• Uncategorized ,
• 13 May

By Josh Kattenberg

Pets! The thought brings varied reactions from different people. Tenants think of their pet as part of their family. A pet is something to be loved, enjoyed, and cared for. Many cannot think of parting with a family pet with which they have shared numerous fond memories. As the property owner, though, you may have a far different reaction. Your main thoughts will focus on pet-induced property damage, such as urine, vomit, and feces in the carpet along with scratches and bite marks on doors, walls, and cabinets. In addition, you may worry about neighbor complaints regarding barking dogs, citations from the city because pet feces litter neighborhood lawns, or possibly ruined grass resulting from an animal’s digging or running patterns. How can an animal bring out such varied reactions in people? It is a simple matter of risk vs. reward.

When pets are allowed into a rental property, your risks most definitely increase. The question is, does the reward also increase? We must remember that, as with any investment, owning rental property contains risk. Without risk, there is no reward. So, the key is not to avoid risk, but to manage it. We do this frequently with insurance. Holding a fire insurance policy does not mean our house won’t burn down, but it does mean that if the house burns down, we will not be ruined financially. The same applies to renting to tenants with pets. All the precautions in the world will not keep tenants and pets from damaging a property, but the proper risk management will help pay for the damage if it occurs.

Even though there are risks associated with accepting pets, did you know that there is also risk in not accepting pets? After all, a large percentage of tenants own pets. If you the property owner is determined not to have pets in the property, you cut your property off from many otherwise qualified tenants. How does this affect you financially?