The Benefits of Creating a Great Tenant Experience

Making sure your tenants are happy and satisfied “customers” while living in your rental property is of utmost importance.  The benefits of creating great tenant experiences will come back to you as the property and business owner in so many ways.

In this episode we are going over different things you can do to improve the living environment for your tenants.  We discuss what tenants want, what they deserve, and how by doing these tasks it will increase your bottom line and make running YOUR rental property business a much more satisfying experience.

LINKS

👉Episode 87: Essential Communication Methods Every Landlord Should Know

👉Episode 39: 50+ Must Ask Questions When Hiring a Property Manager, Part 1

👉 Episode 40: 50+ Must Ask Questions When Hiring a Property Manager, Part 2  

👉 Product: Property Manager Questionnaire ($9.99)  Over 60 questions for you to ask during an in person interview or to send off in an email for the PM to complete and return back to you!

👉 Course Waitlist: From Marketing to Move In, Place Your Ideal Tenant
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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

Okay, you guys, this week we want to talk to you about the benefits of creating a great tenant experience. And we're going to be covering what to do before the tenant even moves in, dealing with maintenance requests, communication, tenant privacy, making sure that your rules are fair and consistent, incentives for renewals, and a few other little small items that cover what you can do on your end to help your tenant enjoy their time living in your unit, as well as what you get back in return when you do these things.

0:40

Welcome to your landlord resource podcast many moons ago. When I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lack confidence in the hands on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping. After many failed attempts, fast forward to today. Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized, professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelmed to confident? If you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making, join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire. All while building a streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource podcast.

Stacie: 1:29

Hey there, landlords. You're listening to the Your Landlord Resource Podcast, where we are dishing out tips and advice on owning and operating rental properties. I am your host, Stacie Casella, and I'm here with my co host, business partner, partner in life, Kevin Kilroy.

Kevin: 1:49

How's it going landlords? And thanks for you all being here today.

Stacie: 1:53

Now you may be an owner who self manages your rental property or maybe you have a property manager or maybe you're like Kevin and I and you have a combination of the two. And I'll say that for the properties that we manage, we do our damnness to make sure that our tenants are happy and satisfied with their experience of living in and calling our units their home. I mean, we absolutely spend more time on preventative maintenance for our rentals, you guys, than we do our own personal home.

Kevin: 2:27

I, I know what you mean. I mean, what's that about the shoemakers kids?

Stacie: 2:31

I don't know the whole thing off the top of my head, but basically the shoemakers kids always had holes in their shoes, but they

Kevin: 2:38

spent all the time working to repair everybody else in the village. Yep.

Stacie: 2:42

Yeah, exactly. So,

Kevin: 2:44

But here's the bottom line you guys, making sure that your rental property is always being cared for and being improved upon is what tenants want. Now many landlords have the false sense that if I just leave the tenants alone they will be happier because I don't want them to think i'm being nosy or intrusive. Yeah, there is a fine line between caring for the property and showing up unannounced what, like on a Saturday evening to check something. But guess what? Tenants have been surveyed and a majority of them want their landlords to do inspections and perform preventative maintenance, so that they can have a more positive and worry free experience living in their rental. I mean, they actually expect it. And you know why? Because they believe they're paying for that as part of their rent. Now I realize most renters have no idea what goes into the maintenance of a rental property. That most are renting at a necessity and not by choice. So they really don't know, you know, as a property owner, what needs to be checked on, on a regular basis or updated or changed to keep that property running smoothly. And some people just rent so they don't have to worry about stuff like that. But regardless, renters who choose to live in our units should receive regular maintenance and upkeep, or at least be guided on how to do it themselves.

