Finding a good tenant is a difficult task. It involves advertising vacancies, keeping competitive rental rates, and conducting background checks. Choosing good tenants will result in them staying longer. Finding new tenants can be costly if you have vacant units.
Screening tenants thoroughly can save you the headaches of accepting bad tenants who don’t pay on time, don’t pay at all, or cause all sorts of problems. Your responsibility is still to honor mortgage payments, repair bills, and property taxes if your tenants need to pay rent. Tenant retention is crucial, so finding and keeping good tenants is important to landlords. What is the best way to do this? Read on for some tips on finding and keeping quality tenants.
Rent at a competitive rate
The area’s property values and rental rates need to be understood. After researching other comparable rental units, setting competitive rates for your residential properties will be easier. Sharp rent increases won’t appeal to tenants looking for good deals.
Is your rental agreement about to expire? Do you have good tenants? Keeping rent at the same level or bumping up rent by a nominal amount may encourage them to renew their leases. On the other hand, consider a rent cut only if you have good tenants with worsened financial situations. Replacing them might be better than keeping them around at a slightly lower rent.
Keep the property in good condition
Maintaining and repairing your property should be a priority. The grounds of a rental property should be well maintained, and the rental units should be in good repair. After their leases expire, they’ll look for rental units that meet their needs. Property management companies can handle the day-to-day management of your property if you’re too busy to do so yourself. You won’t need to worry about anything when you find the right service provider. First, you must decide which functions you want to outsource and which you prefer to handle yourself.
Communication should be a priority
Keep lines of communication open with your tenants. Consider rolling out the red carpet sooner rather than later when a tenant’s lease ends. Make customer service a priority in your business plan. When tenants contact you and share concerns, you should be responsive. Keep a professional attitude, be friendly, and be courteous.
Property managers can be tenants’ go-to sources since they can be the point of contact. Being on call might be challenging when you have a lot going on. A property manager handling your tenants’ customer service will ensure their needs are met. It does not mean you have to be an absentee landlord. If your tenants have problems or need help, they will receive faster service.
Renew leases promptly
Don’t put off renewing leases until the last minute. To get good tenants to renew their leases, you might follow up three months before they expire. Encourage renewals sooner rather than later by offering incentives. Having quality rentals, charging fair rents, and offering incentives for renewal will increase your chances of retaining good tenants. As a result, you’ll have fewer empty units that don’t bring in any income.
Regularly check-in
Checking in regularly is also a good idea. If there is anything you can do to facilitate tenants’ lives, ask how things are going and encourage them to reach out if there are any issues they might have. Sending out occasional surveys is one way to solicit feedback. Contact them via email, text, or mail if they prefer. As a result, tenants will feel valued and appreciated. Show concern for tenants’ well-being before their leases are almost up. You’ll find that more tenants are willing to stay if you check in with them regularly, get their feedback, and act on their suggestions.
Hire a property management firm
Ensure good tenant retention by hiring a property management company
Property managers are excellent at finding and retaining tenants. Sound Point Property Management strives to provide quality property management services to customers in the greater Seattle area. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about property management. If you need help, we’re here for you.
