Easy Steps for Keeping Your Tenants Happy

As a property manager, it is your responsibility to give your valued tenants many reasons to reside in your building.  Therefore, your long-term business strategy should put a priority on the quality of communication between you and your tenants. This is essential for keeping them engaged, and for making your building attractive to potential new tenants.

Smart property managers use solid communication to maintain their relationships with existing tenants, and to attract new ones. It's a cost-effective way to increase tenant satisfaction and, in turn, keep occupancy rates high. A recent study by Kingsley Associates, a leader in real estate research, said that tenants who are happy with property management are three times more likely to renew their leases.
According to the same study, communicating first with tenants is one of the best ways property managers can increase tenants' satisfaction. If you haven't already done so, sit down and consider how often and in what form you can initiate a conversation with your tenants. Be receptive to them at all times. It will create a positive relationship and assure their success and yours.

Another important area for achieving tenant satisfaction is accommodation. This can include one or more of the following areas:

• Provide your tenants with a longer lease term in exchange for a new lease.
• When negotiating a new lease, include favorable terms that encourage your tenants to make a long commitment.
• Provide flexible leasing that can make your tenants happy for the long term.
• Adjust rent reviews to give your tenants more stability for planning ahead for their rental costs.
• Provide improvements at no cost in exchange for a new lease.

A third area you should consider for making your tenants happy is quality of services. This can be a little difficult, since many management companies have smaller staffs than they did in previous years.  The challenge is to keep costs down while maintaining a building in a way that keeps your tenants upbeat about their environment.

Also in This Issue

• Springtime at the Office: Spring Fever or Seasonal Tune-Up
• How Telecom Services Make Your Property More Valuable
• Commercial Real Estate Snapshot
• Commercial Real Estate Online Resources
• Lightpath Solutions: Managed WiFi
• Lightpath Managed WiFi Question and Answer