Residents come and go, which is an integral part of renting. However, some landlords tend to experience a lower tenant turnover and rent out their properties much faster than the rest. Is there any secret to their success?
Every landlord wants to reduce the vacancy rate because no money is coming during the period when the home is empty. They resort to various means to attract new tenants quickly. We’ve investigated all of them and picked the most efficient tips on how to minimize tenant turnover!
Ask Your Tenants for the Regular Feedback
In order to find a solution to any kind of issues, you have to find out what the problem is. Seems obvious, doesn’t it? However, many landlords still neglect asking tenants if they’ve got any problems. If you are unaware of your residents’ major concerns as well as their small troubles, how will you build a profound communication with them? The landlords who have a prosperous business claim that asking the residents for the feedback is one of the most effective means to bring the service to the next level.
Find out what your tenants think about the property and your landlord skills. To learn the truth, you can send your current residents a brief survey and ask to rate your home. You don’t have to do it very often – twice a year will be quite enough. The tenants will appreciate your effort to get to know their opinion and your readiness to fix everything. Even if your residents decide to leave, feel free to ask them why they are moving out. It might help you not only to improve your business in the future, but also to make your tenants renew the agreement and stay for a longer period of time if you solve the issues they’ve mentioned.
Increase the Rent Carefully
Landlords are interested in getting as much as possible out of their properties, while tenants are looking for the most affordable prices. To reduce rental vacancy, you should do a thorough research before you actually start charging more for your real estate.
First of all, you have the right to increase the rent only by the end of the lease and notify your tenants beforehand, usually 90 days prior to the due date. Secondly, it is recommended to raise the prices no more than once in 2 years. The fact is, tenants might not get a salary raise that often, so they might leave for a cheaper home. Before you voice out the new price, answer these questions:
- How much do similar properties cost?
- Are there less expensive options than yours?
- Can the renters afford the price increase?
- How quickly will you be able to find the new residents?
- How much will it cost you to fill the vacancy?
- Can the price increase cover these costs?
The answers will help you see clearly if you’ve made the right decision to increase the rent. You’ll have more chances to keep the tenants if you prepare for this conversation in advance.
Let Only the Most Qualified Tenants In
Investing time into finding the right people for your properties is definitely worth the effort. If you pay enough attention to the selection process and choose only the most trustworthy candidates, it will help you significantly reduce turnover. You won’t simply have to spend that much time on filling the vacancies later because the risk of a sudden tenants’ departure will be minimized, as well as the odds that you’ll have to start the eviction process.
Remember, you should approve only the applicants who can boast of a good credit score and background history. It’s not enough for a long-term rental, though. Decide who you’d like to see in your home and stick to that choice. Whoever it is, a student, a young couple or a family with kids, make sure their personalities suit you, because you are going to communicate with your residents for quite a long period of time. To get more information about how to select the best tenants, read this article on interviewing the prospects.
Market Your Properties Well
To make finding great tenants simpler, indicate your specific requirements in your listing. Fill it out with thought and choose the right words to describe your property well, so that your prospects get a clear picture of what it’s like. They should also understand whether they fit at once. All of these pieces of advice will also help you avoid a tenant turnover in the long run.
Make Up for Property Weaknesses
In case your property becomes less desirable due to some factors, just try to make up for it with the help of some other advantages. Say, there might be the lack of urban convenience if your home is situated in a remote area. Explore the current trends and add some extra benefits to the listing, if the level of demand for suburban units has gone down. You can also include all of the utilities and trash pickup into the rent to attract the tenants quicker.
Consider updating your pet policy
There are 68% US households or about 85 million families that own a pet. It is a solid portion of the market that you are losing if you are not “pet-friendly”. Certainly letting the tenant stay with their pet has plenty of repercussions. It is potential noise, odors, and damaged furniture. However, you can shield yourself from potential loses by establishing an additional pet deposit or agreeing on fixed pet fee. At the end of the day, pet owners would choose their pet no matter how luxurious is the apartment. Therefore it would be wise to consider letting furry friends in.
Make your home “smart”
Technology is a pleasant bonus at any property. Millennials adore technologies and presenting them with fully equipped facility increase rental unit turnover. Throw into the bunch couple of the high-tech widgets. The smart home device allows tenants to control the usage of water and electricity, helps them to make a smart decision regarding their living arrangement and of course save money. Temperature controls that heat up the house before you come home, lights that switch on when you enter the room are great examples of what smart devices can offer. Even a small addition can create a positive image, and create the reputation of the advanced and modern landlord.
Offer More Than Your Tenants Expect
If you want to build a long-term relationship with your tenants, go the extra mile! Why don’t you just use the experience of the large companies who can boast of a good customer support? Follow their strategies to keep your renters satisfied, as long as you receive money from them. You can surprise them with a bottle of champagne for their birthday or a discount on rent for Christmas. Your special efforts will never be in vain because even if the tenants leave someday, they will recommend you as a great landlord ever after!
Ask Your Tenants to Recommend Their Friends
After you’ve found incredible tenants, signed a rental agreement with them and made sure they are really good people, ask them for referrals. They can recommend their friends who will take good care of your other properties and pay rent regularly, too. Not only will this tip help you reduce vacancy rates and find reliable tenants faster, but also strengthen the relationship with your current renters.
Be Flexible on a Slow Rental Market
Rentberry is out there to help you find great tenants as soon as possible thanks to its innovative service, which is called the rental auction! Your prospects will be able to make custom offers to you after they get
When it comes to the rental market it is important to trim the sails to the wind. New housing developments shatter the prices, urban economy fluctuates causing discrepancies in income. Therefore it is important to constantly evaluate the market and reconsider the initial price for rent you put out. The new approach to this issue is the rental auction used at Rentberry. Prospective candidates are able to make custom offers to you after they get acquainted with your listing and decide to apply for your home. They can increase or reduce the initial price you’ve set out on our website. In such a way you can assess the demand for the offered property and successfully bargain. Don’t always stick to your rent, especially if it’s too high. It is very important to be flexible in a slow rental market, so make balanced decisions! To reduce the vacancy rate, it is wise to sometimes accept lower prices for your properties, if you want to rent them out quicker! In case you don’t want to reduce the rent, you can also discount the security deposit.
Investing your time in attracting the quality residents is always worth the effort, as long as they are more predictable. Follow all of the pieces of advice, mentioned above, to minimize tenant turnover and make your business more stable and beneficial. Let only the right people in and enjoy a long-term relationship with the most trustworthy tenants who will take a good care of your properties for a long time!
Excellent article! You definitely need to be cautious when raising rents. You can send a good tenant looking for another home even in a hot market if you don’t get it right. The extra rent you might have received will be more than offset by a 2-4 week vacancy!