Stacie: 4:12

Okay, you guys, this week we want to talk to you about the benefits of creating a great tenant experience. And we're going to be covering what to do before the tenant even moves in, dealing with maintenance requests, communication, tenant privacy, making sure that your rules are fair and consistent, incentives for renewals, and a few other little small items that cover what you can do on your end to help your tenant enjoy their time living in your unit, as well as what you get back in return when you do these things. So let's start with before that tenant moves in. One thing we really emphasize with landlords and make sure that we do with our own properties is to make sure that our units are maintained and in top shape maintenance wise. Before that tenant moves in, we are going over every single thing that could potentially give them issues to make sure that our new tenants will have minimal things that they have to deal with after taking possession. We are checking the stove and the oven to make sure they're working. If it's a gas range, we're double checking the gas connection for leaks. And I say we, but it's really our right hand general contractor named Jim who has a punch list of items to check on our units during turnover. So, he's the one who is checking the water lines for leaks and the mechanicals and the HVAC to make sure that they're working well. That the lights and the switches and the plugs, especially GFIs, which have a tendency to fail if they are used a lot. Because if the previous tenant had a bunch of countertop appliances, like an air fryer, blender, toaster oven, or coffee maker, you know, you guys get the point. Having multiple items plugged in can pull a higher draw, and it causes those GFIs to fail quicker. At least that's what we've been told by our electrician.

Kevin: 6:13

Well, it came from our Sacramento electrician, as well as your cousin who does some work for us here in the Bay Area. So, I think we're pretty correct in saying that.

Stacie: 6:22

All right. Well, I don't want to get comments saying we're incorrect by saying that. So, I'm just trying to cover my butt a little here. All right. But getting back to what we do at turnover. You guys, it's not rocket science. Go through the unit, especially if it was occupied for a long period of time and make sure everything's in good working order. Service your mechanicals if it's been a while. Clean the gutters. Change the filters. And get your rental in tip top shape so it's ready for that next tenant to come in. Partially, because you want your tenant to have a good experience living in your units, and to be honest, if they have to call you every month to get something fixed, then that decreases the chance that they're going to enjoy living in your unit. If you're not aware of this, living in a property that is well maintained is one of the most top desires of tenants. They don't want to call you with issues any more than you don't want to receive that call.

Kevin: 7:19

Which leads me to the next task, and that is, if a tenant does call you to address a problem they are having with your unit, please respond promptly to their call. As we always say, communication is the key, you guys. If you don't have an answer, let them know you'll be working on it. Keep them up to date when there are any changes and follow up to make sure they are satisfied with the work completed, and to make sure everything is okay. If you are meeting a repair person out there ask the tenant if they would like to be present. Now for us most of the time they don't want to be there and prefer that we just handle it ourselves. And on that note, I want to remind you not to be a creeper and be in the unit too much. I mean this is their home and unless you have a valid reason to be on the property, just don't. Do not enter without approval unless, of course, it's an emergency either.

Stacie: 8:19

Right. All right, I want to go back to communication here because, yes, it's important to make it clear that you are actively working on the maintenance issue. But it's also important to communicate well on all aspects of their tenancy. You want to clearly explain lease terms, expectations, and procedures. Maintaining open lines of communication will allow your tenant feel comfortable about reaching out when they need clarification or if they have a maintenance request. And even if that answer to their question is written plain as day in the lease or is right there in their unit binder notes, I shouldn't have to say this, be kind, be patient and be respectful. If you'd like to learn more about what methods of communication are best for which rental property situation, check out episode 87. I think it's called Essential Communication Methods that Every Landlord Should Know. You can find it at yourlandlordresource. com episode 87 and we'll also link it in the show notes. All right, we've gone over making sure your property is in good working order before the tenant moves in, being prompt when responding to maintenance requests, having clear communication. And now we want to discuss respecting your tenant's privacy. And listen, we know you own the property. So does your tenant. But when you lease your home to someone, you sign a contract giving them the right to live there, to make your property their home and live there peacefully without intrusions. You guys, we seriously limit our time at our properties. Now, as you know, right now, we only own multifamily units. We sold off our last single family home rental this year. And the difference here is that you may find yourself on property for maintenance issues more often given the higher number of units. If you own a single family home unit, unless you have been notified by the tenant there is an issue and made previous arrangements to go to the property, you need to stay away. You should not be showing up to check on the sprinklers or do any maintenance to the property without notifying your tenant. Unless you have a set time and day each week or month to go by and do stuff like landscaping, you do not show up unannounced. And even if you have a prearranged time, send them a quick reminder text so that they know you're coming by.

