One of the biggest problems for owners of income property is tenant retention. High turnover is a very costly matter.
Let me cover a few things that you can do to keep your tenants in your apartment or houses paying you market rents and staying for a long time.
1. Get rid of the bad eggs you have. This can amount to 5%-10% of your rental base. You want the other 90% to stay with you. Get rid of the 10% who are a pain in
the — to you and your other tenants. Bad tenants are like cancer, it affects the whole body, In this case they affect others living in your unit(s). If the person(s) are creating a disturbance get rid of him/her. I have offered to pay tenants to move. It is cheaper than having them not pay rent then you have to evict them which is very costly. A few
bad apples can cause many problems.
2. Put out a newsletter once a month. This goes a long way to keeping an open line of communication with your tenants. It makes them feel like family. One page back and front is fine, it does not have to be fancy unless you want to do so.
3. Lease renewal is a very important time. Communicate with the resident at least 90 days before their lease is up. Use this time to start working on them to stay in your rental unit. We even raise rent on them and they end up staying.
4. When you first sign a tenant up in one of your rentals note their birthday as well as their spouse and or significant other. This goes a long way in building that relationship.