How to Minimize High Tenant Turnover in Your Sacramento Rental Property

There are a lot of good reasons to avoid resident turnover. If you find your property is becoming vacant again after every lease term, you need to implement some strategies that will minimize such high turnover. 

Let’s take a closer look at how you manage your rental property and evaluate where changes need to be made. Turnover is expensive. It’s frustrating. The Sacramento rental market being what it is today, it’s also unnecessary. 

Here are some of the ways we minimize turnover as Sacramento property managers. 

Provide a Competitive and Updated Sacramento Rental Property

Residents are less likely to leave homes that they love. If you want to avoid turnover, make sure your property is an attractive and welcoming home. Invest in some curb appeal and keep up with landscaping. You can typically roll the costs of lawn care right into the rental amount. 

Make sure the home is in excellent condition when your residents move in. This will make it easier for them to maintain throughout the tenancy. Pay attention to upgrades and updates that help your property stand out in a crowded market. Offer the amenities residents are looking for. If they can find them in your home, they are likely to stay in place longer. Provide in-unit laundry. Welcome pets. Install smart tech features such as video doorbells and smart thermostats. 

Responsive Communication Retains Residents

Responsiveness and communication are critical when you want to keep residents happy and reduce your vacancy and turnover rates. This is where it can be beneficial to work with professional Sacramento property managers. A management company will maintain ongoing communication and develop excellent relationships with your residents. If you are managing on your own, make sure your resident’s questions are being answered and needs are being met. Remain responsive and accessible. 

Your residents will need to know how to contact you. It’s vital to be available 24 hours a day in case there’s an emergency at the property. Send an email or make a phone call every now and then just to check-in. 

Prioritize Maintenance Requests 

One of the main reasons residents decide to move out of a rental property is that their repair requests are ignored. You don’t want to create an expensive vacancy this way. Be responsive, even to routine repairs.

Emergencies require an immediate response. A property owner who is focused on avoiding resident turnover will respond with the same sense of urgency when there’s something simple needed. Don’t ignore the small stuff. 

Make sure you’re prioritizing preventative maintenance. Pest control is important and you’ll want to have the HVAC system inspected and serviced annually. This will increase efficiency, and your residents will appreciate the lower utility bills.

Reduce Resident Turnover with Market-Based Rental Increases

A deciding factor in whether a resident will renew a lease agreement or look elsewhere is the amount of rent they’re paying. 

While most renters expect an increase at renewal time, anything that’s too high will likely drive away your residents. If you’re going to increase the rent, take a good look at the market. Perhaps you’ll feel justified in raising the rent by 5 percent based on the data you’ve seen. Consider raising it by 2 or 3 percent instead, and let your residents know that you’re keeping the rent lower than the market value of your property because you value their tenancy.