Turnover is expensive for Coos Bay landlords, and your primary defense against a vacancy is tenant retention.
When you keep your great residents in place, you’ll reduce the cost of turning your property over between tenants. You won’t have to worry about making upgrades and updates, cleaning, and marketing the home to find another renter once your current lease term ends.
In our experience as Coos Bay property managers, we understand the benefits of retaining tenants. We know it’s good for you and for your property. So, we’ve put together some tips on how to minimize tenant turnover.
Make the Rental Process Convenient
Tenants in Coos Bay today want convenience and ease more than anything else.
Provide a convenient rental experience, and your residents are more likely to stay with you longer. Here are some of the things they’re looking for:
Online rental payments. Your tenants won’t be eager to write out a check every month. Give them an option for digital or electronic payments. You will also find rent is more likely to be paid on time.
Electronic maintenance requests. Let them report needed repairs through an email or a text rather than a phone call that they might not be thrilled to make. Not only will your tenants appreciate the convenience, it’s also better for you. You’ll have the documentation you need to track maintenance history and responses.
Allow pets. Tenants are more likely to renew their lease agreements when they have pets. Your pet-owing tenants can earn you more money and help you avoid turnover and vacancy. When you’re considering whether or not to allow pets, remember that it’s good for your tenant retention plans.
Providing tenants the amenities, services, and resources that they need during their tenancy will lead to a longer lease term.
Proactive Communication Retains Tenants
Good relationships lead to lower turnover rates.
Those good relationships, of course, need good communication. Tenant communication is critical when you want to keep tenants happy and reduce your vacancy and turnover rates. You need to remain available and accessible to your residents when they need you. It’s important to be responsive - to listen to your residents and work hard at solving their problems.
This is where it can be beneficial to work with professional Coos Bay property managers. A management company will maintain ongoing communication and develop excellent relationships with your tenants. If you are managing on your own, make sure your tenant’s needs are being met. This can be time-consuming, but it’s essential. Especially when you’re thinking about turnover and retention.
Your tenants will need to know how to contact you. It’s vital to be available 24 hours a day in case there’s an emergency at the property. Send an email or make a phone call every now and then just to check in. Tenants don’t want to hear from you only when something is wrong. Find out if there’s anything they need that would improve their rental experience.
Making Maintenance a Priority for Tenant Retention
We have looked at a lot of the statistics on tenant turnover, and one of the main reasons tenants decide to move out of a rental property is that their repair requests are ignored. You don’t want to lose a good tenant this way.
Be quick to respond - even to routine repairs.
When you make maintenance a priority, you have a better chance of keeping your tenants. Put together a plan for responding to emergencies and routine issues. Implement and prioritize preventative maintenance so there are fewer emergencies.
Emergencies obviously require an immediate response. But, a landlord focused on tenant retention will respond with the same sense of urgency when there’s something simple needed by their tenants, even a garbage disposal that’s stuck or an outlet that isn’t working.
That clogged garbage disposal might not seem like a big deal, but your tenants will appreciate your immediate response. It’s also a good way to protect the condition of your Coos Bay investment property.
Preventative maintenance will help you make a difference in tenant retention as well. Pest control is important and you’ll want to have the HVAC system inspected and serviced annually. This will increase efficiency and your tenants will appreciate the lower utility bills.
Communicate what you’re doing so tenants understand that you’re taking care of your property and providing a safe, habitable, and attractive rental home.
Make Market-Based Rental Increases
Most tenants expect that the rent will go up when it’s lease renewal time. You don’t necessarily have to freeze rent increases in order to keep good tenants. Don’t be afraid to raise the rent when you’re negotiating a lease renewal.
Raise the rent, but do it reasonably. You also have to do it legally. Oregon has statewide rent control, and if your rental property falls under the scope of the law, you cannot raise the rent by more than seven percent plus inflation.
Check the market and take a look at what similar rental properties are renting for. Don’t increase the rent by too much and make sure you provide your tenants with enough notice before the new rent takes effect. This will lead to better retention.
When you’re going to increase the rent, take a good look at the market. Perhaps you’ll feel justified in raising the rent 5 percent based on the data you’ve seen. Consider raising it 2 or 3 percent instead, and let your tenants know that you’re keeping the rent lower than the market value of your property because you value their tenancy.
Remember the best ways to retain tenants: providing convenience, prioritizing maintenance, communicating well, and keeping rental increases reasonable. With a little extra effort and respect for your residents, these strategies can make all the difference in tenant loyalty and satisfaction.
While tenants' needs change and tenant preferences vary, there are steps you can take to show your tenants that you care about their experience at your rental property. Protect your rental income and your investment property by minimizing turnover and creating an experience that promotes long-term tenancies in your Coos Bay rental property.
If you’d like some help retaining your best residents, we can help. Please contact us at Oregon Bay Properties.
