This is Part I of a III Part article series that will provide landlord tips for beginning, intermediate and advanced landlords.

Being a landlord is not an easy job, but there are many policies and procedures that you can put into place to make the landlord process more efficient. Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of landlords. Many of them are searching for ways to make their rental process more efficient.

Landlord Tips for the Beginning Landlord

Never Make Exceptions. Understand that if you make exceptions you will often be taken advantage of. I know this from experience – and I imagine you do as well. If other tenants hear about the exception you made for one rental unit, they will often ask for leniency themselves. Before making exceptions, please consider how those exceptions will affect your rental process.

Landlord Tips for the Intermediate Landlord

It Is Cheaper To Keep A Current Tenant. Landlords need to realize that it will always be cheaper to keep a current tenant than it will be to search for a new tenant. Make no mistake – get rid of bad tenants as soon as possible. But when a property is vacant you have the holding costs associated with the property, advertising costs, and repair costs. In addition, vacant properties put serious time constraints on landlords. So the bottom line is – do what you can to make a good tenant happy.

Landlord Tips for the Advanced Landlord

Have Your Lease Term End in the Spring or Summer. This is an important one that many landlords overlook. There are several reasons for having your leases end in the spring or summer (April, May, June or July).

First, with most people getting tax refunds during this time of year, it usually provides enough money for a security deposit or last month’s rent. Second, the weather is generally best this time of year. Third, kids are getting out of school for the summer. Let’s face it, most people would rather move when their kids are out of school so they do not have to put them in a new school mid-year.

As you can imagine, having a lease end in November or December is generally not a good idea. Besides the weather, few people are interested in moving during the holiday season.

If you are searching for landlord tips to improve your business, just realize that being a successful landlord takes a lot of hard work. Success rarely happens overnight and those who are able to achieve it develop a plan and execute on it.