Keeping Rental Property Tenants Happy in the Phoenix Valley
October 19, 2018
It’s lease renewal time, and for many rental home owners, this creates stress. Nobody wants to see a house sit empty while waiting for a new, qualified tenant to show up. It’s not good for the house; not good for the owner; and not good for the property manager. At Austin Fleck Property Management in Gilbert, AZ, we’ve learned through thousands of interactions with clients that keeping rental property tenants happy is one key to successful lease renewals.
Happy Is As Happy Does
Not surprisingly, we have found that the vast majority of tenants are actual human beings with a need to be recognized, valued, and understood. Like most people, they want to know that you care about them; it brings them happiness. How can we let them know that we do care? If we understand how to communicate empathy and validation, we stand a good chance of forging a positive relationship with people. It simply comes down to learning some valuable people skills.
Eye Contact
When we are tomer-service-essentials-01326882″>dealing face to face with tenants, it’s vitally important to establish and maintain visual connection. Eye contact communicates that you are interested in having the conversation and that you want to understand the points of view that are being expressed. Can you imagine going on a date and not looking at the person you are with? How far is that relationship going to go? Good tenant/management relationships are not unlike dating: there are topics to be discussed, feelings to be shared, and problems to be solved. Good visual communication opens the door for building strong, positive connections with people.
Focused Listening
Since many tenant communications will happen over the phone, having good listening skills is just as important as strong eye contact. We can’t be thinking about last night’s game or tomorrow’s appointments; we need to be present here and now. We need to learn how to hear not only what is said, but also what is meant. This is like “hearing between the lines.” We need to pay attention to tone and emotion. When a tenant calls with a problem, we need to communicate that we understand, that we care, and that we are certain we can find a satisfactory solution in a reasonable time frame. We validate the concerns and have empathy for the predicament, while we project confidence in our management abilities.
Taking Responsibility
When we establish a strong relationship through personal interaction, either face to face or over the phone, we demonstrate our concern for the tenant. We have a great track record of listening, caring, and finding solutions. We have proven our accountability and our integrity, and at lease renewal time, we find we have a happy tenant who wants to re-sign on the dotted line. At Austin Fleck Property Management, we do our part in keeping rental property tenants happy. We enjoy it, and they enjoy it. If happy is as happy does, we do it really well!
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