As a landlord, finding reliable and qualified renters is one of the most important aspects of property management. Your rental success depends on your ability to inspire your tenants to renew their leases and stay longer.
By taking excellent care of your renters, you can ensure that they stay in your property for a long term. Additionally, learning how to make renters happy is critical to inspire them to become long-term residents.
Also, not having long-term renters means having vacant rentals. This could result in extra costs such as maintenance costs, tenant screening-related fees, rental ads costs, and broker’s fees and commissions.
Our team of experts at Service Star Realty have put together this article to help you implement the tips necessary to retain long-term tenants, minimizing your overall vacancies. Consider these six tips to keep your tenants renting for a long time:
1. Conduct a Proper Tenant Screening
A well-executed tenant screening helps you ensure that reliable renters occupy your investment property, minimizing tenant turnovers and potential evictions. The meticulous process helps you select renters who care for your property and abide by the rules and regulations stated in the lease agreements.
The process of screening tenants involves detailed investigating of the rental history, credit history, and the income of a potential tenant. Additionally, conducting a criminal background check is also beneficial when selecting an ideal tenant.
If a prospective tenant has an excellent rental history, you can rely on receiving consistent rental fees that you can use to upgrade your rental space. Additionally, long-term employment is also vital as it indicates that the renter is likely to stay in that area for a longer period of time.
2. Interview Your Current Renters or Send Out a Survey
Finding out what your renters need and want to be improved on helps you elevate their rental experience. As a landlord, you can then make necessary adjustments and continue certain actions that the renters are giving positive feedback on.
By interviewing tenants, you can gain feedback on areas where updates can be made, helping you make informed decisions for your property. If your renters are more comfortable writing down their feedback, you can email an anonymous survey that helps renters be more transparent.
Another source of feedback you can take advantage of are exit interviews of renters who decided not to sign a lease renewal. You can gain more information on how to improve your processes and services, making it beneficial for the residents of your rental.
3. Nurture Positive Landlord-Tenant Relations
You can know more about your tenant’s needs and requests by nurturing a good landlord-tenant relationship with them. This can help you communicate better and make informed decisions about your property, helping you serve your tenants better.
You should try to limit disturbing your tenants without a motive. By sending out appropriate notices before inspections, you can ensure that the tenants do not feel their privacy being disrupted while staying legally compliant.
Additionally, you should strive to be an available landlord since renters need you to guide them, especially when a property emergency occurs. Provide your latest contact information and make sure to return calls as soon as you can and respond to messages.
You can also show your gratitude by sending renters little gifts during special occasions or notes of congratulations or well-wishes for different milestones. Little things like these make a difference to your tenants and nurture a positive landlord-tenant relationship.
4. Take Initiative in Property Maintenance
You should schedule regular property inspections to spot any potential issues around your rental. If there are problems or issues, coordinate with your network of vendors promptly. Staying on top of property maintenance solidifies the renters’ trust in you.
As a landlord, making your unit habitable is one of the most important aspects of property management. Consequently, your tenants are bound to perform their tenant duties as well when they see that you are properly taking care of the rental unit.
Additionally, you can allot a budget for maintenance, especially when it comes to handling damage revolving around normal wear and tear. You can also consider partnering with a property management company like Service Star Realty to streamline the property inspections and the maintenance process.
5. Take Time to Plan Property Renovations
Another way to attract more tenants and retain the previous ones is regularly upgrading your rental. By adding top-tier amenities, you not only ensure the retention of current renters but also increase your property value over time.
These property improvements need not be costly. You can perform simple tasks like a painting project that can help a rental unit appear newer or changing regular appliances with new ones with the change in technology.
6. Be Flexible with Rental Policies
As a landlord, you may receive different requests from renters such as changing the paint, property decors, or their want to accommodate pets. If you stay rigid, you may lose a high-quality renter. You should study your options and try to bend a little by granting requests while providing a list of restrictions.
For example, when allowing pets, you can ask if the pet owner must be willing to let their pets undergo pet screening. You can also allow the unit to be painted another color, provided the original shade is painted back when the tenant moves out.
Conclusion
By retaining tenants, you can ensure a successful rental business. By following and implementing the aspects mentioned above, you can foster long-term, positive relationships with your tenants.
Hiring a professional property manager like Service Star Realty can alleviate this burden. Our team of experts can help you make the most out of your rental by minimizing your vacancies and helping you retain more tenants.
Contact us today to learn more about our property management services!
Service Star Realty
2929 East Camelback Road #119, Phoenix, AZ 85016
(480) 426-9696
