Use These Tenant Retention Strategies to Minimize Vacancies

Landlords who use tenant retention strategies will minimize vacancies and increase profits. Do you have a tenant retention plan in place for your North Carolina rental properties? Use the following tips for retaining tenants in your rental homes and keeping vacancies to a minimum.

Start with High-Quality Tenants

If you are going to implement a tenant retention strategy, you want your long-term tenants to be high-quality tenants. Landlords can attract high-quality tenants with a combination of the right marketing strategy, competitive rental pricing and a well-maintained rental property. Landlords should also have a thorough tenant screening process to help identify ideal tenants.

Maintaining a High-Quality Rental Property

Tenants want to live in a rental home that is well-maintained and has properly-functioning systems. Landlords who have a maintenance plan in place along with a repair team made up of top-notch, professional service providers will have a better chance to retain tenants. This is not only a smart tenant retention strategy, but also a smart way to protect your investment properties.

Retain Tenants with Communication and Prompt Responses

Clear communication with tenants is an important aspect of any tenant retention plan. Put a plan in place to make it easy for tenants to report any issues they may be having with your rental properties. Also, when there is a problem with a leaky toilet, non-functioning air conditioner or other vital system, be sure to have a procedure in place to help you respond promptly and make repairs as soon as possible.

Convenient Payment Options Helps Tenant Retention

In today’s always-connected environment, tenants not only want, but expect, convenience in all facets of their life. While some of your tenants may not mind putting a check in the mail, others may want to pay rent online, using their smartphone. Offering tenants convenient payment options is a great tool to help retain tenants and minimize vacancies. Online payment options also help to decrease late rent payments.

Create a Tenant Survey About Rental Experience

Another tenant retention strategy that will help minimize vacancies is to create a tenant survey. Use the survey to ask tenants questions about their rental experience regarding issues such as parking, noise, maintenance and service. After reviewing the survey results, find areas of improvement and be sure to follow up by addressing these issues.

Allow Tenants to Personalize the Property

If you help your tenants feel like they are living in a home and not just a rental property, then they are more likely to want to continue renting from you. They are also more likely to take care of your property. Allowing reasonable changes to the rental property, such as planting a garden, painting a few rooms and adding a temporary storage shed to back yard, will allow the tenant to become invested in the rental experience.

Putting these tenant retention tips into practice is a good way to increase renewals and minimize vacancies in your North Carolina rental homes. If you choose to hire a North Carolina property management company to manage your rental properties, ask about the company’s tenant retention strategies. Are you a landlord with rental homes in Durham, Raleigh or Chapel Hill? Contact us to learn more about Red Door Company’s property management services.