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4 Tenant Retention Ideas To Avoid Losing Good Tenants

Finding and keeping good tenants is a crucial part of owning rental properties. However, they don’t always come easy. Additionally, it may take some effort from you and your property management team to keep them. Read along as we go over some tenant retention ideas and how to maintain good tenants in your rental properties.

Why Are Good Tenants So Important?

With top-notch tenants in your rental property and Maryland’s best property management company to do most of the work, you can enjoy sitting back, relaxing, and watching the rental income roll in. However, that doesn’t mean you can eliminate the thought of vacant rental properties in the back of your mind. After all, high turnover rates and long rental property vacancies can cost you a lot of money.

why-are-good-tenants-important

Each tenant turnover that you experience comes with expenses related to advertising your now vacant property. Some costs include cleaning and repairing the property, tenant screening, and any utilities you pay to have between tenants.

Keeping high-quality tenants in your rental properties is crucial. After all, they can provide consistent monthly income and peace of mind that your rental is well taken care of. That’s why today we will share some simple tenant retention ideas to avoid losing your good tenants.

4 Tenant Retention Ideas to Prevent Losing High-Quality Tenants

In the past, we have given you some excellent tips for lowering turnover rates and improving profitability on your rental property.

Let’s continue exploring some tenant retention ideas so you can hang onto good tenants as long as possible.

  1. Maintain a Friendly Relationship
  2. Don’t Violate Your Tenant’s Privacy
  3. Be Proactive When it Comes to Lease Renewals
  4. Offer a Longer Lease Term

Maintain a Friendly Relationship

Whether you self-manage your rental or enlist the help of our Washington, DC property managers, customer service should be a priority. One of the best ways to forge a solid relationship with your tenant is to partake in person-to-person contact throughout their lease term.

tenant-retention-ideasYour tenant does not want to feel you are the type to lease a rental and forget about them until lease renewal. So, here are some great ways you can pop in and say “hello,” without crossing the professional boundary that should stay intact throughout your tenant’s lease term:

  • Be the one to personally deliver the tenant welcome package at the start of the lease term. Even if your property management company handles the move-in process, it’s still nice to show your face.
  • Periodically ask your tenant for feedback via phone (or in person if they have time) to find out what would make them happier and what (if anything) needs improvement.
  • Show up to a scheduled maintenance or repair call. Then you can observe how your maintenance crew handles their responsibilities while chatting with your tenant.
  • Tag along with your property manager for all seasonal inspections. You can ensure your property is well cared for and that your tenants are satisfied.

Stopping by now and then will let your tenants know you care. Especially if you have entrusted your investment property to a property management company. After all, putting a face to a name is a great way to build a solid relationship with your tenant. It can go a long way, especially during lease renewal time.

 Don’t Violate Your Tenant’s Privacy

Though we just mentioned the importance of regularly interacting with your tenant to build a good relationship with them, it is equally important you do not violate your tenant’s right to privacy.

Just because you own the rental property your tenant resides in does not mean you can come and go as you please. In fact, if you show up unannounced, you may find yourself guilty of trespassing. Not to mention, your tenants will not be happy and will feel weary living in your rental property if they feel like you are watching their every move.

If you are going to pop in for a legitimate reason to your rental property, ensure you provide proper notice to your tenant so they know you or your property manager are coming by. Trust us–your tenants will appreciate this. They will feel more comfortable continuing to lease from you.

Be Proactive When it Comes to Lease RenewalsBe Proactive When it Comes to Lease Renewals

If you and your property management company did things correctly at the beginning of your tenant’s lease term, they should know the process for renewing a lease with you. However, as time passes, your tenant may forget when to expect a lease renewal notice. As a result, they may begin to feel antsy about whether they will renew with you or not.

Unfortunately, if your tenants don’t know if they will be invited to sign a lease renewal, they may begin to look elsewhere for a place to live. And you never know; they might find a home they love just as much as your rental and decide not to renew with you.

The solution to this problem is to stay proactive about the lease renewal process. This means giving them ample notice that you wish for them to stay another lease term.

Not only does this give them the assurance you want them to continue leasing your rental property, but if they decline, you may have enough time to convince them to stay. Additionally, if your current tenant is a good one, and you want them to stay, despite their declining to sign a lease renewal, ask them what you can do to get them to change their mind about leaving.

While there may be nothing you can do, this at least opens up the dialogue. Then, you can boost your chances of catering to a small need you never knew your tenant had. Holding onto a good tenant may be worth a slight rent decrease or a bend in a lease provision. For instance, you may consider accepting pets after having a no-pets policy.

Offer a Longer Lease Term

Another great way to avoid losing a good tenant is to offer a longer lease term come lease renewal time. After all, sometimes your tenant may know they want to continue leasing from you for an extended period of time. But, they likely fear the dreaded rent increase possible every time the lease renews.

Offering a longer lease term at a fixed rent rate ensures a consistent monthly cash flow. In addition, your tenant benefits from not having to pay more rent every year. Ultimately, it’s a win-win situation for both you and your tenant.

How Can Professional Property Management Help?

There are plenty of ways to cater to your good tenants and encourage them to continue leasing from you. It is just a matter of doing your job well, utilizing the help of an experienced property management company, and making sure your tenant is happy throughout their lease term. Finding an experienced management company is simple with Bay Property Management Group.

Need More Advice? contact us today!

We can help place high-quality tenants in your rental property from the start. We implement our strict tenant screening process and only accept the best tenants from the list of those interested in your property. Contact BMG today if you need rental management services in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC.

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