February 4, 2021 | from the professional blog of PURE Property Management
Pets, Should I or Shouldn’t I?
That is the question investors have been asking themselves for years: should I allow a pet or should I not. It is not an easy question to answer. It first starts with your long-term goals and use of the property. Will you be moving back into the property in the future? If so, do you have allergies or reactions to pet orders and dander? If you do or a family member does, you then most likely will not want to have a pet at the property. Is the property purely an investment looking for long term gains? Then, yes, you will want to allow pets to maximize your income potential.
Just a few quick facts: over 65% of all households have a pet of some type. Thus, not allowing a pet will reduce your potential market by nearly 70%. But wait, we are in California where we have service animals, companion animals, support animals, friendship animals and the list goes on, with all these pets and tenants protected by California law. You may be asking yourself, “How do I know if I am required to accept the pet?”. That is where we step in. We understand the Fair Housing Laws and the laws concerning pets. Plus, we have specific steps that the potential tenant must take to verify the status of the animal. Several of them are listed below:
- The Pet must go through pet screening at www.petcreening.com
- If the tenant claims the animal is an assistance animal, there are specific qualifications obtained for verification through the above service
- We require photos of the pet
- We require all the vaccination records for the pet
- We require renter’s insurance with insurance on the pet
- We require spay or neutered information on the pet
- When allowable, an additional Security Deposit (not a Pet Deposit).
Now it does not matter how the damage was caused. We have funds for the repairs. Plus:
- Pet Rent of $25.00 a month per pet
- Two annual inspections of the property per year, both at the tenant’s expense.
With all of this in place, you can have peace of mind in the long run.
If you are looking to rent your property faster and keep it rented longer, allowing pets makes good business sense.
©PURE Property Management 2021
