Vacancies can be a significant drain on profits for Visalia rental property owners, and you want to avoid them and minimize them whenever you can. Turnovers are even more expensive. Not only do they result in lost rental income, but the costs of advertising, screening new tenants, and refurbishing the property can quickly add up. You could find yourself investing a full month’s rent just preparing the property for a new resident.
The best way to deal with turnovers and vacancies is to avoid them.
Focusing on tenant retention is a crucial strategy for maximizing profitability and creating a stable investment experience for you and your property. We believe that good tenant relationships, exceptional rental experiences, and reasonable renewal rates will keep your best tenants in place.
Here are some of our best strategies for retaining tenants.
Provide a Property Residents Want to Occupy
Most of the time, first impressions last throughout the entire tenancy and beyond. The curb appeal of your property plays a vital role in retaining long-term residents. A well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing property creates an inviting atmosphere for your residents and it also increases their satisfaction.
Pay attention to property conditions, even when your rental home is occupied. Make replacements when necessary. Instead of repairing the refrigerator three times in a year, buy a new one. Keep the paint fresh and the landscaping clean. You want your residents to feel comfortable and relaxed and not at all interested in looking for a new place to live.
Maintain Open Communication
When you want to establish a good relationship and remain responsive to your tenants and their needs, it’s important to remain available and accessible. Open and honest communication builds trust between landlords and tenants. Make sure your tenants know that you empathize with any complaints and hear what they’re saying when they reach out with concerns.
Sometimes, they just want to be heard.
You’ll retain tenants when they feel like you care about and value them. Regularly check in with your residents to ensure their satisfaction and to address any concerns promptly. This proactive approach can make tenants feel cared about and respected, which is a powerful incentive for them to renew their lease. When tenants feel heard and understood, they are less likely to seek out other rental options.
Make it easy to communicate. Be available by phone, text, and email. As Visalia property managers, we have the luxury of a tenant portal, where our residents can pay rent online, make immediate maintenance requests, and send us messages. It keeps our communication free-flowing, transparent, and well-documented.
Provide a Positive Rental Experience in Visalia
Make it difficult for tenants to move! The best thing you can do to keep good tenants is to provide a pleasant and stress-free rental experience. You can do this in a number of ways:
- Share expectations at move-in. Tenants will always feel like they’re having a good experience if you’re clear about what you need from them. They need to trust you and to understand their own responsibilities. So, let them know what they’re responsible for, and behave consistently and with fairness. Discuss the lease agreement in detail. Your tenant retention plan actually begins before they’re even your tenants.
- Check in once in a while. Tenants shouldn’t hear from you only when something’s wrong, like rent is late or the water needs to be shut off for repairs. Ask how they’re doing and if there’s anything they need.
- Provide thoughtful cards and gifts on birthdays and holidays.
- Share resources tenants may find helpful, such as local school information or new restaurant openings in the area.
It may be a good idea to conduct a routine survey a couple of times throughout the year to find out what’s going well for your tenants and what they wish to see improved. This will give you some ideas for how to keep those tenants renewing their lease agreements year after year.
Providing exceptional customer service is a critical factor in retaining your residents. You’re providing a home for your residents, and homes are pretty emotional. You want to make sure that if there’s a maintenance emergency, a problem with parking, or even a minor inconvenience, the situation is being handled right away with compassion and urgency.
Offer Incentives at Lease Renewal Time
Consider offering your tenants incentives for renewing their lease. This could include a free carpet cleaning, a reduced pet rent every month if their pet has proven their well-behaved, or upgrades to the property. Maybe a new microwave will convince them to stay, or the offer of fresh paint. These gestures show your appreciation for your tenants and can make them more likely
Offering incentives can be a persuasive tactic in encouraging tenants to renew their lease. You also want to be smart about your rental increase. Most tenants do expect that their rent will go up when the lease term is over and it’s time to renew. But, you want to make sure that the increase is market-driven. Take a look at what similar properties are renting for, and keep your new rental rate competitive.
Finding a new tenant is expensive. Turning the property over is expensive. You don’t want to chase good tenants away with a huge rental increase. Watch the market. Access reliable data. Price your next year’s rent at or even just below the market rents. Your tenants will know it’s more expensive to move, and they’ll stay where they are.
Ensure Timely Repairs and Maintenance
A well-maintained property is crucial to tenant satisfaction. Address repair requests promptly and conduct regular maintenance checks to fix any potential issues before they become problems. Investing in the upkeep of the property not only makes it more appealing to current tenants but can also enhance its value in the long run.
Slow or inadequate maintenance is the main reason cited by many residents when moving out of a property. Addressing maintenance issues promptly is essential to retaining your tenants. Ensure regular maintenance inspections are conducted, and address any requests or issues within 24 hours. By taking care of repairs and maintenance issues quickly, your residents will perceive you as caring and attentive.
It’s important that your tenants understand the process for reporting maintenance. Did you go over this before they moved in? You always want to discuss the lease. Give them the proper procedures so they know if they should call or send a written message.
Respect Tenant Privacy
Tenants appreciate your responsiveness, but they also want to be left alone. While it’s important to be responsive and available, it’s equally important to respect your tenants’ privacy. Always provide adequate notice before entering their home, and avoid unnecessary visits. Respecting boundaries can go a long way in building a positive landlord-tenant relationship.
Make Renting Easy: Accept Online Rental Payments
Making life easier is a great way to retain residents. They want to enjoy conveniences such as good internet services, easy parking, simple landscaping, and a property that’s well-maintained.
One way to provide the convenience they’re looking for and to ensure your rent comes in on time is by providing an online payment platform so your residents can easily and securely pay rent online. We have a whole tech-driven portal that our tenants use, and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a good idea to work with Visalia property managers.
While you might find that you don’t have access to the same technology and resources that property managers have, you can still figure out a way to collect digital rental payments. Download an online payment app or work with your mobile banking platform to arrange for money to be easily transferred from their account to yours.
Allow Pets in Your Visalia Rental
A lot of rental property owners don’t realize just how big a deal pets are.
Pet-friendly properties do a better job of retaining residents. It’s easy enough to figure out why. Not all rental homes allow pets. So, when a tenant with dogs or cats (or both) finds a home that allows their animals, they’re going to be less likely to leave it. They know it’s hard to find a pet-friendly property out there. Especially one that’s affordable.
Tenants with pets also don’t want to keep paying pet fees. If you collected a pet fee when your tenant moved in, you likely do not collect a new pet fee every year. If they move out of your home, they’ll have to pay a pet fee in a new home. Why waste the money?
We know that allowing pets comes with some risk and liability. But, when you have a strong pet policy in place, you can usually mitigate that damage that pets can potentially do. And, you get the peace of mind knowing that you’ve probably placed a long-term tenant who will renew their lease agreement when it’s time.
Effective tenant retention is not about a single action but a series of strategies aimed at enhancing tenant satisfaction and engagement. By maintaining open communication, ensuring timely repairs, and fostering a sense of trust, and providing conveniences and a willingness to allow pets, rental property owners can minimize vacancies and maximize profits.
Always remember that a happy tenant is a long-term tenant. Implementing these strategies can help you build a profitable and sustainable rental property business.
If you have any questions about tenant retention or the effectiveness of Visalia property management when it comes to retaining your residents, please contact us at The Equity Group. We’d love to tell you more.
