Resident Retention: So NOW You Know My Name?

Most property management companies have a lease renewal process that begins 60 - 90 days prior to lease expiration. Internally, managers may be calculating renewal rates, regional managers may be setting renewal goals, leasing teams may be printing renewal notices. However, there is more to retention than just rental rates and renewal letters. According to the 2010 Mid-Year Insite Pre-Renewal Index, 27% of residents whose leases are expiring within 120 days have an outstanding maintenance issue.  That’s more than 1 in 4!

Now, some of these residents may not have reported these maintenance issues yet, but some of them may be a result of a service request not being completed correctly the first time. Or a repair that did not ‘stick.’ There are any number of reasons why there is an outstanding issue. The bottom line, however, is that when you call or mail or email Mrs. Jones regarding her upcoming lease renewal, there’s a 1 in 4 chance she’s going to be thinking, “Oh really? So, NOW you know my name and where I live?”

Part of living in a community is that advantage of actually being part of a community! A known entity. Not just a unit number.  By engaging with your residents on a regular basis, even if it’s two or three times a year to check in and say, “How is everything in your home, Mrs. Jones? Is there anything we can do for you?” you are accomplishing several things:

1. The resident feels like a known and recognized member of the community.

2. The resident has an opportunity to be reminded of a question or issue they have been meaning to mention – and have it quickly resolved!

3. The asset is being regularly monitored to ensure that it has the opportunity to be properly maintained.

Resident retention isn’t just an end of month activity. It’s a daily practice. Take 10 minutes to sit down and plan a warm call program for the next 12 months. Decide if you want to check in 2, 3 or maybe even 4 times per year. Divide up the community among the staff and assign the responsibility and expectation. It may break down as easily as each office team member making 5 warm calls per week and making contact with their portion of the community once per quarter, twice per year, or whatever the standard will be.

Mrs. Jones should never feel like just a face in a crowd.