We've had our basement tenant for 20 years. We raise the rent periodically but it's still maybe 20 percent below market. But it's worth it because they make few demands, are very helpful neighbors. Even financially, it's not that much less income than having the place sit empty for a month or two every few years when you look for a new tenant. And I know neighbors who lost 4-5 months rent when their tenant stopped paying and it took a while to get them evicted.

Like signing a 5 year lease with someone? Never doing a price increase? What if taxes or expenses increase? What if they're a bad tenant? What if you lose your job and need to sell?

Anonymous wrote:Never thought anyone would ask this question. I was a landlord once. I never raised the rent on my tenants.I raised the rent a little when they moved out.
Looking for long term rental myself in 20007/20016 and have no luck. My landlord raised rent $250 last year 1-bedroom and $200 this year.
While I do have the money, these raises took away my feeling of safety.

I get it. We have great tenants who want to renew, and we didn't raise the rent on them for this reason -- we want to build goodwill.

We are new landlords -- we rented out a house in FCC a year ago. Our tenants just told us they want to renew and we are happy with that; they have paid on time every month and are very reasonable about repairs. My DH can handle most repairs so when something happens, he has seen the house and they take great care of it. We are not raising the rent; we could have but an extra $50 a month isn't that important to us and we would rather build good will. If they renew again, we will raise it, but not until then.

Tenant turnover costs money -- if you have good tenants in there, turnover is to be avoided.

I like it. However, they become like squatters after awhile.

My case I own a beach condo by beach. I used to have a winter tenant and did 2-3 weeks in summer rentals and used it on weekends in summer when not rented.

I moved out of state. Was easier to get a year round tenant. However, they have been there 7 years since newlyweds, they had a kid, their kid is not enrolled in Kindergarten this year. I have not been to unit in 7 years. Too much of a pain.

But I retire in a few years. Then I am left with choice of keeping them and not having a beach condo, or kicking them out and feeling terrible.

We went through a few years of renting and had to constantly move because of the rent increases without fail every year. This was after renting from a guy who made our life easy and we made his life easy, and he never raised the rent. We stayed 5 years until he wanted to move back in.

I have another friend who rented for 20 years in the same place. Very modest increases every so often. They'd still be there, but the landlord passed and the kids who inherited wanted to renovate and sell.

Good tenants are worth receiving below market rent, every single time. If you can keep them while maintaining the property, you are very lucky and in a great place.
Conversely bad tenants can ruin your small business, quickly. Even if they pay rent, damage to the property can wipe out all marginal profits and put you in the red for a long time. Select wisely.

Never thought anyone would ask this question. I was a landlord once. I never raised the rent on my tenants.I raised the rent a little when they moved out.
Looking for long term rental myself in 20007/20016 and have no luck. My landlord raised rent $250 last year 1-bedroom and $200 this year.
While I do have the money, these raises took away my feeling of safety.

Anonymous wrote:I have the same tenants from 2009. I don’t do inspections although the lease indicates I can do one every 6 months. I just have my service guys snap a photo or video and report to me. Or just give me the 411.

I don’t raise rent often because an extra $50 or so isn’t worth the headache of finding new tenants.

Same. I have dream tenants and I haven’t raised the rent in 4 years because of it.

You are lucky to have long term good tenants .

I have a long term tenant of 11 years. I haven’t raised their rent in years because they keep the house immaculate, handle almost all repairs, if they can’t handle the repairs themselves they make themselves available to be home for service providers to come, they’ve had the place painted once and updated several light fixtures (with my permission), and the house is kept in turn-key condition. I value them enough to want to keep them, and they save me money by essentially managing my rental for me.

I have the same tenants from 2009. I don’t do inspections although the lease indicates I can do one every 6 months. I just have my service guys snap a photo or video and report to me. Or just give me the 411.

I don’t raise rent often because an extra $50 or so isn’t worth the headache of finding new tenants.

As long as they are paying rent on time and not trashing your place, it really is ideal and will save you a lot of turnover fees. Two pieces of advice:

1. Inspect the property at least annually for any signs of hidden damage (ie leaking pipes, water intrusion, mold, etc.)

2. Ensure you raise rents periodically to follow the market. You don’t have to charge 100% of market rent but don’t not raise the rent for 5 years. Your costs are likely increasing and if a tenant stays for a very long time you are losing income. Remember, you run a business, not a charity.

No. That’s always preferable.

Any disadvantages in keeping same tenant for 5+ years?