When we’re talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, things are certainly better when it comes to numbers and available vaccines. That’s good news. Things are still a bit uncertain, with new variants threatening some parts of the country, and most of us are still hoping to move forward towards a living and working environment that somehow resembles the normalcy we remember.
Generally, it’s business as usual in the Woodstock rental market. We have run into those tenants who are still trying to take advantage of the eviction moratorium, but we can evict again in Georgia, and it’s for all the same reasons we always evicted - especially nonpayment of rent.
We recognize that there is still a struggling population of tenants who cannot bounce back as quickly, and that may require continued work and communication on the part of landlords and Woodstock property managers.
Here’s what you need to know about where things stand and how things look.
Evictions and Rental Payments
While it’s possible to file for eviction, the process is taking a bit longer than it has in the past. There’s a backlog of evictions that need to be processed from 2020, so new evictions are going to be at the end of that line. The sheriff’s department is facing delays and instead of taking two weeks to get your eviction filed and processed, you’re going to have to wait four weeks or more.
While tenants still have some resources they can access to avoid eviction, we’re trying to encourage tenants to look for resources that will help them catch up with rent instead. Most of the evictions we have had to pursue have been successful, and that’s often because tenants don’t respond to the eviction Summons and Complaint.
This means you have to act quickly when rent is unpaid. Tenants who have not paid rent should be served with an eviction notice as soon as possible. Even if they catch up with rent or come to a payment agreement with you, you’ll want to make sure the process has started. You can call it off when you have collected rent and it looks like you no longer need to evict.
Reconsidering Landlord and Tenant Relationships
One of the impacts the pandemic has had is on landlord and tenant relationships. For some, things have only grown more adversarial as tenants refused to pay rent and landlords grew more and more frustrated. However for a lot of landlord and tenant relationships, communication has improved and transparency has increased. Working well together during a crisis is a great way to increase tenant retention. Good relationships with your residents are more important than ever.
Lower Vacancy and Higher Demand in the Woodstock Rental Market
In Woodstock, rents are climbing higher and more tenants than ever are looking for rental homes.
This is good news, especially since property owners are free to continue raising rent in Woodstock and the surrounding areas. The demand for good rental homes is outpacing the supply of what’s available, which is putting landlords in a great position when they have a desirable, well-maintained home in a good neighborhood to rent.
We’d love to tell you more about what to expect the rest of this year in the Woodstock rental market and how the pandemic may still impact what’s to come. Please contact us at Clients 1st Property Management.