Owning a property is a great way to earn additional income. If you own a rental, the major source of your income is generated by your tenants. As a landlord, your goal is therefore to retain quality tenants. So it’s crucial to provide outstanding services and attractive accommodation to your tenants to keep them happy and encourage them to stay long-term.
If you want to learn more about keeping tenants happy, keep on reading!
Screen Your Tenants
The very first step is to ensure that you land good tenants. Avoid making the mistake of failing to perform a tenant screening. Dealing with bad tenants can cause a lot of stress and end up costing you money, so it’s vital to screen your tenants carefully before you let them sign a lease.
To avoid any issues with tenants, you should look for the following qualities:
- Financial capability to pay their rent on time
- Regular and stable source of income
- Good credit standing
- Ability to take care of the property like it’s their own home
- Good rental history
- Clean criminal records
- Ability to stay in compliance with the rules and regulations of the lease
- Know their responsibilities as tenants and abide by them
Finding highly qualified tenants is not easy. That is why when you find one, make sure to do everything you can to encourage them to stay longer.
But why would you want to keep your renters for the long term? There are several benefits for keeping your good tenants happy, including:
- Reduced Turnover Rate: In general, landlords do not want a high turnover rate. Every time tenants end their leases, the property will become vacant and will stop generating income. What’s more, you’ll still be incurring property maintenance and marketing costs.
- Consistent Rental Income: If you retain your good tenants, you will enjoy receiving consistent rental income.
- Less Worry About Finding a New Tenant: Every time a property gets vacated, you have to prepare it to be re-rented. You will have to go through the same process of finding and screening tenants again.
7 Ways to Keep Your Renters Satisfied
Here are a few effective ways to keep your renters happy:
1. Make Yourself Easily Reachable
One of the things that tenants appreciate is being able to get in touch with their landlords easily. It’s recommended to provide tenants with your contact information and alternative ways to reach you. Inform tenants of the best times and ways to contact you, and make sure to answer their calls or reply to their messages promptly, especially if their concerns are urgent.
2. Attend to Repair Requests Immediately
As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to provide a habitable dwelling for your tenants. This means that any repair and maintenance issues should be addressed as quickly as possible. This can be sometimes needing to pick up the phone or reply to text messages beyond business hours to address emergency issues.
Make sure to have a general maintenance plan and team in place and have a procedure for emergencies as well.
3. Perform Regular Inspections
To prevent issues from getting more serious, regular property inspections are necessary. Through performing routine maintenance checks, you’ll be able to find problems immediately and provide resolutions early on. With regular inspections, you will also notice wear and tear issues so you can get them fixed, thus maintaining the upkeep and condition of your rental property.
4. Provide Amenities That Tenants Need
You can provide a little extra value for your tenants by knowing which amenities they need. For example, if your tenants are working from home, you can provide them with high-speed internet access. If your tenants love to cook, make sure that your kitchen amenities are in good working condition and consider upgrading them if they’re outdated.
Providing the necessary amenities based on your tenants’ preferences will entice them to stay longer because your property will feel more like their dream home.
5. Encourage Tenants to Renew Their Leases
Before the lease term ends, be proactive in asking tenants to renew their lease. It’s recommended to reach out to them at least 90 days before their lease term ends. Tell them that you are interested in renewing their lease and encourage them to stay longer.
In the event that they would prefer to move out at the end of the lease period, this will allow you to start preparing your for marketing which will help reduce vacancy periods.
6. Be Kind in Enforcing Rules
At the beginning of the tenancy, it’s important to discuss the rules and regulations with your tenants even before they sign the lease. For example, if you have a no-pet policy, make sure that the tenants understand this and that they agree to it.
When enforcing rules, always practice kindness. In case tenants violate something, try to talk with them first before taking any legal action, especially if you know that the tenants would not intentionally violate the terms of the lease.
7. Be a Good and Fair Landlord
As a landlord, it’s crucial that you follow all the rules and perform your duties proactively. For example, during property inspections, make sure to provide the right notice to your tenants before you show up at their doorstep.
If you need to increase your rent, make sure to inform tenants well in advance and avoid over-charging. Also, be familiar with the Fair Housing Act in your state.
Bottom Line
Keeping tenants happy can be challenging. You have to be available most of the time to ensure that their concerns are addressed. If you don’t want to answer emergency calls in the middle of the night or visit the property regularly for inspections, then consider working with a professional property manager.
The team at Keyrenter Property Management Hampton Roads is experienced in managing tenants and provides full-service property management solutions. Contact us today to learn more!