Are you looking for ways to reduce your rental property's vacancy rate?
Every month your property remains unoccupied pushes you closer to financial disaster. You have recurring bills, such as the mortgage, that must be settled whether you have a tenant or not. A high vacancy rate means you might not earn enough rental revenue to meet your financial obligations, let alone bank a profit.
There are various strategies you can use to keep the vacancy rate low, including using creative rental leasing. In this article, we're sharing how to use your rental leases to attract tenants and make them stay longer.
Digitize the Leasing Process
If you're the kind of landlord who's still doing things the old way, you might be unintentionally contributing to a high vacancy rate. Yes, getting tenants to review and sign physical lease agreements might still work, but in today's digital age, the vast majority of renters want a digitized leasing process.
This is especially important if your market is full of young renters. It's not unfathomable that a prospective renter can shun your rental apartment simply because you don't have a digital onboarding process.
Digitizing the process can be as simple as creating online lease agreements that prospective renters can review and sign. You can also develop an online portal or website with a lease management feature.
Be Creative With the Terms and Conditions of the Lease
Reading through some tenant leases, you'd be left wondering how some landlords are still in business today. Leases with punitive terms and conditions, such as unnecessary fines, will discourage tenants from renewing them.
A lease agreement protects your rights as a landlord, but it's also a tool you can use to minimize your property's vacancy rate. Offering attractive terms, such as rent discounts and waived fees, can entice new tenants to your property and incentivize current ones to renew their leases.
Long-Term Leases
Longer-term contracts are ideal for tenant retention since they discourage tenants from moving out often, especially when they don't have a pressing reason to move, such as a job transfer.
A short-term, such as a month-to-month lease, might give you some flexibility if you need to get rid of a bad tenant. However, if you do comprehensive tenant screening, you'll likely get good tenants, and keeping them on a longer-term lease is a property management best practice.
Once the lease expires and you don't want to lose a great tenant, give them lease renewal incentives. For example, offering a free month can make a tenant who had otherwise decided to move out stay.
Work With Rental Leasing Experts
Rental leasing is an important function in property management. It's not just about finding tenants and making them sign some papers. It takes skill and experience to develop a leasing strategy that keeps your property full.
The leasing management experts at PMI Atlanta West can help you with that. We are a full-service residential property management company in Atlanta, GA. Powered by PMI, a national real estate management company with over two decades of experience, we have access to resources to make your investment in rental property a success story.
Get in touch with us today.
