You can’t have a successful investment experience with your Colorado Springs rental home if you don’t have good tenants in place. A vacant property is expensive. A property that sees a lot of turnovers is also expensive. Your goal, whether you’re managing your own home or using the services of a Colorado Springs property management company, must always start with attracting, placing, and retaining good tenants.
Getting a resident into your property is step one. Keeping that resident there is step two.
Successful landlords in Colorado Springs must understand the importance of not only finding quality tenants for their rental properties but also the importance of making sure those tenants continue to renew their leases.
The best tenants will treat your rental property like it’s their own home. They’ll keep it clean, take pride in how it looks, and help you maintain it. You’ll get rent paid on time every month and you’ll have no concerns that the lease agreement is in danger of being violated.
You need a plan to place tenants and then retain them.
Here are some of the things we do to ensure a good experience with tenant placement and tenant retention.
Attracting High-Quality Colorado Springs Tenants
The best tenants in Colorado Springs are looking for attractive, well-maintained rental homes.
Here’s what you’ll need to do to ensure you’re getting the attention of those tenants.
- Price Your Property Accurately and Competitively
The right rental rate will attract the best tenants and maximize what you earn every month in income. While it’s tempting to set the price as high as you possibly can, that might easily backfire and deliver either unqualified tenants or leave your property vacant for longer than you’d like.
Tenants are smarter than ever, thanks to the access they have to technology and market data. They know what your property is worth. High-quality tenants will not overpay. They know they don’t have to.
During the marketing process, a rental price that’s accurate will get the attention of good tenants during the marketing process. You’ll find a large number of prospective tenants ready to see your property, and that’s going to increase the chances that you find and place a well-qualified renter.
- Market the Home Widely
You can’t attract good tenants to your rental property if they don’t know it’s available.
Strategic marketing will help you identify good tenants and draw them to your home. Put together a listing that includes professional-grade photos. Tenants are likely going to scroll through phones when they’re looking for their next rental home, and they’ll look at the pictures before they read any descriptions. The photos really have to count.
Use a good camera, even if it’s your phone camera. Pay attention to the angles and make sure there’s enough lighting. Natural light is best. Include photos of the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and common areas. If there’s an outdoor space or a garage, a photo of those areas is essential. Provide a picture of the front of the property.
In addition to the photos, put together a listing that’s detailed but concise. Make sure you reference how much the rent is, how big the home is, and any leasing terms that need to be highlighted, such as whether pets are allowed. Don’t forget to include your contact information.
Syndicate your listing across multiple rental platforms, including Zillow, Zumper, HotPads, and other popular rental sites.
- Make Sure Your Colorado Springs Home is Move-In Ready
First impressions count when you’re trying to attract high-quality tenants to lease your property. Before marketing and showing your property, you need to make sure it’s move-in ready. Tenants will not want to see a home that still needs repairs or hasn’t been cleaned.
Take a look at the property from the street and make sure the landscaping is fresh and the front door is clear of cobwebs, dirt, and debris. Inside, the floors and carpets should be clean and in good shape. Fresh paint will make a difference and all your appliances and systems must be clean and in working order.
Tenants should be able to imagine themselves moving right in.
- Offer the Best Amenities and Well-Chosen Upgrades
To attract the best tenants, you’ll need to offer something that other properties do not. Maybe that’s new, energy-efficient appliances or a video doorbell that helps with security and provides a tech upgrade. You could provide landscaping services or offer a gym membership.
Hard surface floors, fresh paint, in-unit laundry, and fenced yards all make a difference when good tenants are deciding where to live.
- Screen Carefully and Consistently
Colorado Springs property management can help you, screen tenants, carefully and consistently. If you’re going to screen yourself, make sure you’re prepared to collect national criminal records and run eviction checks, evaluate credit reports, measure income against the cost of rent, and talk to former and current landlords in order to obtain references.
Make sure you have a documented screening process in place so you don’t violate the Fair Housing Act. This is another great reason to work with property managers when you’re screening.
Retaining High-Quality Colorado Springs Tenants
Retaining tenants is perhaps even more important than attracting them. If you lose your tenant every time the lease ends, you have to face some pretty steep expenses. There’s the cost of vacancy, the money needed to repair and replace anything that’s due to wear and tear, and the general costs of marketing a home and getting it ready for the rental market again.
Here’s what you’ll need to do to retain your best tenants.
- Be Responsive with Maintenance
Good tenants expect their maintenance requests to be taken seriously and responded to right away. You don’t want to leave those issues unfixed. Set up a fast, efficient process for responding to maintenance requests and keep in touch with tenants throughout the scheduling and repair. Follow up after the work is done to ensure everything was taken care of.
The number one reason tenants leave a rental home is the lack of concern over maintenance. Don’t lose a tenant this way. Make maintenance a priority. Not only is it good for tenant retention; it also protects the condition of your asset.
- Provide Great Customer Service
Your tenants are your customers, and you want to treat them that way. Make sure you’re open, transparent, and willing to communicate. Share your expectations at the beginning of the lease agreement so they understand their responsibilities. Return their phone calls and messages. Provide resources and support when they need help.
Show them that you appreciate them. Say thank you every time rent is paid on time. Send birthday cards. Consider leaving a welcome gift when they move in. These little gestures will go a long way and it will help you establish a professional, respectful working relationship that will contribute to a lease renewal.
- Allow Online Rental Payments
A good tenant retention plan includes access to technology, specifically when it comes to rental payments. Most tenants today pay for almost everything electronically. If you are able to do so, offer online rental payments. When tenants can pay securely and efficiently online, they’ll be more likely to stay with you. It should be easy for them to schedule payments ahead of time, set up recurring payments, and send notes or correspondence when necessary.
- Be Reasonable with Rent Increases
Raising the rent every year when the lease renews is not unusual, and most of your good tenants will expect a higher rent from year to year. But, there’s no need to increase it by a large amount every year, especially if the market doesn’t support it. Make a smart increase that covers your own additional expenses but doesn’t chase away your great tenants.
Colorado Springs Property Management and Tenants
There’s a lot you can do to find, place, and retain great tenants in Colorado Springs. But, if you’re worried you don’t have the resources or the time or the experience, you can do one thing to improve your tenant experience: hire a property management partner.
Property managers work with hundreds and even thousands of tenants every year. We know how to communicate with tenants, respond to tenants, and ensure an outstanding rental experience for everyone. We work on tenant retention even before the lease is signed. Having processes and systems in place to provide efficient management allows us to develop and maintain good relationships with tenants.
Tenants know that they’re likely to get more responsive service when there’s a property manager collecting rent and responding to maintenance. We aren’t friends with your tenants – protecting your investment and your interests is always our first priority.
But, we’ve learned that happy tenants lead to happy owners. Why? Because happy tenants pay rent on time. They take care of properties. They never need to be evicted.
If you’re wondering what we do to find and keep good tenants, we’d love to tell you more. Contact us at Muldoon Associates, and we’ll share our tips for finding those great tenants and keeping them in place once they’ve signed a lease agreement.
