Keeping long term tenants in place can help you save money on your rental properties. Having someone stay for a long time gives you peace of mind that rent will come in, and you don’t have to incur turnover costs every year or two years. And, you also know that the longer they stay, the better they take care of the property. They’ll treat it like their own. Today, we have a few tips to keeping a long term tenant.
Screening Tenants Well
You don’t want to keep bad tenants, so screening for good tenants is important. Do a thorough background check and look at past tenancies. Conduct all the proper screening to be sure you have a well-qualified applicant. You want to know they can pay on time and take good care of your house.
Respond to Maintenance Needs
Once you have a good tenant, keep that tenant happy. When problems come up, react quickly and take care of the issue in a timely manner. Fix what needs to be fixed. Be responsive and keep them happy. When tenants are happy, they stay longer, and owners save money. We work with one tenant who has been in a property for 20 years. That’s a lot of cash flow for the owner.
Price the Property Accurately
When you list the property for rent, make sure it’s a fair price. You don’t have to raise the rent by a lot every year. You don’t even have to raise it at all every year. Charging an extra $50 or $100 is not going to get you a lot, but it will cost you dearly if the tenant leaves. Keep your tenants happy by doing what’s fair, and follow the market.
Professionals can help. Property managers do this all the time. We know how to do inspections and regular maintenance. We can react to things quickly. We do this every day for our owners.
Check out our great reviews from tenants. We treat them fairly and take care of their problems.
If you have any questions about how to keep a tenant in your property long term, please contact us at Richey Property Management. We’d be happy to tell you more about Northern Virginia property management.
