As a rental property owner, you are conscious that renter retention is one of the secrets to long-term success. Not only do high turnover rates increase costs, but they can also disrupt the stability of your investment property in other ways. Therefore, resident retention should be a main priority for landlords and rental property owners alike. Fortunately, a few easy, time-tested strategies can go a long way toward keeping residents gratified and ready to renew their leases annually. Here are our ideal suggestions for boosting resident retention and ensuring your properties stay profitable and flourishing.
Build Trust Between Renters and Landlords
In the rental industry, so much of what owners and landlords do is about relationships with people. Long-term retention relies on communication and a sense of trust between a renter and their landlord.
As a property owner, you can build a good relationship with your renters by talking to them often (and positively), keeping open lines of communication, replying to their requests swiftly, and checking in with them periodically. While you are reluctant to go too far, staying responsive to your renter can help them feel like you care about their well–being and urge them to stay in their rental home longer.
Ensure the Property is Properly Maintained
Apart from cultivating a positive relationship with your renters, staying on top of your property maintenance and repairs is equally critical. These two tactics support one other, primarily when it comes to improving retention rates.
Insufficient property upkeep is one of the most common reasons why renters leave, especially if their maintenance requests have been neglected. Besides that, proactive maintenance can reduce costs by avoiding costly emergency repairs and signaling to your renter that you want them to live in a well-kept property. This, in turn, may inspire them to take good care of the property, which can also protect the value of your property.
Invest in Thorough Tenant Screening
Undeniably, finding renters who will take good care of your property is difficult to accomplish. However, you can comprehensively screen your applicants before signing a lease. Screening renters is vital because it may help you assess whether a possible renter is honest, accountable, and a good fit for your property.
A thorough background check ought to look into a detailed look at your renter’s finances, credit history, and rental history and alert you to any past issues. Just be sure to ask for and check their references, including previous landlords, any criminal history in your state, and any states where they’ve recently lived.
Provide Incentives for Lease Renewal
Rewards for your present resident are a fantastic way to encourage lease renewals. Unhappily, several rental property owners utilize the lease renewal to raise their rental rate or implement limitations that make their renter unhappy or unwilling to renew. Although a rental rate increase may not always be averted, it should be acceptable and coupled with an explanation of the value the tenant will receive in return.
For instance, you might highlight recent property upgrades, such as new appliances, expanded facilities, or enhanced security systems. You may also try giving your resident a small discount for renewing early, a free carpet cleaning, or even a minor unit upgrade, such as fresh paint or new fixtures. Even a small offering can go a long way toward making your resident feel valued and maintaining a sense of trust.
When to Call the Experts
These proven strategies can drastically improve resident retention, decrease turnover costs, improve property values, and produce more secure, long-term tenancies. Undeniably, managing a rental property and resident relationships can be hard, requiring valuable resources that you may not have.
At Real Property Management MetroWest-Worcester, we acknowledge that managing rental property and resident relationships can be difficult and time-consuming. This is why we’re here to assist. Our staff is prepared to assist you in boosting resident retention in Marlborough and its vicinity. Contact us online or call 508-329-6000.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