Kevin: 10:54

You, you know, we have some tenants who are very clean and conscientious about how their units look. We also had others where it seemed like they never cleaned and the unit was just an absolute mess whenever we went in. But most of our tenants are really good and especially if they know we're coming by. So when we go in and they have cleaned up, we really appreciate it.

Stacie: 11:18

Right. And the last thing I want to say is, you guys need to know about the law about notifications for your city, county, or state, because most are 24 hours, but some notices are 48 hours in advance.

Kevin: 11:32

Unless, of course, there is an emergency, like you can hear the smoke detector going off or water is flowing out the front door, I mean, then you can enter the property without notice. But you better be pretty damn sure it's an emergency. So, we have discussed these in detail before, but make sure you have fair rules in your leases that you are consistent with. If you have a multi family rental, and you allow one tenant to park their motorcycle on the patio, but tell the others they can't, that is not fair and consistent. If you allow them to pay rent late without any fees or penalties once, they will expect it the next time they get into a bind. And I hate to say this, but tenants are kind of like kids, and they need to know the rules, and they need to know that you enforce them. You have rules in place for a reason, and believe it or not, your tenants usually do want to please you. If you tell them one thing by way of rules or an addendum, and then you don't enforce it, they will think that you really don't care about following any of the rules, and will try to take advantage of you. Be firm, but fair and overall, please be consistent.

Stacie: 12:48

Yeah. And again, you guys, none of this is rocket science and much of what we're discussing today, we have talked about on other episodes. One being using incentives to get tenants to renew their leases. Everyone likes to get something for giving something. And when you offer a lease renewal to a tenant, incentivize it, you know, with something that can benefit your unit. Something like a unit cleaning, carpet cleaning, or new carpets if they're really bad. We have offered new LED efficient lighting or installed ceiling fans in the bedrooms as well. Basically what we do is we look at what we have to do by way of improvements to the unit if that tenant decides to move out. And then we create a few of those items as incentives should the person renew. We see landlords giving away free rent for renewals all the time. Don't do that. All that does is lower your rental income and you get nothing out of it. When you add new lighting or a new refrigerator, that is something that you can, one, expense off your taxes as an improvement. And two, if you have to put them in to make your unit more attractive to a potential applicant, just do it before so your current tenant can enjoy it. Then it's done and when you eventually come up to your next renewal, if your tenant decides to move on, that's one less thing that you're going to have to deal with. And guess what? Tenants love when we give them options. It's like a bonus they didn't expect and they get to pick what's best for them.

Kevin: 14:24

That was a piece of advice that was given to us, I mean, many, many years ago and it's paid us back in droves with renewals and happy tenants.

Stacie: 14:34

We remember when we told our property manager back in Idaho that we wanted to do that and they had a hard time wrapping their head around the concept.

Kevin: 14:41

Yeah, I mean, I don't think it was really the concept they had trouble with, more just how to implement it as it's not something they do for other owners in our complex. And we did do an episode on renewal incentives. You can check it out at yourlandlordresource. com episode2. And as always, it'll be in the show notes.

Stacie: 15:04

Yeah. You know what? That was the very first subject that we ever talked about.

Kevin: 15:09

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, cause episode one was about who we are and why we started Your Landlord Resource. So, that shows you how important renewal incentives are for landlords to know about. Okay, one more small detail to go over. Consider checking in with your tenant from time to time and making sure all is going well. I mean, often we do inspections twice a year, so we don't usually need to check in as often. If you're only doing inspections once a year, maybe check in one or two other times to see if there is anything that needs attention. Because sometimes people are busy and they keep saying, Oh, I need to let them know that the faucet is leaking. But it's not a huge deal to them, so they put it off. But as we've said before, small problems can lead to bigger ones down the line. Another way to check in is to let them know you're thinking of them. I mean, usually we send out birthday cards, sometimes with the gift certificate to a local deli or coffee shop, not much, maybe like 15 bucks. And we also send a little something during the holidays. Again, it can be as simple as some homemade baked goods or gift certificate for a turkey or like us, we send them a gift card to go have a nice meal at a mom and pop restaurant. We like to support small businesses when we can. But honestly in Idaho, we have a family living in one of our units and they do seem to be struggling a little bit this time of year. So we did a nice gift card from Walmart. Last year we did Target and the year before I think we did a local grocery store. So consider what you think your tenants would enjoy, and if it's affordable to you send them a nice holiday gift. Now I want to follow that up with you can deduct up to$25 per tenant as a goodwill expense against your income taxes. So don't go crazy here, but if you have a family living in your unit with both parents on the lease you can spend up to$50. I mean, that's at least the way we read it because per the IRS, it is one gift per person for business gifts. So if you want to give them$50 in gift cards, maybe buy two$25 cards, so you can say it was one per tenant in the unit.

