A property manager\u2019s role at a rental property is far more complicated than most would suspect, particularly because most property managers wear many hats. A property manager’s duties can be overwhelming, from enticing prospective residents to move in, to managing maintenance issues around the community to appeasing existing residents. Because of the various roles a community manager serves, property managers can become so engrossed in business aspects (like apartment marketing and sales) that they can wind up neglecting current resident satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Resident retention is the lifeblood of any successful multifamily apartment complex<\/span>, helping in <\/span>reducing costs<\/span> and improving <\/span>long-term rent<\/span> returns. <\/span>Failure to address current residents\u2019 concerns or needs can quickly land you in hot water. Although you can\u2019t keep every <\/span>resident<\/span> forever, your goal should be to maximize <\/span>resident<\/span> retention for as long as possible. And when they do leave, you want them to be singing your community\u2019s praises.<\/span><\/p>\n From something as simple as remembering your <\/span>resident\u2019s<\/span> names to installing<\/span> residential lockers<\/span><\/a> for package deliveries, to responding in a timely manner to a resident\u2019s property maintenance request, we\u2019re sharing our best resident retention tips for multifamily apartment managers.<\/span><\/p>\n If you are a property manager, consider the following tips <\/span>to help keep <\/span>residents long-term<\/span> and <\/span>minimize vacancy<\/span> at your community:<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to get a new resident into a unit and never see them again until they have a service request or their lease is up and it\u2019s time to move out. The importance of<\/span> customer service in property management<\/span><\/a> can often be undervalued, with some property managers making the mistake of treating <\/span>residents<\/span> like they would an automatic bank payment \u2013 \u201cset and forget\u201d. When long-term residents are locked into their lease, they might say, \u201cSo what\u2019s the difference\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n A shortsighted attitude is the easiest way to give a resident the impression that your relationship with them is strictly transactional. People want to be valued, and apartment community residents especially so. Simple kindness and gestures can go a long way in providing great customer service<\/span>; building relationships makes residents more likely to <\/span>renew their lease<\/span> when the time comes, thereby<\/span> improving your resident retention rate. While residents don\u2019t expect you to be their best friend, they greatly appreciate someone who goes out of their way to say hello or lend them a hand.<\/span><\/p>\n Some tips to improve your resident relationships and resident experience include:<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to regular face time with residents, it\u2019s essential that residents have clear, easy lines of communication when contacting you. Ideally, <\/span>residents<\/span> should be able to:<\/span><\/p>\n When residents reach out, you must be open and responsive to any issues or requests. An uncommunicative property manager or leasing agent \u2013 or worse, one who doesn\u2019t act upon maintenance requests \u2013 will sour residents\u2019 views of the apartment community and the property management team. They may decide to move elsewhere if their issues with you or the property become too serious.<\/p>\n In a day and age when same-day or next-day delivery rules supreme, package management is becoming a growing problem. In fact, a recent survey conducted by J Turner Research revealed that one of the biggest discrepancies between C-level executives and onsite personnel, where onsite personnel have reported a bigger challenge, is package management.1<\/sup><\/p>\n Even if your property has a mailroom, it\u2019s likely ill-equipped to handle the 150+ packages that arrive weekly, let alone the 270+ packages that arrive weekly during the holiday season2<\/sup>. This can be even more difficult if your property doesn\u2019t have dedicated mail or package staff to help manage the influx of deliveries caused by residents\u2019 increased use of online shopping. As a result, the burden of accepting, sorting, storing, and delivering packages is often left to you, and any package that slips through the cracks can significantly impact your apartment resident retention rate. While this may not seem like a big deal, the time spent managing deliveries quickly adds up, and soon, you may find yourself spending hours each day just managing packages.<\/p>\n According to Multifamily Executive, 84% of Americans shop online some or most of the time, and nearly 20% do so at least once or twice a week3<\/sup>. That means the influx of packages isn\u2019t likely to stop clogging up concierge desks or leasing offices any time soon. Nor will residents stop contacting the leasing office to see if a package arrived or for tracking information if they believe their package was misplaced. In fact, these challenges will only get worse, with experts estimating that online shopping will amount to <\/span>more than<\/span> $7<\/span>.8 trillion <\/span>(<\/span>nearly<\/span> 25%) of global retail sales by <\/span>2028<\/span>.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/p>\n While this can be a significant time burden for property managers, package backlogs are also a significant problem for residents \u2013 especially if they have items that get damaged, misplaced, or stolen. Few things can make a resident lose trust in community safety and security as quickly as having deliveries stolen. Thankfully, myriad property manager tools are available to help with this growing problem, including an easy solution in the form of smart lockers from Parcel Pending<\/a>. Automated parcel locker systems<\/a> allow for easy delivery, storage, and retrieval of resident deliveries. These lockers are a defining feature of any modern apartment complex<\/a>, and they also provide a number of important benefits, including:<\/p>\n Most importantly, <\/span>r<\/span>esidents can pick up parcels without interacting with delivery company drivers, property staff, or even other residents! The smart parcel locker system sends recipients a unique access code and a barcode to their smartphone, allowing for easy<\/span>,<\/span> secure, and self-service<\/span> package pickup. Residents have picked up their packages in as little as 10 seconds and are on their way!