Tips for Minimizing Rental Vacancy

It is disheartening to have a vacant rental house just because you can't find tenants; the more vacancy you have the less your rental property will be making for you. Use the following tips to get and retain tenants:

Be Proactive with Current Tenants

A proactive tenant doesn't just wake up one day to learn that a tenant is vacating the premises (well, except in cases of emergency). Rather, you need to consult each tenant on their intentions when their lease period is nearing expiry. Say a tenant has three months left on their contract; you can schedule a meeting with them to learn whether they are planning to move or renew the lease. This gives you ample time to start looking for another tenant should the current one inform you of their intentions to move.

Keep Up Your Property's Appearances

Your property's curb appeal plays a huge role in the attraction and retention of tenants. Even if you have structurally sound properties, but they appear derelict and unkempt, you will not find it easy to keep tenants. Therefore, ensure the lawn is properly trimmed, the paint is not pealing and there are no dead tree stumps on your property. It's particularly easy to let your property fall into disuse once you have bagged long-term tenants, but that would reduce your chances of getting them to renew their leases.

Understand the Market

The rental property market fluctuates just like other sub-branches of the property market. Therefore, you need to understand the market, especially when renewing leases or marketing new tenants, to ensure your rents are conversant with prevailing market rates. This is especially necessary if you have had the same tenants for a long time and your understanding of the rental market has grown rustic. Otherwise, you may find yourself keeping prospective tenants at bay by advertising higher-than-market-rate rents.

Offer Relevant Incentives

Never underestimate the power of incentives when it comes to the rental property market. Incentives can take different forms, for example, you can:

  • Offer to pay a fraction of the utility bills every month
  • Offer a discount for tenants who pay their rents several months in advance
  • Offer a rent discount for tenants who renew their leases
  • Offer free gifts (such as household appliances) for tenants who sign longer leases

The good news is that you don't have to do all these alone; you can contact a property management service to help you find tenants

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