Being a landlord is a lot of work. Search for new tenants. Paperwork. Solving issues related to apartments and much more. But that’s what it means to be a landlord. You provide housing for people. You must do this for them to give them the best possible experience of living there. However, how do you, as a landlord, increase the length of your stay?
Below are a few tips that you can use to keep tenants.
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Take care of property
Retaining tenants by maintaining order in the premises
If you really want to keep tenants, you need to have good real estate. It doesn’t have to be a five-star hotel, but it does need to be in great shape. How else are you going to get people to stay there for a long period of time? When a tenant asks you to fix something, do it right now. When someone leaves, clean the apartment immediately.
A clean and happy apartment leads to happy tenants. This then leads to tenants that you can keep because you take good care of them.
Be fast with ads
There are other competitors as well. Be fast!
As a landlord, you should expect tenants to keep leaving. Departure is the most common occurrence. When this happens, post a notice that the apartment is available. Spreading the word quickly is always good, as it lets people know the apartment is available.
Before calling, make sure the apartment is clean and tidy so tenants don’t have to worry about anything. While it may not be tenant retention, you are at least getting someone into the apartment, which results in your income.
Have respect for tenants
Maintaining relationships is good for retaining tenants.
No matter how long a tenant lives with you, you must be polite and respectful. Remember that they do not have to live with you, and they can do their business elsewhere. But how to respect the tenants?
Understand that there are boundaries and codes of ethics that must be followed. This is necessary to maintain good relations with tenants. Keeping a tenant means building that relationship on loyalty, respect, and honesty. Using these traits tells tenants that you care about them. This can lead to your tenants leaving good reviews about the apartments. Also, don’t enter their apartments as if you own the place. Well, you can, but you can’t enter other people’s living quarters without being invited.
Take care of your tenants
Know that they are only human, just like you.
Being a good landlord who keeps tenants means you understand them. Everyone goes through life differently, everyone has their ups and downs. When this happens, it means you need to step in and show courtesy and respect for what’s going on in their lives.
For example, if someone just lost their job and the rent is due in a few days, find a way to help them. Cut your rent in half or even get rid of this month’s rent if possible. The tenant will be very grateful and they know you are doing this because they want to be of service.
Life gets in the way, sometimes at the worst of times. Just be respectful of your tenants and solve problems to help them. But this is a relationship built on trust. So, if someone keeps missing payments or other issues, fix it.
Offer Incentives
Think outside the box.
In cities across the country and around the world, tenants are constantly moving in and out. On campuses there will always be an influx of students leaving before and after semesters or holidays.
When such an influx occurs, you want to attract these students as quickly as possible. To extend your tenure as a landlord, offer them free rent for the first month. Or, for your tenants that you’ve kept for a while, raise their prices just a tiny bit (say 1-3%) and then give them a utility upgrade.
It should be win-win for everyone involved. Think of ideas you can use to attract more tenants to your apartments and also generate your own income.
