It’s tough to avoid having a vacancy at some point with a rental property. Still, as a property owner, you want to do your best to keep the property occupied as often as possible. Besides the loss of income, vacant properties that sit too long are a risk for maintenance issue—and even worse, vandalism. Let’s discuss how to keep your rental property occupied for the ultimate success of your investment.
Maintain the Property
An attractive property is an occupied one. Maintain your property well with the following ideas:
- Tasteful landscaping that’s regularly weeded, mowed, and watered. Keep mulch fresh and hedges trimmed to show tenants you care about where they live.
- Prune trees when necessary and replace ones that have died.
- Avoid creating water areas like ponds, as they attract mosquitos and other bugs.
- Street lanterns and lights all around the exterior of the building make tenants feel safe, and make the property look well-maintained as a bonus.
- Repair cracked sidewalks and driveways.
- Touch up and paint areas where the paint is fading or chipped.
- Pressure wash siding, brick, as well as sidewalks and driveways.
Any area that no longer looks nice needs tending to look fresh. The other part of a well-maintained property is responding to tenants’ maintenance needs as soon as possible. Part of maintaining the property is taking care of the interior of the units. When there is a maintenance issue, respond quickly to keep tenants happy and occupying your property.
New Tenants
The only way to keep your rental property occupied is knowing how to search for new tenants when the time comes. Seldom does a renter stay forever. Have a plan in place and take your time searching, advertising, and interviewing to find the right match for both yourself and the new tenant.
Retain Current Tenants
Keeping current tenants is, of course, the easiest way to keep the property occupied. But how do you keep them? One way is to follow what we’ve mentioned above: keep the property well-maintained and respond quickly to maintenance issues. Here are a few more ideas:
- Communicate with tenants, and check in once in a while and say hi. Always respect their privacy and give warning that you’ll stop by. Let them know you care and that their comfort is a priority.
- Give tenants a phone number to reach either yourself or your property manager. Respond quickly to their needs.
- When rent is late, politely contact tenants and see what’s going on. Be understanding and flexible if it’s an unusual situation, especially when it’s a tenant who’s been paying on time for months or even years.
Simply, be available, polite, caring, and reachable, and give your current tenants no reason to go anywhere else. With a beautifully maintained property and excellent management, your rental property gains a reputation as a property that is trusted and a joy to live in.
