Tenant turnover is a challenge for every rental business owner. The longer your properties lie vacant, the less revenue you generate and the slower your business profits.
There are several solutions to tenant turnover. One strategy is to improve your listings and rental advertisements to attract tenants faster. This reduces vacancy time, but you’ll still need to pay for cleaning or repairs, in addition to screening new tenants.
Another strategy is to retain the tenants you have by renewing their leases. If you’ve already found loyal, trustworthy tenants, it’s usually worth renewing their leases. You’ll generate continuous revenue and feel secure knowing your tenants are already vetted.
Whether you focus on one of these strategies or employ them both, property management software can help you reach your goal. Designed to accommodate high turnover units as well as long-term residents, online property management software comes with the features you need for either.
Here are a few ways to reduce tenant turnover with property management software.
Listing Syndication
If you already have vacant units (or are a new landlord), advertising is your first step. You’ll want to write solid listings, add details and photos, and then upload them to a variety of popular listing sites.
Many property management software platforms provide rental listing syndication as a secondary feature. Listing syndication allows you to upload a single listing to your software and then post that listing to multiple sites simultaneously. Check with your software provider to find out which sites are covered, but the company will usually support syndication for major sites like Apartments.com and Zillow.
Listing syndication saves you the time of writing or uploading separate listings to each advertising site. It also keeps your listings consistent across multiple platforms.
With efficient rental advertising, you can start attracting tenants, signing leases, and receiving rent as quickly as possible.
Tenant Screening
Thorough tenant screening is another strategy for reducing tenant turnover. High-quality tenants are less likely to skip rent payments, vandalize your property, participate in violence or crime, or need to be evicted.
Because evictions can cost you thousands of dollars, they are best avoided. Expensive legal fees are only the beginning: evictions also require repairing damages, making arrangements with any roommates, and postponing a new tenant’s move-in. Evictions are terrible news for tenant turnover.
Fortunately, tenant screening features services on property management software help you avoid these situations. Most platforms partner with third-party screening services, which can pull credit and background checks in moments. With the information you need consolidated in a readable report, you can make the most informed assessments about your future tenants.
For example, if a tenant’s record indicates that they’ve had a prior eviction, this is a red flag. You don’t want to be the second landlord to evict that tenant. Likewise, tenants with multiple criminal charges or frequent involvement in illegal activities are probably bad news for long-term renting.
Tenant screening features solve tenant turnover at the root of the problem by ensuring you only accept the most qualified and promising tenants.
Renewed Leases
Finally, the most immediate way to avoid tenant turnover is to renew your current leases. If you’re happy with your tenants, don’t lose them. Renewed leases at the end of each term means revenue security for you and housing security for your tenants.
So how do you encourage a tenant to renew their lease? The first step is to provide a compelling offer. Detail the reasons your property is still the top choice in the market, and explain the benefits of staying.
If you want renewed leases, you’ll also need to provide professional tenant experience from day one. Communication and professionalism are principal values in any business, but they’re especially important in rental property ownership. If your tenants know that you are responsive to their problems and care about their well-being, they are more likely to stick around.
Remember, keeping a valuable tenant sometimes means being willing to negotiate. Negotiating is often a better, less expensive option than losing the tenant and having to turn over the property. If you need to alter rent prices or lease terms, you can comfortably make these updates on your property management software. Lease documents can be altered, edited, or supplemented with addenda, as can rent agreements.
Eliminate Turnover with Property Management Software
Even if you provide excellent tenant experience, advertise your properties, and renew leases, you’re bound to experience turnover at some point or another. Software is your route to recovering and reducing the long-term effects of tenant turnover. With these few tips, you are well prepared to fill units and tackle vacancies.