buying your first home - what you should know

5 Things Tenants Want From Your Property Management Service

The selection of a good property management service is vital to ensure your reputation as a high-quality landlord. After all, the service is the one with whom tenants will interact — from the time they're shopping for a unit to the midnight phone calls when a pipe bursts. So, you do well to consider what your tenants want in a property management company. Here are five things to look for.

1. Responsiveness

When a tenant calls or talks to the property manager, they want to feel heard and attended to. This means your service should stay on top of communications and have plans in place to respond to both emergencies and routine matters. Timelines should be short and standard operating procedures should already be in place. 

2. Designated Contacts

Tenants like to know with whom they will deal when a need arises. They want to feel that they know who they're talking to and who they should seek out with a particular concern. Your management service can help with this by having dedicated staff for certain areas or certain recurring tasks (like rent collection or notification of pending work). These staff members should be available and consistent. 

3. Self-Service Options

Today's renters are more tech-savvy than ever before, and they often expect to be able to do many things online or virtually. Tenant portals provide renters the ability to pay their monthly rent, request non-urgent maintenance, access their contract, apply for a new unit, and find answers to frequently asked questions. And not only do tenants benefit from self-service, but your management company is freed up as well. 

4. Proactive Activities

The less a tenant has to worry about matters, the more satisfied they are paying that monthly rent. This means that your property manager should be proactive about ensuring a smooth experience. They should arrange to do minor repairs before tenants notice, perform scheduled maintenance before it's a problem, and reach out to tenants before the renters reach out to them. 

5. Flexibility

Renters are people too, and they have their own unique needs and circumstances. While you don't want to give in to every tenant's demand, authorizing a little flexibility can help you maintain good relations with quality renters. This could be as simple as making temporary accommodations for tenants during an emergency, or it could be bigger concessions, such as flexibility in lease termination. 

Does your property management company provide these valuable assets to tenants? If not, now may be the time to find one that does. A little change could go a long way toward ensuring the best business relationship with all your renters and a minimum of expensive turnover. 

Contact a local property management service to learn more.


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