Your apartments are full. Your residents pay on time, take out their trash and keep their apartments clean. It’s a landlord’s dream and you don’t want it to end. What can you do to keep your residents from giving you their notice?
- Fix small problems. It’s easy to ignore your property when there are no complaints from residents. But sometimes residents don’t want to call you for something simple, like a small drip from kitchen faucet or a hall light bulb that needs changing. Fixing these will show your residents you respect them and your property.
- Litter control. Invest in a heavy duty set of work gloves, broom, dustpan and garbage bags which you keep at your property. Spend an hour each week picking up any litter and sweeping the common places. Have pride in your building and your residents will, too.
- Return calls within a day. Even if you can’t tackle a resident’s issue that day, they’ll feel respected if you call back just to say you’ve received their call. Let them know when you will address it.
- Give them your email. Create a landlord email account and check it daily. Residents will be pleased to know you’re available by phone and by email.
- Gift cards. Don’t forget holiday gifts. Residents will feel appreciated with a gift certificate to a local cafe.
- Respect the contract. If your residents signed a “no pets” contract, abide by it. Even though one resident wants a dog, it might annoy the other residents with its barking. It’s easier to kindly remind residents about their agreement than deal with complaints from others.
- Help residents feel vested. If your residents have skills you can use, such as painting, repairing or cleaning, hire them for small jobs if necessary. They’ll feel proud of their work and the property.
By helping residents feel respected and by taking pride in your property, you should have a low turnover rate. After all, no one wants to move out of a clean, well maintained property.
