HOW THE EDUCATED TENANT CAME TO BE
As a real estate broker specializing in residential leasing and property management for over twenty-five years, I have seen the good, bad, and ugly of landlord/tenant relationships.
While browsing the web one night, I was astonished to discover that as of 2023, there were over forty-five million rental units in the United States of America. It is safe to assume that there are as many or fewer landlords than tenants, so you can imagine my surprise when I learned how limited the resources for tenants were compared to those available for landlords. Everywhere I looked, even under specific topics for tenant resources, landlord resources popped up. Books, courses, organizations, webpages — all were geared towards landlords. Tenant resources were limited to a few checklists, a handful of location-specific organizations, and lots of ads for attorney representation.
With so many people renting, why was there such a lack of resources?
I have two theories about why that was the case:
- Theory One:
Tenants typically rent one property at a time, so their experiences and perspectives as tenants are limited. Conversely, landlords may have several properties and often deal with many tenants. This gives them many experiences to learn from which they share with each other over time.
- Theory Two:
Landlords are in the business for profit, whereas tenants are just trying to survive. A tenant focuses on paying the rent and saving to eventually purchase a home. When they finally become a homeowner, everything that they learned as a tenant is largely forgotten. “Tenant skills” are rarely passed on.
This brought me to the conclusion that landlords are not the only people who need help. Tenants are too!
“How can I help tenants?” I had to ask myself. I feel that the best way I can contribute is by sharing some of my experiences with you from the last twenty-five years. I will do so from the tenant’s perspective, covering everything from finding a new place to moving out and homeownership. Armed with this information, you will have all you need to help yourself and your family as you progress through the Tenant Cycle.
I hope that the book will be an invaluable tool for you and your family for generations to come.
With gratitude,
Joseph A. Cirillo