Anyone can become a landlord. But not everyone knows how to find and keep quality tenants. To help increase your overall ROI, we have put together some ideas to help improve tenant retention!
In the simplest terms, the more turnovers you have, the more days your property will be vacant. The more days your property sits vacant, the less money you make. Using the tactics outlined below, you will be able to find high-quality tenants, who will rent from you for years to come!
What Do They Want to See Improved?
Find out what they want to have repaired or upgraded. What feature could you add to make them say “Wow! I love where I live!” You could start small, with some new landscaping out front or even be so bold as to add a hot tub in the backyard. Make them feel like they are living in a home with competitive upgrades and unique features they aren’t going to find anywhere else.
Conjure the Golden Rule
If the roles were reversed, how would you want to be treated? In all dealings, you should always remain polite and respectful. While you might technically own the property, it is also the place someone else calls home. If you need to visit the property, call in advance. If you need to schedule maintenance, make sure it is conducive to their schedule as well as yours.
Life Happens
If you have a wonderful tenant, who is never a day late on rent, treats the property as their own and who is all around the ideal person to have in your home, make sure you treat them as such. We have all been faced with adverse experiences. Layoffs, natural disaster, and unexpected life events can put a strain on finances. If rent is a few days late, consider waiving the late fee. Even offer a grace period until they have taken care of what they need to. However, don’t fall victim to the tenants who want to walk all over you. If there is a new excuse or dramatic event each month, be sure to stand your ground. Impose late fees and evict if necessary!
Get Personal
You will want to give your tenant the feeling as if they are in a permanent home, a place they can comfortably live forever! To make them feel this way, you will need to allow customization. Within reason of course. Let tenants paint, add shelving and choose fixtures as applicable. If the house needs a new fridge, allow them to choose between the white or stainless models. (As long as they are comparatively priced of course.)
Don’t Drag Your Feet Making Repairs
What may not seem like a big deal to you, can be seen like a huge deal to residents who are actually living in the home. A leaky faucet may not take priority on your to-do list. But to the person trying to sleep, while hearing “drip, drip, drip” from the bathroom, the repair can seem like life or death. Or in this case, sleep or no sleep. No matter what the repair is, aim to fix it as soon as humanly possible. Your tenant wants to know their needs are important. Don’t let problems go attended longer than you have to.
Ultimately, finding and retaining good tenants is the key to success when making money off of your rental property. By avoiding turnovers, you are eliminating expenses to list, show, repair and clean the home that come along each time a new tenant moves out. Keep that money in your pocket!