Despite the reasons residents might remain or leave, landlords and property managers should take into account the move out costs associated with allowing your property to be vacated. This expense can become hefty and result in losing profit you would have gained had you kept the resident or had a plan prepared to replace the resident quickly. Setting up established League City resident retention strategies can help you forge a close relationship with your residents. For example, if one of your residents was planning a move, they would trust you and tell you of their plans. Having this information beforehand can grant you considerably more time to find a replacement.
Customer Service
Among the main League City resident retention strategies to apply is to properly understand the wants of your residents. Some property managers are surprised to find out when residents have opposing or unkind things to say about them. This can develop for multiple reasons. One of these reasons is a shortage of communication with the resident. Residents long to be attended to. Though customer service is a major component of meeting the resident’s needs, property managers have a tendency to not focus on what actually matters when talking with their renters. Some property managers might resent such interactions or phone calls as it adds more work to an already full day. However, what property managers should realize is that customer service is the most important time of the day.
Open Communication
Customer Service can be a broad topic. League City resident retention strategies include going deep into what your customer service experience signifies for your renters. Customer service should generally not be viewed as a job. It is an interaction and relationship-building process. An effective open communication relationship is not going to develop overnight. Once your tenant signs your rental property lease, you are engaging in a perpetual testing phase with your resident. They will test you to understand what your communication style is, how quick you will respond to requests, what is your updating process, and how open you are – where you can either be strict with your job procedures or lax and open to discussion. Some residents can be occupied and won’t be able to take phone calls. Send texts or simple reminders about things rather than accumulating all of them into one random long phone call.
Listen and Take Action
League City residents desire to be heard. There is a reason why they want to talk to you, whether or not their side of the story is valid. Hear them out with what they have to say. A resident will feel validated when you provide them with time to voice their opinions. Listening, as with any relationship, shows that you care more beyond just getting the job done and demonstrates that you care about them as a person. Avoid saying “no, we can’t do that” or beginning your sentences or responses with “no.” Always provide a solution or alternate to go with their ideas even if this solution could cost the resident money or might not be exactly what the resident believes is right or has in mind as the solution.
Complete in a Timely Fashion
Residents tend to appreciate more when service requests are dealt with quickly and successfully. Even if you perform the job correctly and to their preferences, if it takes many months to do it, they may still hold a grudge towards you. When you finish tasks in a timely and swift fashion, your League City residents will trust you as a property manager more. Take time out of your hectic schedule to quickly perform the job. You will find that even taking 10 minutes to give proper attention to a service request asked for not too long ago will go a long way in retaining your resident lease after lease.
A successful resident retention strategy boils down to speediness and careful listening in executing service requests. Think of all the possibilities that you can create as you focus more on your relationship with your residents. Want to learn more about Real Property Management Prestige? Contact us online or call us at 281-532-5455 today and request a free assessment for your League City property.