6 Best Ways of Retaining a Tenant
As a landlord, you want to maximize your rental income through various methods. One of the best ways is to attract quality renters that not only pay rent on time but also take care of your property and stay for a long term.
Onboarding outstanding renters leads to a consistent income source and earning back your property’s ROI quickly. What’s more, you can set aside a budget to renovate your rental property and gain an edge over your competitors and increase your property value.
It is crucial to seek renters who pay on time and take care of your unit well, so when they sign a lease agreement with you, find ways to make them happy. Not having long term renters can lead to vacant rentals.
Vacancies can further lead to costs such as paying for new rental ads, budgeting for maintenance fees to ensure a rent-ready property and paying for fees associated with tenant screening assessments.
Our team of experts at TrueNest Property Management have written this article to help you learn the ways you can retain tenants so that you do not end up with extra costs and minimize your overall vacancies.
Effective Tips to Transform Tenants Into Long-Term Residents
1. Perform an Extensive Screening
One of the most important aspects of property management is tenant screening. The process may seem time-consuming but evaluating a tenant’s rental history is worth the effort since it can unearth potential issues you can avoid early on.
Good renters have no records of evictions and can be trusted to pay the rental dues on time. You should also look into a tenant’s job status as it determines their stay in the area for a long time. Avoid lowering your criteria to accommodate renters to prevent dealing with future problems.
By this process of extensive screening, you can ensure that you end up with quality renters that stay for a long term and also take care of your property.
2. Gather Information From the Renters to Improve Your Rental
Asking for feedback from your tenants is the quickest way to ensure the satisfaction of your renters. You should ask them to share their tenancy experiences so you can figure out ways to serve them better and make them happy.
You can arrange an in-person discussion or you can prepare an anonymous survey to obtain honest answers from the residents as some are more comfortable writing down comments than setting up a meeting.
As a landlord, you want your renters to stay longer to ensure a stable income. Having this information is vital so you know the needs of your renters and can plan to accommodate them by adding more features and updating your amenities.
Renters who do not renew the lease or end it early can also provide you with more information through an exit interview. You can ask them the following key questions:
● why are they leaving?
● what kind of rental unit are they transferring to?
● what incentives are they seeking to renew the lease?
These answers help you make informed adjustments to your rental procedures and policies to retain your renters for the long term.
3. Cultivate Friendly Relations With the Renters
There’s a fine line between caring for your renters and being obtrusive. As a landlord, you must know the difference and respect your tenants’ privacy. Some tenants may not have issues sharing their day-to-day lives while others may prefer to be left to their solitude.
Allow your renters quiet enjoyment while staying in your rental property. This leads to a respectful landlord-tenant relationship. You should avoid being nosy over the private affairs of your tenants.
In addition, you can send notes of appreciation during special occasions to your renters to show your appreciation. A great practice aside from this is to be a responsive landlord and answer the calls or reply to the messages of your renters on time especially during emergencies.
4. Prioritize Property Maintenance in Your To-Do List
As a landlord, it is crucial for you to perform regular property maintenance and scheduling repairs right away once property damage is uncovered. Renters often leave when a rental unit shows disrepair and a landlord ignores reported maintenance requests.
Set aside a maintenance budget to fix damage caused by normal wear and tear. You should treat the problems early-on so they won’t become full-blown problems later on. If you need help with this, you can also hire a property management company like TrueNest Property Management to oversee your rental and provide daily maintenance.
By engaging our services, you can access a solid network of vendors and well-vetted contractors our property managers have established for a long time.
5. Plan to Renovate Your Rental Unit
While upgrading your rental property equates to spending, the added value you offer from a renovated unit can attract more tenants and increase your income through an increased rental fee. It also helps your old renters decide to renew the lease contract.
Upgrading your unit does not have to be a costly endeavor. You can start by adding a new layer of paint, replacing the lights, or adding new hardware to the cabinets. There are affordable ways to update your rental and improve the living space of your tenants.
6. Allow a Flexible Rental Policy Approach
As a landlord, you should practice flexibility. For instance, you can allow renters to have pets as long as restrictions are observed. It also leads to additional income since most would be open to paying pet rent for this privilege.
Bottomline
For a successful rental business, it is crucial to retain tenants for a long time. To do so, you only need to nurture an environment of open communication and pay strong attention to property maintenance to keep your renters loyal.
If you’re seeking a committed property manager to handle property maintenance and take care of your renters, contact TrueNest Property Management today! Our team of experts can help you streamline the property management process for you, helping you make the most out of your rental property.