Are most of your best tenants turning a blind eye when the time to renew their leases comes around?
If that's the case, your Richmond rental property is a sinking ship. If you keep losing good tenants at the end of their leases, your operating expenses will likely increase as you have to find new tenants. You'll spend money on marketing, and tenant screening, and in the worst-case scenario, the units could sit vacant for a few months.
This is why it's essential to master the art of rental lease renewals. As a landlord, you can ensure most of your tenants are renewing their leases.
Read on for practical landlord advice.
1. Focus on Tenant Retention
Some landlords are surprised when most of their tenants don't renew leases yet they haven't done anything noticeable to retain those tenants. Don't assume a tenant will automatically renew their lease just because they haven't made any complaints throughout their tenancy. Some will quietly sit on problems, waiting for their lease to expire and move to a better house.
As such, it's important to implement tenant retention strategies as soon as the rental lease begins. Keeping an open line of communication with your tenants, addressing their issues promptly, and staying on top of property maintenance are some effective strategies you should implement.
2. Create a Positive Renewal Experience
As a landlord, you're a rental business owner, and your tenants are your customers. Think of a lease renewal as a repeat purchase.
In the context of rental lease renewals, you don't want your tenants to go through the same tedious process they went through during their initial sign-up.
If the first experience was in-person, for example, for a renewal you can digitize the process. Just share a digital copy of the lease and ask them to sign it digitally. If the tenant has been good, there's no need to verify their finances again, unless you don't care if they renew their lease or not.
3. Offer Incentives for Lease Renewals
The rental market in Richmond is thriving, and although there's strong rental demand, renters don't have a shortage of options. This means your renters are on the lookout for the best rental deals in the city.
What are you doing to keep them from moving out? Being a good landlord alone isn't going to cut it. There are good landlords everywhere.
Offering lease renewal incentives can make the biggest difference. Be open for renewal negotiation, and throw in things like rent discounts and free property upgrades to make the renewal option more attractive to them.
It might look like you're giving up too much unnecessarily, but keep in mind it's more profitable to retain a high-quality tenant than to let them go and start looking for a new one.
Retain Your Best Tenants with Professional Property Management
Lease renewals are good for your rental business, but getting them is easier said than done. These tips will help, but the input of a professional property management company is invaluable.
Renters Warehouse is well prepared to manage your Richmond rental, give your tenants the best experience, and make sure they stay put for longer! We have been in the industry since 2015 and are members of the NARPM.
Contact us today!
