Property managers and landlords often go above and beyond, taking care of tenants when unforeseen circumstances occur or needs must be met despite short timelines or budgets. Still, it is important for property managers to take in new ideas within their industry — including the increasing influence of social media and online review sites — as well as continuing the meet the everyday wants and needs of their tenants.
Maintaining and managing properties is often a challenging role. Landlords or managers may sometimes overlook a good practice, or plan to circle back to it later on, but never do so. We asked 13 members of Forbes Real Estate Council to share the one thing all landlords should ensure they are regularly doing. Their answers are below.
1. Make Regular Checks On Your Rentals
One of the biggest mistakes I see with rentals is not checking on them. We do quarterly checks on the properties. At the same time we are doing the check, we change furnace filters, check batteries in the smoke detectors and CO alarms, and make sure there are no issues with plumbing leaks. We can also see how well the tenants are maintaining the property, and it lets them know we care. – Mark Ferguson, InvestFourMore
2. Screen Your Tenants Carefully
Landlords will spends thousands to repaint, recarpet and remodel — but sometimes they will not take the time to realize who they are renting to. Don’t skip the basics when evaluating a renter: rental application, past references and income/ability to pay, as well as credit and criminal backgrounds checks. Taking the time to screen renters will prove to be the best ROI in real estate investing. – Sarnen Steinbarth, TurboTenant
3. Establish Open And Honest Communication
Property managers must communicate with their tenants to ensure a sense of community, maintain proper operations and keep tenants informed. Also, the building owner deserves to know the good, the bad and the ugly on a real-time basis in order to make business decisions. By expressing candor and providing honest feedback, property managers can ensure that all lines of communication are open. – Brian Milovich, Calvera Partners
4. Ask Current Tenants For Referrals
Ask current tenants to help you find new tenants. Current tenants are likely to know potential new tenants. Tenants are likely to only recommend other people they’d like to be neighbors with, and you can build goodwill by offering tenants a referral credit for bringing in a new tenant. – Deborah Rabbino Bhatt, Vesta New York
5. Keep Up With Maintenance, Including Cosmetic
Do preventative maintenance. The more a property is allowed to deteriorate, and the longer problems go unaddressed, the more it will cost in the long run to fix. If items are cosmetic and impact first impressions, not correcting can also increase vacancy cost and lower the rent you can get for the property. – Alex Hemani, ALNA Companies
6. Collect Demographic Data
If landlords and managers are not creating tenant profiles, they should be. Being able to tailor your operations and buildings to specific demographics will help with retention and new leases. – Todd Stofflet, Cushman & Wakefield
7. Keep In Touch With Your Tenants
Everyone wants attention, and that especially includes your tenants. You need to check in with them to see how everything is going and get any input on the property. Knowing that you care about them will have a huge impact. Surprise them with a lunch event or invite them to a fun event you are hosting (like a sporting event, concert or a few hours at a movie with their family). – Pamela J. Goodwin, Goodwin Commercial
8. Establish Benchmarks
Property owners should identify the true competitive set of their building and benchmark their operations to this set. Data is the key, and revenue and expenses must both be tracked. In this way owners can frame the operational performance of their properties as market conditions change and make decisions with hiring, firing or repositioning management teams. – Dave Scherer, Origin Investments
9. Offer Reliable Service Across Properties
Based on my experience, the landlords that are most successful are the ones that operate the same way across each of their assets, therefore creating little confusion and expeditious service. The buildings are regularly maintained and cleaned, giving their tenants few reasons to have any concerns about where they house their business. – Vinny DiMeglio, colliers.com
10. Treat Tenants With Respect
Landlords should always treat their tenants with respect, honesty and integrity. A bit of kindness goes a long way. When a tenant can feel that respect, our experience has been they treat the property with a higher level of ownership, taking better care of it and consistently paying rent on time. – Tanya Delahoz, Dwell Summit
11. Attract Renters With Quality Photographs
Landlords and property managers need to amp up their marketing efforts by using professional photography, which is more important than ever in the Instagram age, where people quickly judge listings on a purely visual basis. Great quality photographs are more likely to build renter interest quickly than using dark, unattractive and/or outdated photographs. – Brian Balduf, VHT Studios
12. Solicit Positive Online Reviews
The biggest differentiator in success today is increasingly becoming online reviews. It is vital that everyone, from prospective tenant applicants to exiting renters, receive amazing service. Say what you do, and do what you say. Look for ways to go above and beyond those expectations. Then be extremely proactive about soliciting positive online reviews from every contact. – Kent Clothier, Real Estate Worldwide
13. Stay On Top Of Your Online Presence
Our most successful landlords and property managers stay on top of their online presence to manage their vacancy rate to below 1%. They make sure availability and pricing is up to date on their website and on the platforms they syndicate to, while keeping track of and adjusting to changing rental trends and utilizing social media platforms to deliver their marketing to their target audience.
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