Many of us in the property management field are seeing our “For Rent” signs up longer than owners would prefer. In today’s economy, we face not only the challenge to fill vacancies, but the challenge to increase and maintain rent values. To continue to watch your revenue increase we suggest the following tips.
Increase curbside appeal:
It’s easy to make a few minor adjustments and improve the exterior of a rental. Replace dead or dying landscape and fill pot holes in the parking lot or car port. Make sure the outside lighting is up and running, no one likes a dark rental.
These things are cheap and easy and can change an outside impression of a home quickly.
Install energy efficient utilities:
Aside from the appeal of “Green living,” using energy efficient utilities such as lights can actually save you money. If you pay for your building’s water use low-flow shower heads, these types of showers actually save about 75 dollars a year.
Superior tenant service:
The better a tenant feels about a property, the happier they are going to be. We suggest making it easy for your tenants to pay rent online and submit maintenance requests through a 24 hour system that ensures their requests are received. Today’s tenants want fast and efficient service, nothing is quicker than an online request and response.
Analyze market rent value:
To ensure you are getting the fair market value for your units, take a look at what Mr. Smith is getting for his units down the street. Is he getting $50 per unit more and his property doesn’t even have a pool? Then maybe it is time to increase rents.
Appeal to the tenants emotions
Tenants want to be proud of their surroundings. This emotional need can be appealed to by doing some of the following:
- Cleaning common areas
- Washing external windows
- Cleaning and painting hallways
- Striping the parking lot
- Removing weeds and debris from landscaping
Each of these steps creates a space where tenants can feel happy and secure and in turn remain loyal to you. For more information on property management tips visit us at www.firstlightpropertymanagement.com