Managing a rental comes with plenty of challenges. You'll have emergencies to address, the ups and downs of marketing your property, and sometimes complaints to handle. What can make all that easier, however, is if you have a great tenant already in that property.
Here is how to adapt your leasing management strategy to help you keep hold of the best tenants and persuade them to renew their rental contracts with you.
Be Prompt With Maintenance Issues
If tenants contact you with a problem, they want reassurance that you'll fix the issue quickly. Ensure you offer easy ways to contact you and return missed calls as soon as possible. Ideally, invest in leasing management software to help you keep track of things.
Offer timescales for maintenance fixes, and if you don't have timescales, give the tenant a time when you'll get back to them with an answer. It shows you are proactive and care about their issues.
Offer a Few Incentives
Effective property leasing means giving the best tenants a reason to stay.
Get to know your tenants, which will help you understand the types of incentives likely to appeal to them. Perhaps your tenant would like more flexible rules like keeping pets within your property. Or maybe they are keen on decorating the living areas. Sometimes, you can hold onto a tenant by offering them a budget to spend on some property upgrades.
Alternatively, you could provide a more appealing lease contract, such as a discount on the first month's rent when they renew.
Be Transparent
Building a strong relationship with your tenants makes it more likely they'll stay in your property for the long term. That begins with trust, and one way you can develop more trust is by being upfront and transparent about your lease.
Talk through potential sticking points like lease terms and tenant rules, but also be open to adapting them to your tenant's needs. When you start negotiating a lease, keep open lines of communication so that you can reach an agreement sooner.
Add Safety Features
A house feels like a home when it's safe and secure, and there are lots of small additions you can offer to improve the safety of your rental. You could add:
- An advanced alarm system
- Improved locks on doors and windows
- Fire safety features like fire blankets
- Surveillance cameras
- Ongoing safety checks on home electrics
Talk to your tenants about their safety concerns. They may have some worries you aren't aware of, but they are simple to address.
Research Rental Prices
It's worth doing brief market research to check that your property still offers competitive rental rates. Without that research, you could find yourself trying to win over a tenant who can find an identical property for less.
Leasing Management Strategies to Secure Great Tenants
When you have a fantastic tenant, it pays to keep hold of them. A few simple leasing management strategies will help with your negotiations when it's time for your tenant to renew the contract.
Crown Property Management is a family-owned business with a personal touch, which means your tenants get exceptional service from us. Find out how we can help with tenant management by visiting our services page.
