In Manhattan, landlords charge a median rent of $3,475 per month. This rent is for a one-bedroom apartment, showing that investment properties can be a great way to earn an additional income.
However, you will only earn extra money if your property is occupied. That's why you want your star tenant to sign on for another year.
Lease renewals don't have to be complex to navigate, and the smoother the process, the quicker your tenant will sign. But how can you get your best tenant to renew?
Luckily, you can do a few things to encourage them to renew the lease agreement. Keep reading to learn five right now.
Send Reminders
When renewing a lease, reminders are essential, but only if sent at the right time. As a landlord, if you're sending your reminders a month before they expire, you might be too late.
If a tenant plans to leave, they'll start looking for a new place long before their lease ends. For this reason, you should send your lease reminders at least three months in advance. They don't have to be pushy, but gentle reminders can help with lease renewals.
Keep Up With Maintenance
If you're not keeping up with regular maintenance on your property, chances are high that your tenants will not enjoy living there when things start to go wrong. For this reason, keeping up with regular property maintenance is crucial if you want your tenant to keep living there.
Offer Convenient Lease Renewal Methods
Offering an easy way for your tenant to renew their lease agreement will help increase your chances of your tenant signing on the dotted line. One way to do this is to offer tenants access to a Tenant Portal in their leasing options. This portal can allow your tenant to:
- View important documents
- Sign lease renewals
- Make rent payments
- Submit maintenance requests
- And more
Hire a Property Manager
Hiring an experienced property management company can help if landlord duties take up too much of your time. They will assign you a property manager who will take over many of the responsibilities that fall to you when you own investment properties.
One of these tasks is lease renewals. Your property manager will send reminders and communicate with your tenants about their lease agreement so you don't have to.
Keep Rent Increases Reasonable
Finally, if you like your tenants and they treat your property respectfully and keep it in top condition, consider being more lenient on the rent increases. Of course, every landlord would love to increase rent by 10% every year, but this puts you at risk of your tenant missing a payment.
Instead, try to keep the rent increases reasonable, such as 5-7%. This will encourage your tenant to renew their lease agreement.
Handle Lease Renewals Like a Boss
Landlords can do a few things to encourage their tenants to renew their lease agreements. By sending reminders in advance, keeping up with property maintenance, offering convenient renewal methods, hiring a property manager, and keeping rent increases reasonable, you can increase your chances of retaining your star tenants.
Contact us today if you're looking for an experienced, full-service property management company in Pleasanton, CA. At Advanced Property Management Services, we take over everything, including lease renewals, so you don't have to lift a finger.
