A rental property investment is one of the most lucrative investments one can make in Texas. It can present investors with opportunity to diversify their investment, while setting them up to earn passive income for many years to come.
Knowing that owning property is one of the best investment opportunities in the Austin area, your rental can only truly take off if you’ve made the right moves. One such move is by attracting long-term tenants. Long-term tenants help guarantee consistent income as they’ll be more vested in the property.
Attracting Long-term Tenants to Your Rental Property
Make Your Property Look Attractive
Looking for long-term tenants? You’ll need to invest in projects that make your property look attractive. Remember, quality tenants are always looking for quality rentals. You can’t expect to attract quality tenants if your property looks deplorable.
If your property looks like it has seen better days, consider reinvigorating it with some upgrades.
Consider a professional cleaning. While this may cost you a little cash, you can rest assured your property will be left looking fresh and clean.
Another upgrade to consider is a paint job. It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to your home. Don’t forget about landscaping either, as first impressions can make or break your efforts.
Create Listings that Target the Right Tenants
Landlords know how frustrating vacant rental units can be. At the same time, the last thing you want is to rush the process only to end up with a problem tenant. Before you begin sending your ads to various rental listing sites, make sure they target your ideal tenant.
Once you know who you are targeting (for example: families or professionals) go ahead and start drafting the ad. If you have no experience in marketing, consider hiring expert help.
To reach as many prospective tenants as possible, make sure to make the ad as detailed as possible. Include details such as location, furnishings, rent amount, number of bedrooms, appliances available, and nearby amenities.
Also, don’t forget to include as many high-quality photos as possible.
You’ll need to make sure to go through your listing carefully to make sure it’s free of discriminatory statements that disadvantage certain groups of people based on characteristics such as race, gender, and sexuality. Be sure to adhere to the Fair Housing Act.
Advertise Your Property Relentlessly
To increase your chances of landing long-term tenants, market your property to as many prospective tenants as possible. Do this by making use of a variety of marketing channels.
From traditional tactics like yard signs and word-of-mouth marketing to online methods like social media promotion, video rental tours, and listing on top rental listing sites, make sure your ads are designed for maximum reach.
Screen Prospective Tenants Thoroughly
By the time calls, emails and texts from prospective tenants start streaming in, you should have some questions ready to ask them. You should always ask prospective tenants:
- What is your reason for moving? (Is it possible they are moving because they are facing an eviction?)
- What is your moving date? (If it’s very soon, that could be a red flag.)
- Do you have references? (A good tenant will have several references from their employer or previous landlords.)
- Do you have a pet? (If you have a “no pets” policy and the tenant has a pet, continue with the search. Please take note, however, that the policy cannot apply to service animals.)
The goal of pre-screening tenants prior to a property showing is to save time on tenants that wouldn’t otherwise pass the screening criteria. Particularly if you’re a first-time or new landlord, getting quality tenants can save you headaches down the road.
Welcome Your New Tenant
Moving is usually a stressful process and a major life event. Therefore, try to make the move as easy on your tenant as possible by offering them a warm welcome.
Since they’ll likely be new to the neighborhood, be helpful and available to answer any questions they may have. Consider gifting them something useful, like a map of the local area or a neighborhood information packet.
While it may seem like a minor gesture, this can go a long way in helping build a strong landlord-tenant relationship.
Respond to Maintenance Requests Quickly
A quick way to lose a great tenant is to slack on your upkeep responsibilities. Whether it’s an emergency or not, make sure you’re always responsive.
Generally speaking, respond to urgent issues within 24 hours and all others within a few days after receiving a tenant maintenance request. That way, tenants will feel taken care of.
Consider Hiring Expert Help
If you are just starting out or simply don’t have time to manage your Travis County property effectively, consider hiring expert help from a quality property management company.
A good property manager will have the skills, experience and knowledge to ensure that you attract and retain a long-term tenants. They’ll make sure you’re compliant with local laws and regulations, which is especially important when tricky situations emerge, such as the breaking of leases.
For example, a good property manager will also care for your property through regular inspections, collect rent every month, and even hande your property’s legal matters.
No two property managers are created the same. That’s why you should make sure you’re hiring the best.
At Bigham Associates, we can help you in all property management aspects, from finding long-term tenants, to caring for your property, to collecting rent, to enforcing lease terms. If you own a property in the Austin, Texas area and require expert help, please don’t hesitate to call us.
