Believe it or not, it’s more costly to find new tenants than to retain current ones. As a landlord in Fort Walton Beach, you should focus on managing your rental properties and boosting tenant retention rates.
Landlords aren’t the only businesspeople who let customer retention slide. According to Invesp, 44% of companies and businesses focus on customer acquisition, while only 18% focus on retaining current customers. For landlords, these customers are your tenants.
Luckily, there are ten strategic ways you can boost your tenant retention rate so you can increase your ROI on your investment property.
Below, you’ll discover exactly what you should do to retain great tenants and avoid having constant vacancies.
1. Know the Market
Before you even start looking for tenants to retain, you should have a good understanding of the market. This involves conducting a quick market analysis to compare your properties with others in the area.
Through this analysis, you can price your rental unit competitively and attract the right types of tenants.
2. Carefully Screen Your Potential Tenants
You don’t want to rent your property to just anyone who’s interested in it. To ensure you’re choosing high-quality tenants in Fort Walton Beach, you should conduct a thorough screening of prospective tenants.
Screening potential tenants gives you a chance to get to know them and see what their background looks like. You can ask for credit scores, bank statements, references, and background checks.
When you lease your property to high-quality tenants, they are more likely to pay their rent on time and cause fewer problems. Therefore, they are probably the kind of tenants you would like to keep, which then boosts your tenant retention rate.
3. Make Paying Rent Easy
Creating an easy method or multiple methods to pay rent benefits both you and your tenant. Nobody likes doing extra work they don’t necessarily have to do.
Some of the easiest ways for tenants to pay rent are online, a mobile app, or a written check. In fact, 57% of renters say being able to pay rent online is essential to them.
You can determine which payment method is best for you and your tenants before they sign the lease agreement. When tenants have a convenient way to pay rent, they may be more likely to renew their lease with you.
4. Create a Good Landlord-Tenant Relationship
It’s time to think like a salesperson and nurture a relationship with your tenants. There are too many stories of bad landlord-tenant relationships that ended poorly. Don’t let yours become one of them!
Get to know your tenants and keep note of details about them. When you can recall little facts they’ve mentioned, your tenants will appreciate you paid attention and see you as someone who really cares as opposed to just being a money collector.
When you listen and have a good relationship with your tenants, it can boost tenant retention. Tenants who get along with their landlords are more likely to renew their leases because they don’t want to risk losing such a great landlord.
5. Allow Tenants to Make Reasonable Modifications
You don’t want to be too strict of a landlord that your tenants feel they live in someone else’s home. Tenants want to make their rental properties feel like their home, which may involve slight modifications.
If a tenant wants to hang a shelf or picture, change a ceiling fan, or switch out some curtain rods, allow them to do so. These minor modifications won’t necessarily damage the property. If the tenant pays for it, there is no harm done.
6. Maintain the Property
One of the most significant responsibilities of being a landlord is maintaining your rental property. To boost tenant retention, a well-maintained property is essential.
Be quick to answer maintenance requests from your tenants. Even if you or a specialist cannot come for a day or two, keep your tenants updated. If possible, remedy the situation as best you can to keep your tenants comfortable until there is a permanent solution.
7. Offer a Referral Program
Let your tenants know you appreciate them and trust their judgment by implementing a referral program. If they refer a friend or family member who leases another one of your properties, give them a discount on their next month’s rent.
This gives your tenants an incentive to help you find good tenants for your vacant properties. It also increases the likelihood you will get high-quality tenants if they are referrals. Chances are good that these referral tenants will also renew their leases if they enjoy their experience.
It’s one of the beautiful effects of having great landlord-tenant relationships!
8. Show Your Tenants Courtesy
Courtesy is a two-way street. You want your tenants to show you courtesy, so you should show them the same. Being courteous is as simple as sending a notification 24 hours before you enter the property.
You can go above and beyond and send reminders that rent is due soon. We’ve all had times where the end of the month creeps up on us a little too soon.
If there is an urgent message you must relay to your tenants, call them instead of emailing or texting. This type of courtesy can quickly boost your tenant retention rate.
9. Set Tiered Rent Prices
When your tenant’s lease is coming to an end, there is one way to encourage them to renew it. Instead of locking your tenant into a one-year lease with no other options, offer them tiered prices.
This allows your tenants to have some flexibility with the agreement and the price of rent. It looks a little something like this:
Option 1: Month-to-month lease agreement with increased rent price
Option 2: One-year lease agreement with the same or increased rent price
Option 3: Two-year lease agreement with decreased rent price
10. Hire a Property Management Company
The best way to boost tenant retention is to have professionals maintain your property and handle tenant acquisition for you. Hiring a property management company takes the stress and hassle out of having a rental property.
They will interact with your tenants on your behalf and they have experience managing tenant relationships. Therefore, tenants are more likely to renew their lease and stay in your unit.
All American Realty is the Go-To Property Management Company in Fort Walton Beach
Do you have a rental property in Fort Walton Beach and want to boost your tenant retention rate? Then you’ll want to talk to All American Realty about managing your property!
All American Realty’s experienced and professional staff makes it a whole lot easier to be a landlord and enables you to enjoy your passive income a whole lot more.
Contact us today to discuss how All American Realty can help you boost tenant retention and increase your ROI.
