Today, we’re sharing some of the best safety tips that can help you protect your property and tenants. These might seem like basic, common sense things, but a lot of landlords don’t think about them when they rent out a home.

Lighting

Good lighting, whether it’s a house or a four-plex, is an excellent idea to increase safety. When your property has sufficient lights, people will be able to see what they’re doing. They can walk at night or come home late and not have to worry about approaching a dark house. At the minimum you should have a porch light turned on. Think about the side yard and the landscaping as well. Tenants will appreciate coming home to a neat, well-lit property.

Landscaping

Keep your landscaping maintained well. If you have too many large trees or bushes, it can be a problem for visibility. You want those things raised so you can see what’s on the property. You don’t want anyone hiding behind shrubs and bushes. Keep them trimmed and looking nice, and give the impression that things are in order at the property. When the lights are on, the yard is nicely landscaped and there’s no litter or trash strewn about, it makes an impression on people and also keeps your property safe.

Keys

Another thing we do at Stokley Properties is to re-key the property when we have people moving out. It doesn’t matter if they lived there for one year or a number of years; we don’t know how many keys were given out to friends and family members. Always get new locks and keys for the property. Your new tenants will feel much safer since they don’t know how many people carried a key to their front door before they moved in. Give them reasons to feel safer and more confident.

Finally, don’t give opportunities to unscrupulous people. Don’t leave a garage door opener on the front seat of your car. When you do that, you’re basically giving people the keys to your house. They can grab the opener and then when the door opens up, they can get into the house. This is avoidable, so keep it out of sight and in a place only you know.

For more safety tips, contact us at Stokley Properties and we can share additional ideas about how to keep your property protected.