Keeping Your Tenants Happy – A Panacea for Your Rental House

It takes significant amount of time, effort and money to attract good tenants, but it is even challenging to retain them. Holding on to good tenants has a long term positive repercussion to your rental business for many reasons –primary ones being

• Cutbacks on your tenant screening efforts
• Reduction in vacancy
• Easy periodic maintenance

Once a suitable tenant is found for your rental property, the easy part is over. Here is when the harder part commences. Everything post tenant on-boarding process boils down to keeping your tenants contented with their choice, which would directly work on your business bottom-line. If you can manage to be responsive and flexible to your tenants’ needs, you are halfway there.

Here are some tips for landlords in their pursuit to keep your tenants happy –

1. Educate tenants with every detail – Do not lead your relationship into confusion. Be clear about every detail by educating your tenants when they first move in. Have every detail clearly declared in the agreement and avoid any kind of unwelcoming surprises. Clear communication with regards to the rental finances, property condition, repair and maintenance ownership, acceptance of pets, bills and any other applicable details is a must. Do not leave any question unanswered.
2. Do not hesitate tooffer incentives – Go ahead and offer that discount, provided your purse allows you to do so, if your tenant pays his rent on time for a period of time or renews his lease after their first stint.
3. Be responsive to repairs and replacements – There is nothing that makes a tenant despondent when repairs, irrespective of their severity, aren’tfixedon time.Always try to pick that call from your tenant no matter how busy you are. If your situation doesn’t allow you to offer effective support to your tenant’s needs, do not hesitate to help from a property or rental management consultants in your city.
4. Respect their privacy – Unexpected visits to the property is a clear NO-NO! Such visits are sure to damage the relationship you have with your tenants. Respect their privacy and stop-by only after notifying them of your visit. Un-anticipated visits can sometimes be taken negatively as intent to supervise which is considered a red flag.
5. Appreciate feedback and embrace changes – Expect feedback from your tenants about the property. Converse with them whenever possible to hear to what they have to say. Although, every change cannot be accommodated, your openness to giving ears to them itself can boost your tenant’s confidence on you.

Summary

To make your tenants’ stay a pleasant one, it is important for you, as a landlord, to show confidence on them and in turn, them to show the same on their choice of rental property. Being open, flexible, kind and responsive is one such sure shot way.