Train your tenants to be great tenants. Great tenants are hard to find so it’s up to you to make sure tenants know the rules and consequences. No matter how small a rule is, include it somewhere in the lease. When your tenant breaks a rule, enact punishment, which should also be listed in the lease. For example, if you have a no smoking policy and you discover smokers in the home, require fines to be paid within 7 days, followed by eviction if they don’t stop and clean up. And make sure YOU follow through.
