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Having long-term tenants guarantees recurring income for your rental investment. In addition, long-term tenants can result in a damage-free home and better landlord-tenant relationship. While it may seem a daunting task to attract loyal tenants in a competitive industry, there are solid ways to keep attracting them.
Here are some effective strategies to ensure your renters stick around for the long-term:
Continuously market your rental home.
Having a vacant rental doesn’t mean advertising one time and hoping to receive plenty of inquiries. It’s an ongoing process so it’s good to market frequently. This way, you’ll generate more leads for prospective tenants.
You can start with crafting a property listing. Study the best way to capture the attention of viewers. Use quality photos that attract strong interest. You can also try creating property video tours. Distribute your ads widely online through popular listing sites and social media platforms. You can also print some flyers and post on community boards.
Before you post your ad, review it properly. Ensure that it’s compliant with the Fair Housing Act. Remember to avoid discriminating under the protective classes. This helps you avoid penalties and a negative business reputation.
Perform rental space upgrades.
As much as renovation projects can mean spending a bit, you can look at it as an investment. Tenants want to stay longer when they see that you’re conducting improvements to make the place even more habitable.
You should also consider the fact that newer rental units will have more modern amenities. You want to remain competitive in this industry. Keeping your tenants ultimately means doing ongoing periodic enhancements. You can replace flimsy materials with more solid ones, add more storage and change the lighting. Check the curb appeal for improvement ideas. It’s less expensive but elevates the value of the property in the tenant’s eyes.
Screen your tenants.
Even if tenant screening is part of renting out your property, a lot of landlords still skip this part. Perhaps a unit has been vacant for too long or the income is greatly needed. However, ignoring the tenant screening stage sets one up for insane problems down the road.
You could end up with a tenant who has violent tendencies and unruly behavior. Another problem would be someone who’s irresponsible when it comes to paying the rent. Worse, you might be endangering the lives of your other tenants or neighbors if the renter turns out to be a criminal. Your screening process should comply with the Fair Housing Act, which you can read more about here.
Things you should focus on during tenant screening:
- Credit score – it tells you if someone knows how to handle their finances well. A high credit score informs you that someone has good credit behavior. You can trust that this person will be able to meet the monthly rent dues.
- Income level – if the income earnings is too low, the renter may have a hard time paying the rent especially when personal emergencies occur. A good rule of thumb is to accept tenants who make 3x the rent figure. But this depends on the landlord to consider other important factors.
- Rental history – calling up referrals let you have a glimpse of the past behavior of the renter. Since you’re letting in a stranger on your property, you need more information from the previous landlords. Chances are, they’ll tend to repeat their behavioral patterns. If they maintain the last rental unit well then they’re likely to keep yours in reasonable condition, too.
Be a hospitable landlord.
While moving can mean a change of scenery and change can be refreshing, it’s not without its challenges. Putting down roots in a new place can fill one with dread and anxiety. As a landlord, you can help alleviate this feeling by:
- Welcoming your tenants on their first day of move in
- Offering a welcome gift of snacks or useful home items
- Presenting a neat rental unit
- Conducting introductions with neighbors
- Assuring your new tenants you’re available to assist them
- Recommending places and pointing out convenient spots like the nearest clinic, transport hub, etc.
Displaying a hospitable nature pays off in the long run since it builds a dependable relationship between you and the tenants. Cultivating a good relationship can lead to an open communication and better understanding.
Focus on property upkeep.
If you want reduced stresses and avoiding frequent turnovers, strive to keep up with your rental maintenance. Otherwise, you can also be facing non-compliance of state law to keep your space habitable for renters.
Property maintenance is a prime duty of a landlord and included in the landlord-tenant laws. If you neglect your duty, you can stand to lose your tenants quickly. You may also be required to return their security deposits right away.
It’s best to avoid that scenario and create a maintenance program. Schedule your property inspections. Be responsive to maintenance requests and do your part to practice a preventive style of maintenance. This helps you lower repair expenses.
Enhance your rental’s security.
You never know when burglars strike but it’s best to have preventive measures in place. Being robbed can be a traumatic experience. You don’t want any intruders in your home especially while you’re asleep.
As a landlord, you can help your renters gain peace of mind by installing alarm systems, security cameras, sturdy door and window locks and motion sensor lights. Increase your property’s safety and test your security systems from time to time. This also includes fire alarms and smoke detectors for fire safety.
Hire a reputable property management team.
Anyone can be a landlord, but to be an effective one takes skill and experience. To avoid committing mistakes, you can partner with a trusted property management company.
Professionals have insights that you may not have yet. They have the wide experience working to their advantage that you can benefit from. They have deep expertise when it comes to marketing, tenant screening and maintaining your rental space. Additionally, if you do end up needing to evict unreliable tenants, a property management company can navigate the eviction process for you.
The Bottom Line
To attract good tenants, you can implement these useful strategies and benefit from consistent earnings year after year. This helps you achieve peace of mind. For more assistance, contact Cressman Realty & Property Management today to find out how we can help you place reliable tenants in your rental property!
