The Causes:
Gaining awareness about the common causes of turnovers can help you lower your vacancy rate and improve your cash flow. Turnovers are an expensive hassle and if understanding the causes can help prevent them, it is well worth your while.
Problems With Neighbours:
Good tenants want good neighbours. Good tenants are considerate and careful not to leave garbage or foul smells or cause excessive noise, out of respect for their neighbours. This consideration is expected of their neighbours in return. Troublesome neighbours can play a decidingly big role in causing good and otherwise satisfied tenants to suddenly decide to pick up and move. It can be a subtle but consistently aggravating situation that eventually leads to burnout and dissatisfaction.
This is only one of the many reasons it is crucial to only accept suitable and respectful tenants for your property. But what can a property manager do about it once the problem exists?
The answer ultimately lies in effective communication with your tenant body. Sending out surveys periodically to your entire tenant body can dramatically improve your relationship with your tenants and heighten your general awareness of what’s going on with your properties and the tenants inhabiting them. These surveys can provide invaluable insight into how you can improve your tenants’ overall experience and satisfaction.
General messaging and communications can also go a long way in establishing that trusting relationship and gathering important and useful information. Sometimes the tenant may just not feel comfortable taking the initiative to voice a problem or concern. However, if you begin the conversation, they may feel more comfortable speaking up. You can then employ any information gathered to keep both your properties and your tenants well taken care of.
2. Rent Increase:
A sudden or unexpected increase in rent can push tenants away and cause them to look elsewhere. Before you raise the rent, be vigilant in your research. Make sure you know what the going rate is in your area and what the fair market value is. Consider your property’s condition and amenities and take a look at what competition you’re facing. You want to set a rental rate that is not only profitable for your property, but also is competitively priced to attract and maintain good tenants. Also consider that springing a rent increase on good and loyal tenants may affect any existing trust you have with them that may have taken years to build up. It may not be worth your while.
A rent that is too high may not only drive your current tenants out, but may keep new ones away. You may even want to consider rent discounts as long as the pandemic continues as an incentive for your current tenants to keep paying their rent consistently and on time. This will definitely help you maintain your current tenants and keep them satisfied. The payout may just be worth it when you consider the costs incurred by turnovers. Know your facts before increasing the rent.
3. Ignored Repair Needs:
Proper maintenance is key to keeping your property value up and maintaining your tenants’ satisfaction. Both preventative and responsive maintenance are crucial responsibilities of the property management team. When maintenance requests are repeatedly ignored, it will likely cause great aggravation amongst your tenants. If the requests are ignored long enough, tenants will go elsewhere in search of a pleasant, functional and habitable unit. Neglecting repairs will also cause a slow but steady deterioration and decrease in your property’s value before your very eyes.
It is therefore in your best interest to keep your properties well maintained through a competent and comprehensive maintenance plan. Make sure you have a systemized approach for maintenance needs in order to catch any problems before they arise and to fix things as soon as they go.
Ultimately, a well maintained rental is a happy tenant and a happy manager.
The MyPortal by Payquad Solution:
Payquad offers a comprehensive operations platform including a payments module, a convenient communications module, a maintenance module with real-time notifications, a survey module and more!
Sign up now for a free demo and keep your turnovers and vacancy rate low!
