As property managers seek to renew current residents leases and sign up new tenants, they are challenged to develop best-practices property management strategies. With a plan in place, they can have a degree of assurance that a percentage of their efforts will be successful. What can they do to appeal to the market of renters? What is most important to renters? They also want to stay within the confines of the budget. With that in mind, here are three property management tips for property managers.
Sell the basics in property amenities
A recent report by NMHC/Kingsley surveyed people living in multi-housing communities and made a surprising discovery. Most renters rated "basic amenities" as the most important amenities to them. Among some of the most desired amenities were air conditioning, dishwashers, washers and dryers, and high-speed internet. The fact that many people even considered air conditioning or dishwashers an amenity was quite shocking. In some parts of the country air conditioning is almost a necessity. This means that you need not invest heavily in high-tech items, fancy gyms, or extravagant clubhouses. If you already have something like that on-site, then that's an added bonus. Keep the basics up-to-date and people will be satisfied.
Offer options
Residents and prospects need options for contacting your business, gaining information about apartments, requesting service, and paying rent. All of these tasks should be available for the person to complete online, in person, or by phone. Even applying to rent an apartment can be done online. Allow all generations to be comfortable with the process.
Superb maintenance and even better communication
When things do go wrong in a unit, people want to know that their problem will be addressed right away. Not only should you allow them a fast and easy way to request service, but make sure the maintenance technician receives the call right away and responds within a short time. A quick phone call to see what's going on and schedule service will be greatly appreciated by residents.
Catering to tenants is important in order to keep them comfortable and willing to renew their lease. It's much easier to keep your renters than to find new ones. As property managers we must constantly be looking for ways to innovate and improve on our property management best practices.
