Tracking down a long-term resident to stick around in your rental property can be a continuing task. Practice effective San Gabriel resident retention strategies to take in sustainable residents that you can expect to remain for a longer time. Not a few residents stay for the sense of community; others might stay for slashed-down costs that come with lease renewal time. Others might be smitten by the picturesque landscape or maintenance requests process being done adroitly and on time by a property management company.
Distinct from the reasons residents might stay or go, landlords and property managers should make allowances for the move-out costs identified with allowing your property to become vacant. 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 San Gabriel 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 to find a replacement.
Customer Service
One of the first San Gabriel resident retention strategies to follow through is to get what your residents are searching for adequately. 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 not to 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 a wide-ranging topic. San Gabriel resident retention strategies involve diving seriously into what your customer service experience represents for your residents. Most often, 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
San Gabriel residents hope to be taken notice of. Whether their side of the story is valid or not, there is a reasoning that 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. Avoid 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 favor and have a higher appreciation when service requests are resolved right away and proficiently. 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 San Gabriel 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.
An impactful resident retention strategy is solicitous listening and rapidity in exercising service requests. Contemplate all the possibilities that you can bring about as you hone in more on the relationship constituent with your residents. Interested in learning more about Real Property Management Fairmate? Contact us online or call us at 626-691-9749 today and request a free assessment for your San Gabriel property.
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