must pay their rent on time, every time: Tenants who
do not pay today will rarely pay tomorrow. If your tenants need
financial assistance, refer them to a bank, their friends or relatives,

a social services agency, or maybe a charity. Listen to my voice of
experience: Forbearance foreordains problems.
If you wish to allow a nonpaying (or partial-paying) tenant to remain
in the unit, do so for reasons of compassion, not business judgment. If at
some point you must evict, adhere tightly to the lawful procedures of
your city and state. If you fail to follow the law of eviction in every detail,

a court may force you to refile and restart the legal process from the

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