Vacancies of any kind in a rental property are never good. They’re expensive, and they lead to less ROI and a temptation to accept less-than-qualified tenants just so you have someone in place.
Today, we are going to talk about how you can avoid long term vacancies in your property.
Focus on Maintaining the Property
Maintaining the rental property as well as you can will help you retain your current tenants and avoid future vacancies. It will also help you rent the home out faster to good tenants when it is vacant. Good renters don’t want to move into a home that has old or dated appliances or air conditioning that only works sometimes. When your tenants report a routine or emergency maintenance issue, make sure you fix the problem as soon as possible. Plumbing issues need especially fast attention so that water damage doesn’t create additional problems and expenses.
Deferred maintenance leads to more expensive repairs and longer vacancy periods. Make sure you maintain your property well.
Price Your Property According to the Market
When you have a vacancy, it’s going to take longer to rent your home when the price is too high. So, make sure to price the property properly. Take a look at the market and make sure it is priced according to the market value and the amount that tenants are willing to pay. Everyone wants to earn as much as possible in rent, but you do not want to price your home too high. You’ll end up leaving it unoccupied for an extended period of time.
Even if you are looking at Craigslist or Zillow, you’ll be able to see how long the properties have been on the market. If you see a property that’s been on there for over 30 days, it is likely priced incorrectly or the property itself has not been well-maintained.
Retain Your Excellent Tenants
A great way to avoid vacancy is by keeping your current tenants happy and in place. Most tenants expect a rental increase every year, but make sure it’s reasonable. If you want to raise the rent, you can look at the comps in the area to see what similar properties are renting for. At Sunburst Properties, we also keep these comps and other data in our office for you to see when you’re pricing your home or considering a rental increase.
If the market doesn’t support an increase in the rental price, don’t try to implement one. That will only make your tenant want to leave. If you want to avoid vacancy, it’s better to keep them in place as long as you can, especially if they are taking care of the property and paying rent on time.
As property managers, we do inspections yearly to be sure the property is being maintained and things are working correctly. If anything needs replacing, we will get your permission to do so.
We do not like to deal with long term vacancies, and we know you don’t either. If we can help you, please contact us at Sunburst Properties.
