Thoughts on Pets?

Category: General Advice

11 replies

Original post

Hi everyone, I'm Marc. New to the forum here, been lurking a while but first time posting so bear with me.

Curious where everyone lands on pets. I've gone back and forth for years. Pet rent, pet deposit, flat no, case by case. The no pet units sit empty longer but the pet damage I've eaten over the years hasn't been cheap either. What's actually working for you people and please be honest about the damage side.

Reply by Dallas Hileman

I like being pet friendly. People with and without pets can now qualify for my apartments which means the supply / demand works more in my favor. I charge a $300 non refundable pet fee at move in, and $75 per month (I'm in utah). 2nd pet is $50, 3rd and beyond is $25.

I think it's worth it if your apartments are older and smaller, with a lower standard of quality at move in, and less expensive to repair if damage was done.

If I had a newer A or B+ property I would not take the risk. All my properties are C or D class and very worth it. Adds about $15k per year in revenue for me. I maybe lose a couple thousand a year on extra repairs, but the tenants pay for damages from pets separately (when their depsoit has enough).

Reply by Josh Winders

Hey Marc,

This is a great question. As a pet owner/lover I feel like I automatically just think all pets are as well behaved as mine is. Clearly that is not the case, and also none of my tenants have pets at the moment. I'm interested to see what peoples thoughts are on this topic. Looking forward to the discussion.

- Josh

Reply by Christina Calderon

Somewhere between 75 and 90% of renters own pets. A flat no is going to limit your applicant population drastically. We decided on a larger pet deposit based on the actual cost of typical pet damage. For us, pet rent seemed unnecessarily punitive. We already have the deposit, and if no damage was caused, those funds should be returned to the tenant.

BUT we have a smaller portfolio, so may be different at scale.

Reply by Eli Morrow

The majority of renters own pets; it would be shortsighted to exclude them. By allowing pets at your rentals, you open the door for a wider pool of renters and higher revenue because of the pet deposit and fees that may go with it. I think the typical damage caused by pets(in my experience) isn't all too different than the regular wear and tear that a unit goes through.

I should say that my portfolio is much smaller, so I know all the pets that live in my units. I might feel reluctant about some larger pets like a 120+ pound dog.