The customer experience is often overlooked in business simply because it's difficult to quantify. With that said, it’s no less a vital part to your success as a real estate investor. Rental vacancies are extremely costly and the way you maximize your property’s income-earning potential is by minimizing turnover as much as possible.
While some factors are beyond your control, the resident experience is a big piece of the puzzle. Draw on your own rental experiences to crack the code for property management excellence.
5 Experience-Driven Questions for Forming Unparalleled Property Management Services
If you have experience as a renter of any kind, you have a leg up on the competition. The renter experience isn’t just theory and conjecture for you – it’s reality. That reality allows you to better understand and prioritize what your residents really want from the management.
When putting together a management team or serving yourself, ask yourself:
1. How do I want to feel in my home?
The home is a very important place whether we own it or not. Part of what you must consider as an owner or manager is how your property makes its residents feel. This might be difficult to determine, but you yourself can step into the space and recognize how it makes you feel.
This matters mostly in terms of:
- Cleanliness – No one wants to worry about pests, vermin, mold, or other aesthetic issues in their home. The space should be clean and well-kept. The residents might carry some of these responsibilities, but you ensure that carpets and floors are well maintained, pests are kept out, and the overall structure is clean (ie. A power washed exterior, clean windows, no dust build-up, etc.)
- Safety – Our home is where we should feel most safe. Residents can be made to feel safe by merit of the property’s location and neighborhood but also by the features of the home itself. Do doors and windows lock securely? Are they sturdy? Are there exterior lights, opportunities for security features, and ample privacy?
- Comfort – While comfort in the most literal sense is up to what furniture your renters bring with them, homes themselves provide comfort in other ways. Avoid awkward layouts, cramped spaces, a lack of storage solutions, and lacking natural light. No one wants to live in a place that makes them feel cooped up, crowded out, and depressed.
2. What kind of treatment do I expect from my property manager?
We say it all the time – investing in real estate is a people business. While interaction may be somewhat limited between a manager and their residents, the interactions you do have count. What first impressions are being made? How do you respond to questions and requests? Do you seek feedback in earnest and express appropriate appreciation? Every renter wants to feel valued. They want to be treated with dignity and respect. It might seem like a given, but you’d be surprised how many management teams are lacking in this area.
3. What are my greatest frustrations about the renting experience?
What really bugs you about renting? Between renting and homeownership, no model is perfect. Both can be fraught with challenges. Write down what you find most annoying, grating, and downright infuriating about renting. Waiting for repairs? Not getting your security deposit back? Lack of communication? There are lots of potential pet peeves. Identify them through survey or experience and model your management strategy to address these issues.
4. Why would I stay where I am rather than move elsewhere?
What would keep you where you are? Residents can be incentivized to stay or leave based on how they’re treated by management and the level of quality provided. Is there anything that would make you loyal to a place? If you were renting your property, would you be content there for more than a few years? Or would you quickly outgrow the space? Would the management team treat you so well that you could overlook minor issues?
In a world of competition, incentives matter!
5. How do I want an emergency handled?
Put yourself back in a renter’s mindset. You’re suddenly faced with a rental property emergency: it’s the dead of winter and your heat is out. What do you expect (no, demand!) from the management in response? One would hope that the issue is addressed swiftly! Speed isn’t the only factor worth considering, though.
Communication and the quality of the fix make a difference, too.
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