Considering a long-term resident to live in your rental property can be a long-standing task. Wield effective Fergus Falls resident retention strategies to secure sustainable residents that you can depend on to remain for a longer time. Different residents stay for the sense of community, others might stay for brought down costs come lease renewal time. Others might be enraptured by the appealing landscape or maintenance requests process being realized competently and appropriately by a property management company.
Heedless of the reasons residents might stay or go, landlords and property managers should consider the move out costs attributed to allowing your property to become untenanted. This cost can be hefty and cost you the profit you would have gained if you had retained the resident or had a program in place to replace the resident quickly. Having established Fergus Falls resident retention strategies can help you have a close relationship with your residents. For example, if one of your residents was considering a move, they would trust you and let you know of their plans. Knowing this information beforehand can give you significantly more time finding a replacement.
Customer Service
Among the first Fergus Falls resident retention strategies to do is to aptly know what your residents are looking for. Some property managers are surprised to hear when residents have unkind or opposing things to say about them. This can arise for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is your lack of communication with the resident. Residents want to be heard. While customer service is a major component of meeting the resident’s needs, property managers tend to not focus on what really matters when talking with the residents. Some property managers might have resentment towards such phone calls or interactions as it adds more work to an already busy day. However, what property managers should understand is customer service is the most important part of the day.
Open Communication
Customer Service can be an expansive topic. Fergus Falls resident retention strategies have in mind diving keenly into what your customer service experience connotes for your residents. Mostly, customer service shouldn’t be viewed as a task. It is an interaction and relationship building step. An effective open communication relationship will not happen overnight. From the time your resident signs your rental property lease, you are engaging in a constant testing phase with your resident. Residents will test you to see what your communication style is, your updating process, how quick you will respond to requests, and how open you are: where you can either be strict with your job procedures, or relaxed and open to conversation. Some residents can be busy and unable to take phone calls. Consider sending texts or simple reminders about things rather than accumulating everything into one random long phone call.
Listen and Take Action
Fergus Falls residents need to be noted. Whether their side of the story is accurate or not, there is a reason they are reaching out to you. Hear them out with whatever they have to say. A resident will feel validated when you give them time to voice their opinions. Listening, as in any relationship shows that you care more about just getting the job done and showing them that you care about them as a person. Avoiding saying, “no, we can’t do that” or starting out your sentences or responses with “no”. Always provide a solution or alternative to go along with their ideas even if your solution will cost the resident money or not be exactly what the resident feels is right or has in mind as the solution.
Complete In a Timely Fashion
Residents move towards having a higher approval when service requests are resolved at once and proactively. Even if you do the job right and to their preferences, if it takes several months to do it, they may still hold resentment towards you. When you finish tasks in a quick and timely fashion, your Fergus Falls residents will trust you more as a property manager. Take time out of your busy schedule to quickly perform the task. You will find that even taking ten-minutes to give proper attention to a service request asked for not too long ago, will go a long way in keeping your resident around lease after lease.
A beneficial resident retention strategy is reduced down to mindful listening and promptness in accomplishing service requests. Think up all the possibilities that you can build as you zero in more on the relationship with your residents. Interested in learning more about Real Property Management Optimum? Contact us online or call us at 612-730-8293 today and request a free assessment of your Fergus Falls property.
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