You and your residents have been through an awful lot the past year. Many of them have been facing difficult situations personally, in their living arrangements and financially. Fortunately, well managed communities and their staffs have been with them every step of the way.
This is something worth reminding them when it comes time to renew.
Retention can and should be more than just reporting on renewed leases; your software should allow employees to chronicle activities by its staff members at the individual resident level that improve resident satisfaction.
Is the past year a blur? Probably. Residents might only remember what’s been happening with them since that morning, or maybe just the past week. So, it’s important for your team track all those positive moments.
Imagine. While on a service call, the maintenance tech notices a beeping smoke detector so they go ahead and take care of it much to the resident's delight. Or maybe on the walk to the office, an onsite team member helps a resident clear snow on their windshield or help them manage packages.
I know, these kinds of nice deeds happen all the time, but wouldn’t it be great if what your employees did to make their residents’ lives more pleasant was recorded in your property management software instead of being written on a note that was left in a drawer in the office somewhere and forgotten?
When it comes time for residents to renew, have that documentation out and ready to show them. Not in an obnoxious way, but as a reminder. Residents often forget all the little things you might have done for them.
During this past 15 months, you’ve built up a lot of emotional credit with them.
This is a simple thing. It works. And while tracking these types of events, if the onsite team notices that some residents’ “good deed” files are empty, then those are the residents you should target. Look for ways to engage with them and to do something special. Really, retention efforts start the minute they first walk into their new apartment.
This is something worth reminding them when it comes time to renew.
Retention can and should be more than just reporting on renewed leases; your software should allow employees to chronicle activities by its staff members at the individual resident level that improve resident satisfaction.
Is the past year a blur? Probably. Residents might only remember what’s been happening with them since that morning, or maybe just the past week. So, it’s important for your team track all those positive moments.
Imagine. While on a service call, the maintenance tech notices a beeping smoke detector so they go ahead and take care of it much to the resident's delight. Or maybe on the walk to the office, an onsite team member helps a resident clear snow on their windshield or help them manage packages.
I know, these kinds of nice deeds happen all the time, but wouldn’t it be great if what your employees did to make their residents’ lives more pleasant was recorded in your property management software instead of being written on a note that was left in a drawer in the office somewhere and forgotten?
When it comes time for residents to renew, have that documentation out and ready to show them. Not in an obnoxious way, but as a reminder. Residents often forget all the little things you might have done for them.
During this past 15 months, you’ve built up a lot of emotional credit with them.
This is a simple thing. It works. And while tracking these types of events, if the onsite team notices that some residents’ “good deed” files are empty, then those are the residents you should target. Look for ways to engage with them and to do something special. Really, retention efforts start the minute they first walk into their new apartment.
When trying to make up for move-outs, it’s too easy to just try to buy occupancy. You don’t have to. During my property management days, our goal was a 60 percent retention rate. That’s high, but it was our bar. If we fell behind, we’d know it and try to fix it. Dropping rents does not have to be the answer.
Some say, during good times, if you’re 98 percent occupied, your rents are too low. But wait: You can be 98 percent occupied and also lead your market in rent if you do everything right. You have to remember that this is your residents’ biggest investment. It’s the place they call home. Doing the little things will add up to make that difference.
In 2021, we could see big swings when it comes to year-over-year numbers. Many residents, at this point, are sick of staring at their same four walls and will want to move.
When you meet with them, ask them what you can do for them. Don’t underestimate the emotional credit they help to build between you and your residents now – after everything you’ve both been through the past year.
If you listen to what it is about their apartment home that has become stale in their eyes you might stumble upon ways to improve the environment. Be supportive by offering alternatives to another month looking at those walls. Offer them a new environment. It might mean suggesting that they move to a different apartment in your community, or to a nearby sister community.
Maybe there are some furniture discounts you can offer so they can make a few changes in their place. You have to get creative. Maybe they want a view that is a little greener, so you let them pick from a catalog of patio plant options, plants that not only enhance their home they can take them with them. If they now office from home, and are using their only bedroom due to space, you could purchase a murphy bed (a nice one not the cheapest one) that makes the room multifunctional but with space. You can save money when you set up a corporate account with suppliers like wayfair.com.
At the same time, you also have to do the math based on if you are a short-term property holder or a long-term one. Incurring the turn and remarketing expense in the current year for a marginal effective rent increase could be the right call if you are looking to position the asset and need the rent growth. If you are planning a long-term hold, getting a marginal rent increase but avoiding the turn and remarketing expense could be the right call for your cash management.
If you budgeted for flatlined rent growth or a slight increase by unit type, now is the time to start paying close attention to your value propositions and the demand for individual units. No two units are exactly the same; otherwise, they would have the same unit number on the door.
So, utilize unit-level demand and occupancy reporting to identify rent growth opportunities at the unit level.
Your software should provide you with real-time visibility into the retention efforts along with rent growth analysis and forecasting at the unit type and the unit level.
If you’re interested in ResMan as a software provider for your daily operations, book a demo to see the product up close.
