This stuff works!

Jeffrey came to Nashville last week and encouraged us to increase retention.

What are YOU doing to retain tenants?

I have a fantastic tenant who moved from one house to her current home a year or so ago. She gave me noticed that she wanted to move. I asked her, like Jeffrey suggested, what is one thing that I can do to keep you? She said - give pest control 3x a year. Total cost less than $300. I said "done!". I was going to try to push rent $150/mo on a new tenant since I would have had 75 days notice. It's worth keeping a great tenant who might eventually buy a house through me as her agent!

This stuff works...

Justin

Advantages of retaining tenants varies with individual market.

In my market, there's always another tenant born very minute. I find that what works best for me is to be absolutely dispassionate about tenant, I don't care if they stay or go. If they stay, I get my reasonable rent increase, if they go, I gat even more over the long run. Plus, I am free of worrying about retaining or losing a tenant.

But it all depends on the market. No landlord wants an actual vacancy, Vacancies cost money.

But I have need to be free of worry about fear of vacancy, so my price is adjusted to guarantee full occupancy. Fortunately, in my market, outstanding raises have been possible while at the same time, maintaining full occupancy.

Since almost all of my tenants leave then they buy a house, I don't think there is much I can do to convince them to stay.

I get a few leave when they get a new job out of state. I don't think there is much I can do to keep them, either.

I dislike vacancies, because I worry I will mess up and accept a bad tenant, so it is stressful. But I don't like for tenants to stay more than 5 years because sometime near that 5 year mark, they start to feel ownership rights and they get hard to work with.

The most common complaint from tenants in apartments, the one that has them moving out at the end of the lease and angry when they leave, is noise from the neighbors. So, I suppose really good soundproofing would help to retain tenants in apartment buildings.

MOSHA 3rd para 2nd and 3rd sentence. NO not everyone feels that way about vacancy's.

JUSTIN there is no long money in retention-- unless your talking 1000's of units to keep full. Most local - low volume LL's should be thinking move-um out and move rent up.

That's our policy but we swim against the current and fish in ponds hard to get to!!!!!

You WANT vacancies? (They shouldn't be hard to find). If you are really desperate, perhaps you can pay a tenant to move out so you can have a vacancy.

I want vacancies on my schedule. Jeff put it perfectly. Moving forward-- new people new updates new rent. No long term renters. There's no money in long term.

Mosha they are not hard to find and since it's on my schedule-- it keeps me in the driver's seat. I know that goes against most thinking here but we only have a small office. 1 full time MMan so with a vacancy "schedule" all properties are kept fresh.

I agree that retention of tenants is not necessarily a valuable item. But Jeffrey seems to think so. For me, I have no loyalty to a tenant other than civility and politeness.

Yes, its all about money. In my market, I am free to raise the rent at the end of any one-year lease. So I get the same money in long-term tenants as there is in shorter-term tenants. My properties stay fresh because: 1) I make them fresh at turnover; 2) I take only tenants who I believe will keep the place fresh; 3) I discard tenant who don't perform as expected. I don't get many of #3. I don't have any trouble to stay in the driver's seat. I drive, and everyone else goes along with my way. else, the hiway.

I simply don't care if a tenant stays or goes. I raise the rent, tenant accepts or declines. End-of-lease provides a convenient time to change tenants who don't perform as expected. The important thing is to HAVE a good tenant. But I don't actively seek vacancies for the sake of having a vacancy.