Every landlord dreams of being able to do away with the endless stream of interviews, screening, and inspections that come with short-term renters and bad tenants. The best way of doing this is to foster long-term tenant relationships, encouraging your renters to stay in the same property for years because they’re satisfied with their experience and the services offered to them. 

Building long-term tenant relationships isn’t easy, but can transform the experience of landlords everywhere – from an investment perspective, there are few things more worthy of your time and effort than fostering long-term relationships. Here’s what you need to know about building long-term rental relationships.

Make a great first impression

First impressions are everything – you should aim to impress good tenants from the very first day and not make it all about how they should be impressing you. Show them you care by giving advice on local hotspots, great places to eat and shop, and ensuring that you’ll be there to take care of maintenance issues and emergencies anytime. 

Knowing that a landlord cares and will reliably be there in an emergency is extremely comforting, and is a great way to start any long-lasting relationship. If you want to go the extra mile, leave them a small care package at the beginning of their tenancy – things like baked goods, gift certificates, and contact information are inexpensive and can go a long way in making a great first impression.

Remember to take care of the little things

Smaller maintenance issues are too often overlooked in favour of more pressing things. While this can be easily excused, taking the time to take care of the little things can go a long way. If you own an apartment, remembering to do things like regularly maintain the lawn, cleaning common areas, and tidying up parking lots add a great deal to the comfort of tenants, and will be immediately noticed and appreciated by building residents. 

Being flexible (yet firm) with tenants about things like painting, decorating, and pets are also a great way to foster long-term relationships – when reasonable requests are made, do your best to accommodate tenants. If the requests are unreasonable, do your best to explain why and ask if they’re willing to meet you in the middle.

Create a safer environment

Technology has revolutionized the way we view home security, letting homeowners instantly view what’s happening on their property, receive notifications about movement, and even interact with guests and delivery people from the comfort of your couch or home office. 

You can create long-term tenants by creating a safe environment for them using some of the inexpensive technology widely available to landlords and homeowners. Smart technology like doorbell cameras, smart thermostats, and smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have been shown to increase property value, and can go a long way in improving a tenant’s experience, alleviating any worries they might have about security or worst case scenarios.

Remember to respect their privacy

While beings reliable and hands-on is the best way to show your tenants that you’re making an effort to keep them happy and comfortable, it’s also important to understand that they deserve privacy and that it’s your duty to respect it. Respecting tenant privacy is simple – if you plan on doing maintenance or holding an inspection, give plenty of notice to tenants so they can make the proper arrangements. If possible, work with them to find a day and time that works for their schedule – especially if they need to be in the unit for maintenance. Don’t enter the unit unless there’s an emergency, and don’t give them a reason to believe that you could show up unannounced at any time.

With the right amount of effort and care, you can foster long-lasting relationships with your tenants, letting you finally say goodbye to the days of bad tenants and endless interviews. Remember to make a good first impression, make tenants feel like they’re well-taken care of, take advantage of innovative new technologies to improve the comfort of tenants, and respect their privacy at all times. Before you know it, you’ll have created a long-term tenant relationship.

HighGate Properties is your one-stop shop for Toronto property management services. Our property management team is experienced in building long-lasting relationships with tenants, handling things like maintenance and renovations so that you can focus on the more important things in life. For more information about the Toronto property management and real estate services offered by the team at HighGate Properties, contact us today.