The most recent data available shows that the Austin rental market has a vacancy rate of just below 6%. While this might not sound bad, even a single vacancy can cost you thousands of dollars.
How can you start to reduce a high vacancy rate? First and foremost, focus on those lease renewals. It's easier and cheaper to get your current tenants to stay than it is to find new tenants to move in.
If you struggle to secure lease renewals, you're in the right place. Stop using methods that don't work and opt for the approach our property management team uses.
Read on for five tips to increase lease renewals this year.
1. Get Active About Renewed Leases
If your tenants want to renew their lease, they'll come to youright? Taking a passive approach to lease renewal can leave tenants feeling confused and may lead them to seriously consider the option of moving somewhere else. Make sure you're approaching tenants about lease renewals via email or phone and giving them a timeline to renew or forfeit their lease.
2. Incentivize Lease Renewal
Experienced tenants may know that year-to-year rent stabilization and property upgrades tend to happen during tenant turnover periods. This can contribute to the choice to move, rather than stay. Start offering incentives for lease renewals like one-year rent stabilization or property upgrades like painted walls or new carpets.
3. Build a Better Relationship
When you look at common reasons why tenants move, they include things like unanswered maintenance calls and problems with neighbors. If you're struggling to keep up with things like maintenance and noise complaints, you're not building a relationship tenants will want to maintain. Work with a property management company to build trust and reliability in your tenant relations.
4. Make Rent Payment Easier
Without rent payments, you can't turn a profit on your rental properties. However, there are a few ways that you can make it easier for tenants to pay rent that will benefit both you and them. In addition to offering online payments, you should consider creating a grace period that allows tenants the option to pay rent a few days "late" (say, up to five days) without incurring a late fee.
5. Maintain Your Properties
If your properties are starting to go downhill in real time, tenants aren't going to want to stay past their current lease. Commit to preventative maintenance in addition to responding to maintenance requests from tenants. Keeping your properties in good shape is great and improving them is even better when it comes to renewing leases.
Need Help With Lease Renewals?
If you need help renewing rental agreements, we can help. By hiring an expert property management team, you can start to see an increase in lease renewals thanks to improved services and tenant relations.
Looking for property management in Austin and surrounding areas? Contact us to find out how we can help.