<\/span><\/p>\n By implementing residential locker solutions, you will gain more time to get to know your residents or fulfill other important apartment management duties. Not to mention, with less time spent managing packages, you are significantly reducing operating costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although crime has steadily decreased for more than two decades, community safety remains a main concern for residents. As a property manager, your job is to ensure that your apartment complex and its residents always feel safe and secure. Similar to package theft, if residents don\u2019t feel safe in their community or in their apartment, they likely won\u2019t remain residents for long. To reduce resident turnover, it\u2019s essential you do everything in your power to make them feel safe.<\/p>\n According to a national poll of renters by Assurant, while most respondents felt that security was always important, 32% were especially concerned about it during summer. However, when asked what safety precautions they take, close to half (45%) of the renters polled said they only have a lock on the door, followed by 36% who said they rely on neighbors to watch for them. The poll indicated that video cameras, phone alerts, or alarm systems were only installed in a quarter or less of rentals. Interestingly, over half (54%) of renters said they would pay higher if their landlord offered a connected security device\/doorbell5<\/sup>.<\/p>\n A few steps you can take to ensure that your multifamily property is safe and secure include:<\/p>\n Along the same line as building relationships, it is important that you create ways for residents to bond or get to know one another. This can be done organically by having communal areas such as:<\/p>\n It can also be facilitated by planning a resident event, such as any of these apartment trends<\/a> that can help you build a more social community:<\/p>\n With social distancing set to continue for the foreseeable future, you may want to consider hosting some of these events virtually to help residents continue to build community rapport. Some resident retention activities you can try include hosting a complimentary virtual yoga session, happy hour, movie night, and more!<\/p>\n As commentary on a <\/span>recent<\/span> StatisFact study asserts,<\/span> \u201cI have always been in the camp that believed a \u201csense of community\u201d was a top factor in a resident\u2019s decision to stay in their community, and sure enough, it was the 2nd highest rated factor. And when we quizzed multifamily professionals, they almost had it pegged perfectly, listing it as the top factor in resident retention. But what really blew me away was the clear theme at the top of the list\u2014four out of the top six factors impacting the renewal decision all had to do with a resident\u2019s connection with the community and neighbors!\u201d<\/p>\n By building a true apartment community<\/i><\/b> for your residents, you create a warm and friendly place to live that they won\u2019t want to leave.<\/p>\n Parking is a major pain point for renters, particularly in crowded urban settings. Few things are more frustrating than circling the block for thirty minutes after a long day of work trying to find a parking spot. If you are building, remodeling, or looking for ways to improve your complex, providing ample parking can go a long way.<\/p>\n Ideas for improving this include:<\/p>\n Many residents value flexibility in their living arrangements. Offering options such as month-to-month extensions, early renewal incentives, or shorter-term leases for transitioning residents can increase satisfaction and reduce turnover. Flexibility demonstrates that you understand residents\u2019 changing needs and are committed to helping them maintain their preferred living arrangements. This approach can make residents more likely to <\/span>renew their lease<\/span> rather than move elsewhere. In fact, a recent key survey found that 78% of residents stated they would remain in their current apartment if they were given a lease renewal offer for a shorter period of time and with no rent increase.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n Keeping current residents is no easy task, especially on top of your day-to-day property management duties. It requires time, thought, and dedication; fortunately, you can implement a few simple strategies, such as installing smart lockers, to improve residents\u2019 day-to-day community experience. Any resident retention strategy, especially those listed above, is sure to keep your apartment residents happy and make them more likely to agree to a lease renewal.<\/p>\n Being thoughtful and attentive to your <\/span>residents\u2019 <\/span>wants and needs ensures that your relationship with them is long and fruitful. Keeping these resident retention ideas and<\/span> property management tips<\/span><\/a> in your arsenal will lead to a bright<\/span> future of property management<\/span><\/a> and help <\/span>keep residents <\/span>loyal to your community<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span>f <\/span>your community\u2019s<\/span> package management <\/span>process<\/span> has gotten out of hand, Parcel Pending is available to help.<\/span> Contact a member of our sales team<\/span><\/a> to find the right solution for your property.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources:<\/b><\/p>\n A property manager\u2019s role at a rental property is far more complicated than most would suspect, particularly because most property managers wear many hats. A property manager’s duties can be overwhelming, from enticing prospective residents to move in, to managing maintenance issues around the community to appeasing existing residents. Because of the various roles a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-multifamily"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Resident Retention Ideas For Multifamily Apartments<\/b><\/h2>\n
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#1 Build Relationships<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#2 Maintain Open Lines of Communication<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#3 Update Your Mail Room<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#4 Focus on Security<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#5 Create a Sense of Community<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#6 Ensure Residents Have a Place to Park<\/b><\/h3>\n
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#7 Offer Flexible Lease Options<\/b><\/h3>\n
Retaining Residents<\/b><\/h2>\n
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