Maintaining a low vacancy rate is a core pillar of investment success. If you want your investment to be profitable, you need to have paying tenants living in your property. That part is obvious. What might be less obvious, however, is exactly how you go about doing that. In fact, there’s a whole lot of strategy that goes into keeping vacancy rates low. A reputable property management (PM) company can help you with vacancies as well as improve the long-term success of your investment.
How a Property Management Company Works for You
In terms of vacancy, it’s normal to experience some downtime between tenants, and factoring this in should be part of your financial calculations. The goal is to keep your vacancy rate as low as possible, and a property management company can help you do this in the following ways.
- By sourcing good tenants – In general, high-quality tenants tend to stay in your property for longer periods. They are also more likely to take good care of your property. That means not only do you have a lower vacancy rate, but you also may have fewer turnover expenses. Renting to good tenants is a must.
- By helping you set your rent rates accurately – Setting rent rates on vacant properties and at renewal is part art, part science. If you set your rates too high, you run the risk of losing good tenants or worse, attracting the wrong type of tenant. Setting fair market rents is your best bet for keeping vacancy low, and a PM company can help you do that.
- By managing your lease agreements and policies – Your tenants should be responsible for as much as reasonably possible, but policies that are too stiff may limit your tenant pool. For example, your PM company may recommend instituting a pet policy to address vacancy issues. In fact, there have been numerous studies done to demonstrate that residents who have pets generally stay longer in a unit.
- By establishing a good rapport with your tenants – A PM company that is responsive to maintenance needs and makes a good first impression will help your vacancy cause. While it may sound surprising, studies suggest that most residents already make up their minds about renewal within the first several weeks of moving into a property – and first impressions from your PM company have a big influence on this.
To learn more about these and other strategies for reducing vacancies, be sure to check out all our blog content on the topic, and get in touch with us anytime to ask your questions about the Columbus market.
