As a rental property owner, you are likely aware that renter retention is essential for long-term success. Not only do high turnover rates increase costs, but they can also affect the stability of your investment property in various ways. For this reason, resident retention should be a main priority for landlords and rental property owners alike. It’s great to know that a few easy, proven strategies can make a big difference in keeping residents content and excited to renew their leases year after year. We’ve gathered some great tips for boosting resident retention and ensuring your properties stay profitable and thriving.
Build Trust Between Renters and Landlords
In the rental industry, a big part of what owners and landlords do revolves around building relationships with people. Good communication and a feeling of trust between a renter and their landlord are key to keeping long-term retention.
As a property owner, you can build a good relationship with your renters by keeping in touch regularly, maintaining open lines of communication, answering their requests promptly, and checking in with them from time to time. It’s important to find a balance, but staying responsive to your renter can really show that you care about their well-being and might encourage them to stay in their rental home longer.
Ensure the Property is Properly Maintained
Along with cultivating a positive relationship with your renters, staying on top of your property maintenance and repairs is equally essential. These two strategies work really well together, particularly when striving to improve retention rates.
Poor property upkeep is among the top reasons why renters leave, primarily if they have made maintenance requests that have been ignored. Apart from that, proactive maintenance can reduce costs by avoiding costly emergency repairs and showing your renter that you care about providing them with a well-kept property. This, in turn, may urge them to take good care of the property, which can also protect the value of your property.
Invest in Thorough Tenant Screening
Evidently, finding renters who will take good care of your property can be quite challenging. However, you can carefully screen your applicants before signing a lease. Screening renters important as it helps you find out if a potential renter is dependable, accountable, and a good fit for your property.
A good screening should give you a detailed look at your renter’s finances, credit history, and rental background and helping you spot any previous concerns. Just don’t forget to ask for and check their references, like former landlords, any criminal history in your state, any criminal history in your state, and any states where they’ve lived before.
Provide Incentives for Lease Renewal
A wonderful way to encourage lease renewals is to offer encouragements to your current residents. It’s a bit disappointing that some rental property owners take advantage of the lease renewal to raise their rental rate or add restrictions that leave their renter unhappy or unwilling to renew. While a rental rate increase might be necessary at times, it’s important that it remains fair and comes with a clear explanation of the value the tenant will receive in return.
For example, you might highlight recent property upgrades, like new appliances, better amenities, or enhanced security systems. It might be a nice idea to think about 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 gesture can go a long way toward making your resident feel valued and help build a sense of trust.
When to Call the Experts
These proven strategies can significantly improve resident retention, decrease turnover costs, boost property values, and foster more stable, long-term tenancies. For sure, managing a rental property and resident relationship can be quite difficult, especially when it requires time and effort that you might not have to spare.
At Real Property Management Valor Team, we are aware that managing rental property and resident relationships can be quite a challenge and takes time and effort that you might not have to spare. That’s why we’re here to lend a hand. Our team is ready to assist you in boosting resident retention in Cuyahoga Falls and areas nearby. Contact us online or call 440-534-6700.
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