Real estate investing is a relationship business. Renting out a home requires you to develop strong, professional relationships with all of the professionals who contribute to your success. You need to work well with maintenance vendors, Las Vegas property managers, attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants.
Most importantly, you need to have a good relationship with your tenants.
Depending on the type of tenant you have in place, dealing with those residents isn’t always easy. Maybe you have a complainer or someone who is always escalating conflicts. That’s hard, and you want to screen carefully before you place tenants in your Las Vegas property. Look for people who are well-qualified and easy to work with.
Whatever your current tenant relationship, improving it will only help you. In fact, when you have a good tenant relationship in place, you earn more money.
Establishing and maintaining good relationships with your tenants impacts what you can earn. You’ll find that tenants stay in place longer when they’re happy with how their rental experience is going. Lower turnover means lower vacancy. Higher retention means better and more consistent rents. It means stability.
For some property owners, tenant relationships come naturally. This is likely when you communicate well, respond to the needs of your tenants, and you’re committed to enforcing the rules and providing a consistent, fair rental experience.
But if you find your tenant relationships aren’t what they should be, we have some ideas for how to improve them towards the goal of retaining more tenants for longer periods of time.
Create a Customer-Driven First Impression
Tenant retention actually begins even before your tenants become your tenants.
Be accommodating and flexible during the marketing and leasing process. When you’re responsive to a prospective tenant’s questions and you’re willing to set up showings at times that work best for their schedules, you’re more likely to start your relationship off the right way. It should be easy for them to imagine living in your property and working with you as a landlord.
The relationship you ultimately develop with your tenant begins with your marketing.
Finding a new home is not always fun, especially with rising rents and a shortage of well-maintained homes to choose from. Paying for their new rental home will likely be a huge expense for most residents and they’re also likely thinking about the cost in time and money that’s required to move. Tenants are not going to rent a home that isn’t worth their effort.
These tenants are looking online for their next rental home, and that’s where you have to lay the foundation for a good relationship. Make sure your online listings answer as many potential questions as possible so you’re respectful of their time. If they get in touch with you to ask questions about your property or to schedule a showing, respond right away. Tenants will be turned off by landlords who take days to answer a message or return a phone call.
The listing you provide should answer all the urgent questions, such as rental amount and whether pets are allowed. Your marketing photos and description should tell them how many bedrooms there are, what the bathrooms look like, and whether the kitchen has been recently updated.
Try to personalize the showing experience for your potential tenants. When you get to know them before the tenancy even begins, you can take the necessary steps to make this a positive and unique experience for them. You can be more responsive to what they need when you know a little bit about them.
After the showing, follow up. You’ll want to know what they thought and you’ll want to get them to complete an application.
Once they have seen the property and asked for an application, you’re really ready to lay the foundation for a good relationship. These Las Vegas tenants are about to become your customers. They will be paying you rent every month and they’ll help you take care of your property.
Treat them like the valuable customers they are, and provide an outstanding customer experience. This will contribute to better retention rates and save you thousands of dollars on vacancy and turnover costs.
Show them that you value and appreciate their business.
Discuss the Lease Agreement and Your Expectations During the Move-In Process
A good relationship starts with clear and transparent expectations during the move-in process.
Before you welcome your tenants to their new home, conduct a thorough inspection. You don’t want to hand over the keys to a home that’s not clean or in need of a lot of work.
We also recommend that you provide tenants with as much information ahead of time as possible. Discuss the lease agreement and answer all their questions. Make sure they are prepared for their responsibilities as tenants, and give them a brief introduction and orientation to the house and the neighborhood. Show them how to turn the appliances and the thermometer on. Let them know when trash is collected.
Your residents need to know how they should pay rent and what they’re responsible for in terms of maintenance and landscaping. All that information should be in the lease, but if you talk about it, you can reinforce those things and demonstrate your willingness to communicate.
Make sure your new tenants have all your contact information. If they’re feeling good during the move-in process, your tenants are more likely to trust you and have a good sense of what your professional relationship will be like.
Las Vegas Tenants and Technology
Good relationships these days depend on using good technology.
When you put the right technology tools to work, you can retain your good tenants, by responding faster to maintenance issues, streamlining and expanding the way you communicate, and strengthening security.
Most tenants today love using technology, and they appreciate digital communication. Paperless leasing, rent payments, and correspondence is what they’re looking for.
Provide online forms and electronic lease agreements. Accept rent online or electronically. Ask them to email or text their routine maintenance requests. This allows you to keep everything in writing and it makes your tenants more likely to communicate with you as they need to.
As a Las Vegas property management company, we can invest in software that keeps everything online and transparent. You can put some of this technology to work for you, as well. Several platforms and systems are designed to help independent landlords. You’ll have access to better data throughout the lease term.
Responsive Maintenance Improves Tenant Relationships
Tenants feel strongly about maintenance. When they report that something is wrong, they expect you to fix it right away.
Respond with a sense of urgency, even if it’s going to take you some time to organize the appropriate vendor or buy the necessary supplies. Let them know that you’ve received their request and you’re going to take care of it as soon as possible.
This is an important part of your tenant relationship, and it’s also an important part of protecting the condition of your home. Don’t ignore or shy away from maintenance requests. Nothing good will come of that, and you’ll end up with additional expenses that you don’t need.
Your system for reporting maintenance will support a positive tenant relationship. Tenants must know how to reach you at all times. For emergencies, ask them to call you right away, or as soon as it’s safe for them to do so. When it comes to routine maintenance, a written request is better because you have something in writing that establishes when the request came in.
Put together a list of vendors and contractors who are reliable, affordable, and capable of respecting your relationship with your tenants. You want vendors who are willing to invest in good tenant relationships as well.
Tenant Privacy and Quiet Enjoyment of Their Las Vegas Rental Home
Keeping in touch with your tenants is essential. It’s a good way to monitor your property and make sure everything is going well. However, you want to be conscious of your tenant’s privacy. They have a right to the quiet enjoyment of their home, and you don’t want to impede them living their lives. Unexpected visits from landlords are not always welcome.
If you’re going to conduct an inspection or show up to make a repair, provide at least 24 hours of notice before you enter the home. The notice should be written and specify the reason for entry.
Inconveniencing your tenant is not going to earn you any bonus points. In fact, it may cause a tenant to leave once their lease is up, leaving your property vacant. Respect your tenant’s privacy and they will be much happier with you. Make sure they know you are available to them, but don’t be pushy.
We know that tenant relationships are not always easy. You need to strike a balance and you need to respect their needs while prioritizing the needs of yourself and your property.
Las Vegas property managers are here to make things run a bit smoother. With the help of professional property managers, you may find that you have a more pleasant rental experience yourself.
If you’d like to hear more about how we manage tenant relationships towards the goal of better retention, please contact us at Strawberry Property Management Las Vegas.