According to the US Census Bureau, national vacancy rates were close to 7% in 2019.
While the vacancy rate of your rental property may vary over the years, there are several strategies that you can implement in your property management to improve the occupancy rate of your rental properties and lower your vacancies.
Do you want to learn how to make more money with rental property management and increased tenant retention? Keep reading these 8 strategies that will help you improve your occupancy.
1. Focus on Retaining Tenants
One of the most important strategies you can follow to improve your occupancy rate is to focus on retaining the tenants that you already have. If you focus all of your budget and efforts on finding new tenants, you may find that your existing tenants will move out, and you will be left with an occupancy rate that you cannot maintain.
By focusing on retaining your current tenants, you can keep your rental property occupied. One way to retain your current tenants is to find ways to motivate them to stick with your complex.
This will keep turnover low and can help you build a great reputation for your rental property.
2. Screen Tenants
Not only do you need to retain your tenants, but you also need to screen your tenants to ensure you have high-quality people living at your rental property. If you accept any tenants into your property, you may have an influx of bad tenants, which can be worse than no tenants.
By screening your tenants, you can make sure they are interested in staying at your property long-term, which will prevent tenant turnover. This will also help you ensure that the people living at your rental property will be able to pay rent, will not damage your property, and more.
3. Update Rental Property Listings
Another helpful strategy to improve the occupancy rate is to update your rental listings. This is especially important if you have recently gone through renovations or made other changes to your apartment.
By having up-to-date property listings on your website, future tenants will know what to expect and be more interested in living at your rental property.
4. Prioritize Location
It is also vital that you prioritize the location of your rental property when you are first buying your rental property. By choosing a location that is attractive to tenants and where housing is in high demand, you will find that your occupancy rates reach new heights.
A few things that you should consider when finding rental property locations is whether or not it is close to public transportation, crime rates, the quality of nearby school districts, and more.
If the location of your property is appealing to your tenants, you will not have to worry about vacancies.
5. Hire a Property Management Team
Hiring a property management team is a simple and effective way to improve your occupancy rate. First and foremost, they can help you find new tenants! They will follow up on leads, improve your marketing, and can help keep your vacancy lower.
They will also help you compete with your competition in the rental market. Because there may be more housing available than the demand for housing, you will need to find ways to make your rental property stand out from the rest.
6. Utilize Marketing
If you are not properly utilizing your marketing, you will likely have a higher vacancy rate. By using online marketing, rental listing sites, and more, you will be able to reach more people who are in the market for a new apartment.
When you use online marketing, you will be able to reach more new tenants. You can also consider advertising online for your rental property to find renters looking for nearby properties.
7. Build Good Relationships With Tenants
It is vital that you start building good relationships with your tenants.
The landlord-tenant relationship is something that will affect the overall happiness of your renters. If they are unhappy with your services or if they feel mistreated, they will try to find somewhere to live where they feel like they are treated better.
By developing good relationships with your tenants, offering incentives, and providing amenities, you will find that your tenants are more inclined to stay.
8. Maintain Your Property
Finally, you must maintain your property if you want to avoid vacancies. If you do not keep your property well maintained, you will find that people will choose to live in other rental properties that are kept up to date.
First, you want to make sure you always keep your property clean. While you cannot control how your tenants clean their rental property, you can make sure you regularly spruce up the exterior of your property!
It is also important that you make repairs promptly. If things are broken down and deteriorated, people will not want to live in your rental property.
Lastly, you can find ways to make updates to each of your properties! Even by simply repainting the walls inside your rental property or with huge renovations, you can make your property more attractive to potential tenants.
Start Improving Your Occupancy Rate With Property Management
When you have your rental properties fully occupied, you will make a lot more money and be able to pay off your rental properties faster. However, many real estate investors think that they cannot avoid vacancies.
By following each of these 8 strategies, you can increase your occupancy rate in your Memphis rental properties.
Are you looking for a property management company to help with your tenant occupancy? Reedy & Company can help!
We have over 40 years of experience and manage over 3,500 properties. Contact our team today to learn more about our unrivaled property management services and to get started.
