The Pleasanton, CA rental market is never short on tenants. According to recent data, 32% of Pleasanton households are occupied by renters. The market only has a 4.3% vacancy rate, well below the national average of 6.6%. Landlords don’t have to look far to secure rental income in our beautiful city.
That being said, higher standards of living and income levels mean higher rent potential. Higher rental rates mean plenty of healthy competition amongst investors to secure those income streams. You can find yourself vying for opportunities to find and keep good tenants.
Advantage Property Management Services has over 10 years of success in Pleasanton property management. We’ve got you covered with some tips for staying competitive in our competitive market.
Preparing Your Pleasanton Property for Success
The first step in the process is finding the right tenants in the area. Even with a low vacancy rate, this can be harder than it seems. Pleasanton is one of the best places to live in California. In the same breath, it’s also a costlier place to live.
There’s standards you’ll want your property to live up to in order to give tenants that Pleasanton feeling and make them feel like they are getting their money’s worth. Ways to do this include:
- Renovations and Value-Adds: As you prepare your property for listing, a great way to make your property desirable for tenants is to upgrade the property with renovations and new features. Making your property feel more modern is a must. Value-adding features like a pool or an on-site gym can be great selling tools as well that make your property feel luxurious to applicants.
- Set Competitive Rental Rates: In a city with much higher than normal rental rates, it’s important to stay competitive with your rent. You want to be alluring to applicants without sacrificing income from your investment. A rental analysis tool such as the one we offer for free can be a great way to set rent.
- Presentation and Curb Appeal: First impressions are key. How you present your property makes the difference for a good showing that makes an applicant want to live there. Make sure every detail of the interiors and exteriors are clean, well maintained, and attractive for tenants.
Crafting a Property Marketing Plan
Hand in hand with physical presentation is how you present your property in marketing and advertising. Having a winning marketing plan is how you get anyone to look at your property in the first place. If you don’t have any marketing experience, a property management company can also market your property for you.
An attractive rental listing is made up of a few key elements. A well written and compelling description of your property is the first. Good-quality photography is also a must. If you can, invest in a professional photographer to really make your property shine. Both the description and the photography should highlight unique elements of your home such as renovations or amenities.
It’s a digital world, and you have to stay up to date on digital channels in order to market successfully as well. Having a good property listing doesn’t mean anything if it is not shared online effectively. This includes using social media, as these channels employed in the right way can spread your property the fastest. Listing your property online is another strategy that a property manager can perform for you.
Screening for the Right Tenants
Success as a landlord in Pleasanton is about more than just finding tenants. It’s also about screening effectively to make sure the tenants you do bring in are responsible and good for the long-term health of your property. After all, your main priorities with an investment property are to generate reliable rental income and keep the property in excellent condition.
Make sure that all of your screening processes are thorough in verifying the identity of the applicant. Background checks, rental history verification, and job verification are all in efforts to avoid fraud or tenants who might just not be the right fit for your rental property.
Building Positive Tenant Relationships
It’s always more profitable to re-sign a good standing existing tenant than it is to get a new one. You avoid the costs of vacancy and marketing the property this way. It’s also a good sign for your standing as a landlord when tenants want to re-sign with you. But how do you keep your tenants happy?
- Open and Prompt Communication: Communication is often the most important aspect of any relationship. That includes the landlord-tenant relationship. Make sure you always have multiple channels of communication for your tenants. An online tenant portal is a great way to accomplish this. Make sure if they have an issue you address it quickly and efficiently.
- Create a Welcoming Environment: Your tenants are going to be calling your property home. If you want them to keep calling it home, do your best to make them feel that way when working with you as well. Make sure you prioritize maintenance concerns or other needs they have. Don’t overlook needed renovations and new amenities for them once you have tenants either.
- Streamline Processes: A good website means more than a place to list your properties. It also becomes a place for tenants to make requests, communicate with you, and pay rent. Utilize streamlined software or a property manager that can make the routine steps tenants have to take a breeze.
Succeeding with Pleasanton Property Management
The rental market in Pleasanton, California is ripe for investors to make hefty monthly profits. To succeed in the long term however takes a savvy investor with a top notch property management team to attract the right tenants and hold onto them for multiple leases.
Consider hiring a property manager to help you follow these steps and more for your investment property. A property manager like Advantage Property Management Services that knows the area at large and can guarantee a plan for your property and tenants that works.
Learn more about what we can offer for your property and get a free rental analysis today.