Stacie: 17:35

Yeah. Well, I'm sure if we're wrong, someone's going to call us out on it, but I will say we do have Amanda Hahn slated to be a guest on the podcast in 2025. So, we should actually start a list of questions for her so we can make sure that we have clarification on these things.

Kevin: 17:51

That is a great idea. I mean, she's the queen bee CPA for rental property taxes.

Stacie: 17:56

Yeah, well every once in a while I come up with a good idea. All right, you guys These are all the things that a tenant wants in their landlord. They want someone who cares about their unit and their tenant enough to do inspections to keep on top of preventative maintenance so that the tenant doesn't have to call you and bug you or do it themselves. They also want fair rules that are consistent with societal norms. They want to feel appreciated when they renew their lease, even with a small rent increase. And if they complain, listen, acknowledge, and then address the issue as best you can. Speak to your tenants with respect and kindness, and be compassionate if they call it a problem that should not be happening.

Kevin: 18:43

Exactly. And our final word of advice, if you do not think you can handle these tasks, hire a professional property manager to do it for you. I mean, we get it. There are just some landlords who get so emotionally involved, they lose sense of treating the rental as a business. There's also some who don't want to know their tenants. They don't want to deal with them at all. Just fix it and send me the bill kind of situation. And if that's you great. Honestly, it's good that you acknowledge that and value your time enough to hand your rental management off to someone else. And if you are not sure how to go about hiring a property manager check out episodes 39 and 40 where we discuss the 50 plus must ask questions when hiring a property manager. Start with part one at yourlandlordresource. com episode 39.

Stacie: 19:43

Yeah, those ones are filled with great information. You guys, we even created a questionnaire you can purchase with all the questions that you should be asking a property manager when you interview them. And we'll link those in the show notes as well. So what do you get when your tenants are happy? Well, you'll get less calls for maintenance. Simple things like a clogged toilet, you know, they might just try to handle it themselves. Your tenants will pay their rent on time, which means you can pay your bills for the property on time and it reduces stress big time for you. You'll get lease renewals if they enjoy living in your unit. And lease renewals mean no turnover expense, no lost rent, no having to take time to find a new tenant and hope they're as good as the last one. And more often than not, when you're fair, you can raise your rents just so you can remain around the market rate for your area. You will also, usually, get someone who respects your unit. When you care about how your rental is operated, so does your tenant. They feel valued and want to keep that good mojo going. So set your tenants up for success by presenting them with a maintenance free unit, by being kind and respectful of their privacy, have clear lines of communication and a solid lease with fair rents, and you should do just fine. And I know this might seem like a lot to absorb, but bottom line, aim to please and treat your tenants as you would expect to be treated if you were renting a home. All right, you guys, that is the end of the podcast today. Thanks so much for tuning in and listening to how you can make your tenants have an awesome experience living in your units. If you like what you hear, would you do us a favor and subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform? That way all our episodes will be there waiting for you each week so you can enjoy everything we have to say about owning and self managing rental properties. And we would be super appreciative if you could leave us a kind review. Those reviews really help other landlords, like you, know we're the real deal. We have links to the review sites in our show notes. If you have a question or you wanna suggest a subject for a podcast, you can text us at 6 5 0 4 8 9 4 4 4 7 or email us at stacie@yourlandlordresource.com. That's Stacie with an IE or kevin@yourlandlordresource.com. And you guys feel free to download any of the forms or templates that we offer, or if you wanna sign up for our free newsletter, you can access those in the show notes as well. If you'd like to follow along on the daily you can find us on Instagram and Facebook and we also have a private Facebook group as well. You can find all the links for everything that we do in our show notes. Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to listen to our podcast. We really appreciate you guys and until next time, you've got this landlords.