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Home Insider Blogs Jen Piccotti's Blog Resident Retention: Ready, Set, RENEW!
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Feb 22
2011

Resident Retention: Ready, Set, RENEW!

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Posted by: Jen Piccotti on Feb 22, 2011 15:58

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The spring lease expiration season is fast approaching, and that means you have a prime opportunity to maximize your lease renewals. It's time to invest a little time, love and tenderness (Sorry, sometimes Michael Bolton lyrics say it best).

According to the newly released 2010 SatisFacts Insite Pre-Renewal Index, 27% of residents whose leases are expiring in the next 90-120 days indicate they have a maintenance problem that still exists. That means more than 1 in 4 residents has a maintenance problem that you have not solved.

Some of those issues may be capital expenditures that are not budgeted (like replacing drafty windows), and can't be resolved in the way the resident would like. But some issues may be due to a repair that didn't fully take care of the problem, or a new, related problem that just occurred. And some may be issues that you don't even know about. Yet. 

Pick up that phone. Call your residents. Ask them how everything is in their home. Whether you call it a warm call, a resident wellness call, or some other title  - it doesn't matter. Just call! "But asking them about what's wrong in their home will open a can of worms," you may say. It may, indeed. However, I would much rather ask my maintenance team to address the half dozen little issues in Mrs. Smith's home this week rather than have to ask my maintenance team to incure thousands of dollars in time and materials in turning the apartment because she was tired of waiting for the little issues to be resolved.

In many of the case studies we have reviewed on what difference resident retention makes on net operating income, we've learned that saving even one additional lease renewal per month can translate into well over $100,000 in increased NOI and over $1 million in increased asset value. And that is just at one property!

Pick up the phone. Show your residents some love. Ready. Set. RENEW!


Comments (4)Add Comment
2848
written by Robert Laing, February 22, 2011
This is so true. Simple maintenance issues not being addressed especially in the home stretch is one of the major reasons residents do not renew. On top of this we are generally trying to raise the rents come renewal time. So reach out and touch your residents and take care of maintenance needs to their satisfaction. I highly recommend having an outside service like Satisfacts doing 3rd party surveys to stay on top of this.
211
written by Jen Piccotti, February 23, 2011
@Robert - Thanks for the vote of confidence! You're so right in bringing up the fact that rental rates are expected to rise. It will be a bitter pill to swallow if residents are having challenges getting ongoing issues resolved and THEN be asked to pay even more. Insult to injury!
679
written by Jonathan Saar, March 01, 2011
Love it Jen! Pick up the phone..Pick up the phone! That personal contact can certainly make the difference in a renewal. Even if there are issues that cannot be resolved immediately that personal touch does still work for many. Good reminders my friend. Hope you are well.
211
written by Jen Piccotti, March 01, 2011
@Jonathan - In a world of automated phone systems, voice messages, emails and texts, you're absolutely right: the personal touch does indeed make a difference! Thanks for weighing in!
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