There are a lot of factors that impact an investor’s return on investment (ROI), but the one thing that really makes a difference is the tenant’s length of stay. When a Columbus rental property is vacant or suddenly empty, your costs increase. Not only are you losing rental income, you are also paying for utilities, lawn care, and cleaning, and you need to do some work to get the property back in a livable condition so you can re-market it to new prospective tenants. A vacant property is also vulnerable to vandalism and damage, which can easily wipe out two years of profit.
Improving Properties to Retain Tenants
When one tenant leaves and we have to turn the property over and prepare it for a new tenant, it’s important to make some changes that will really impact our ability to market the home. The goal is to maximize your asset and bring in better rent. Making upgrades and updates will result in great marketing photos, allowing the property to stand out. The better the property looks, the better quality of tenants you will attract.
When you attract better tenants, you attract long-term tenants. It might sound simple, but doing a little bit extra when we prepare a property for the rental market can go a long way. Whether it’s a new but neutral color tone or an upgraded backsplash or refinishing the hardwood floors; these little things go a long way.
Improving the Tenant Experience
When a tenant moves in, you have to be prepared to provide a good experience. Those first few days after a tenant moves in are critical. We are in a state of red alert and on guard waiting for something to happen. Sometimes, we don’t know what could go wrong with the property until after someone is living there.
If there is an early problem reported, we will go out of our way to make sure we are responsive. Once you do or don’t do something to create a bad relationship with your tenant, it is hard to recover from that for the rest of the tenancy. Our goal is to keep tenants in place as long as we can.
Establishing Proactive Communication with Tenants
We communicate well with our tenants, and if there is a maintenance issue that gets reported, we are sure to stay on top of it. Quick repairs show that you care. And, we do care. We keep a great attitude when tenants call in, and we always let them know that their needs are important to us.
We’re proud of our tenant retention rate and the length of stay we’re able to achieve in the rental properties we manage.
The average length of stay for tenants in Columbus, Ohio is 16 months. At Solutions Real Estate, we have an average tenancy of 30 months. That’s almost double what the typical stay is, which means our clients don’t have to worry about those turnover expenses. When we stabilize a property and get a good tenant in place, our retention rates increase ROI for our owners.
If you would like to hear more about how we find and keep great tenants in Columbus, please contact us at Solutions Real Estate.
