One of the best ways to increase both your cash flow and your long-term ROI as a Visalia rental property owner is by placing and retaining high quality tenants. Finding the right tenants is important. Even more important, however, is keeping those tenants. You want your good residents to renew their lease agreements year after year.
Not only is tenant retention good for your rental income, it’s also good for the condition and value of your property.
Vacancy is expensive. When you are constantly moving one tenant out and another tenant in, you’ll find yourself paying a number of expenses, including utility costs, maintenance, cleaning, and marketing. The best way to avoid vacancy is by keeping the tenants you currently have in place. Low turnover will usually indicate a great investment performance.
So, how can you motivate those good tenants to renew their lease agreement when the initial term has come to an end?
We have some ideas, based on our years of experience with Visalia rental management.
Communicating with Visalia Tenants
Tenant retention requires a strong tenant relationship and as you likely know, relationships depend on communication.
Make tenant communication a priority.
We share our expectations with tenants early, before the lease is even signed. When tenants understand their responsibilities and requirements, they’re more likely to succeed and less likely to shy away from asking questions or reporting concerns. This is an important part of developing and maintaining good tenant relationships.
If tenants understand what you expect from them, there’s less confusion and little conflict. They’ll renew their lease agreement because you’re easy to work with.
When tenants get in touch with us, we’re available and accessible. We’re even friendly. There’s a perception that the landlord/tenant relationship has to be adversarial, but that’s absolutely not true. You want to have a professional, positive relationship with your residents – especially if you’re working towards better retention.
At The Equity Group, we work well with our tenants because we communicate openly and transparently. We expect the same from them. It helps our tenant retention numbers and it creates a good rental experience for everyone.
Respond Right Away to Repairs and Maintenance
Get your repairs done quickly.
The fastest way to chase tenants out of your property is by ignoring maintenance requests.
Your tenants are your customers. They’re paying for a product. That product is a rental home. If they are displease with the product because things aren’t working and you refuse to fix them, they have no reason to stay in the property and renew the lease agreement. They won’t feel like they’re getting what they paid for.
Fix problems with a sense of urgency – even minor problems. When you are quick to respond to the needs and concerns of your tenants, the trust they put in you will grow. Just about every tenant has had at least one experience with a bad landlord. They know the importance of responsive property owners, and they’ll appreciate the speed with which you take care of repair issues.
Responding immediately to repairs isn’t only good for retaining your best tenants. It also protects the condition of your property.
When a tenant calls to report that their shower won’t turn off, this is a lot more than a nuisance complaint from a tenant. It’s a serious risk to your property. Water can do more damage to a rental home than anything else. That dripping shower can lead to a plumbing disaster which can lead to mold and extensive repairs.
Keep your tenants happy by getting a plumber out there right away.
Protect your property by getting a plumber out there right away.
Work With Tenants to Maintain Your Visalia Rental Property
Always work with your tenants, not against them. When your residents understand that you care about their comfort and the condition of your property, they’re going to help you maintain that home. They’re also going to enjoy living there, which means they’ll renew their lease.
Here’s an example. Visalia summers are extremely hot. It’s not unusual to have the temperature reach 110 degrees.
The air conditioning unit in your rental home, therefore, is going to work really hard all summer long. You can take preventative measures to ensure it’s working well and reliable. Have an HVAC technician inspect and service the heating and cooling unit annually. This will prevent those expensive and frustrating repair requests in the middle of summer. It will keep your tenant from complaining about the lack of air conditioning.
Bring your tenants into the process of maintaining good air quality. Remind them to change the air filters regularly. This will cut down on repair requests, keep their electric bills lower, and provide a more comfortable living environment. All of these things lead to tenant retention.
Preventative maintenance will provide better customer service and keep your rental home in good shape. This translates to less tenant turnover and more tenant retention.
Visalia Property Management and Tenant Retention
There are lots of excellent reasons to work with a Visalia property manager. One of those reasons is our excellent track record with tenants.
Your property manager will do a better job of retaining tenants than you can because we understand tenants and what they need. We work with hundreds of them every year. We also have excellent relationships with vendors and contractors, which means we can facilitate repairs faster. We can also negotiated discounted rates, which saves you money.
We also understand the rental market. If you want to retain your best Visalia tenants, you cannot raise the rents too much at renewal time. Every tenant expects that the rent will go up, and if you’re providing a great produce, you can comfortably raise those rents. Just don’t make unreasonable increases. That will chase away your good tenants. Property managers know this. We also know the market.
If you’d like some help with tenant retention or some advice on how to earn more with your Visalia rental property, we can help. Contact us at The Equity Group.
