At Paragon, creating and maintaining positive tenant relationships is a big part of our management process. As the owners and investors who trust us with your properties, you’re our first priority. We will put together a management plan that meets your needs and ensures your rental properties remain profitable.
Our secondary clients, however, are the tenants who we place. They’re paying rent. They’re helping us to maintain your property. We want to provide a great rental experience for them because we know that happy residents lead to on-time rental payments, a respect for the lease agreement, and a long-term relationship that helps us to avoid vacancy and turnover.
Residents feel supported by us. They trust us to provide resources, answer questions, and ensure that they have everything they need to enjoy their homes.
Here’s how we build long-term tenant relationships that last, and why it’s so important.
Establishing Expectations with Chicago Tenants
Our relationship starts even before tenants move into your property. We are responsive throughout the leasing process, answering questions when we’re marketing your home, showing up for property tours and walk-throughs when a tenant is interested in your property, and guiding applicants through the process of being screened for your property.
Once they’re approved, we discuss the lease agreement in detail. We share our expectations right from the start, talking about rent collection and maintenance reporting and all of our rules and procedures. This ensures there’s no confusion as we move through the tenancy. Tenants know where we stand, and we understand what they’re looking for in terms of communication, systems, and advice.
Remaining transparent and open from the very beginning of our relationship ensures that tenants feel like they can trust us. This is important in any partnership and in any relationship.
Prioritizing Communication
Open and transparent communication is the foundation of tenant relationship management. As your property managers, we will:
Regularly update tenants about community news, maintenance schedules, and policy changes. We utilize online portals, which makes communication easy. We are also likely to text, call, or email, depending on the tenant and their preferred method of communication.
Be accessible and responsive to tenant inquiries or concerns. There’s no waiting for calls back or returned emails. We are available to our residents, and we make sure
Use digital tools like apps and emails to keep communication efficient and organized.
We prioritize responsive communication with our tenants because we understand the urgency of their needs, whether it’s a maintenance issue or a question about paying rent. We provide 24/7 accessibility for urgent problems, and we also maintain regular office hours, which tenants are aware of.
In addition to our day-to-day communication efforts, we also provide tenants with a handbook when they move in. This is a comprehensive collection of all our rules, guidelines, and best practices.
Providing Preventative and Proactive Maintenance
Tenants in Chicago feel strongly about maintenance, and it’s hard to blame them. No one wants to suffer through a broken appliance or work around a leaking toilet. To keep tenants happy, we are responsive and thorough when it comes to maintaining properties.
Regular maintenance and prompt responses to repair requests show tenants that their comfort and safety are priorities. We take this seriously and schedule regular inspections to identify and address issues before they become major problems. We also offer convenient ways for tenants to report maintenance needs, namely their online portal, which is user-friendly and secure. Tenants can upload photos of the problem, which helps us to diagnose the problem.
We work with vendors, contractors, and service professionals who are respectful of our tenants and their time. They’re also respectful of the home; no one enjoys having vendors leave behind messy footprints on the floor or dusty from A/C filters all over the carpet.
By treating even minor maintenance requests with a sense of urgency, we contribute to tenant satisfaction and ensure that they understand how important the property and its condition is to us.
Personalizing Tenant Service
When we meet with you before working together, it’s to understand how we can best support the unique needs of your Chicago rental property. We know that all investors are different, and each rental property owner has a unique set of goals and ideas of what success looks like. It’s why we’re committed to creating a customized management plan for you.
We take the same approach with our tenants. Understanding tenant preferences and addressing them can significantly enhance tenant satisfaction. We will get to know tenants and make notes about their specific needs or issues. We’ll personalize our communication by remembering important details and acknowledging birthdays and holidays. We’re also willing to keep tenants connected, by providing comfortable and well-maintained communal spaces at your rental property or building.
Fair and Transparent Management Practices
A property manager’s approach to policies and procedures can build trust among tenants. When we’re approachable and available, tenants are willing to follow the terms of the lease agreement and the rules and requirements that we establish. We treat every tenant fairly and consistently, and we make sure they feel valued and appreciated.
If there happens to be a tenant dispute or a conflict, we address the problem fairly and impartially. We look to the lease agreement for solutions, and we make sure that tenants feel like they are genuinely being heard. Sometimes, that’s all that they want. If they come to us with a problem that we cannot actually solve, we will at least listen and offer suggestions and support.
The Benefits of Long-Term Tenants for Property Owners
Managing tenant relations effectively involves building and nurturing positive relationships with residents through consistent communication, timely maintenance, and understanding tenant needs. We have discussed how Paragon approaches all of those things when we’re working with your tenants. But, why does it matter so much? This isn’t something that a lot of property managers will invest in. We do, and here’s why it matters for property owners:
Increased Retention. This is the largest and most important benefit. Happy tenants are more likely to renew their leases, reducing turnover rates and saving on the costs associated with finding new tenants. You know how expensive it is to move one tenant out and another one in. There are maintenance issues to attend to, upgrades that are often needed, the marketing and the screening; it’s far more cost-effective to hold onto the tenant you have.
Cost Savings. With reduced turnover rates, you will have an easier time saving on marketing, cleaning, and renovation costs required to prepare a unit for new tenants. Part of increasing your earnings is decreasing your expenses. By saving money on these turnovers and the vacancy loss, you’re actually adding to your cash flow and your long-term ROI.
Higher Property Value. What do tenants have to do with property value? More than you think. Well-maintained properties with long-term tenants often see an increase in their market value. You will have fewer people coming and going, creating wear and tear and extra deterioration. The longer you have the same, reliable tenants in your property, the better its condition and the higher its value.
Positive Reputation. A history of stable, long-term tenants enhances a property’s reputation, making it more attractive to potential tenants and investors. Future tenants see it as a good sign when residents are reluctant to move out. A lot of our most positive reviews come from former tenants who were sad to be moving on, even if they were relocating or buying a home. We’re proud of this, and we know that other tenants notice when their predecessors express having a great rental experience.
Asking for Feedback from Chicago Tenants
One of the fundamental aspects of engaging tenants is to establish regular feedback mechanisms. Surveys, suggestion boxes, and regular check-ins allow tenants to voice their concerns, suggestions, and experiences. By actively requesting and responding to feedback, we can make tenants feel heard and valued, leading to improved satisfaction levels.
You never want to discount the power of informal conversations as well. When we happen to be at the property for an inspection or while responding to a maintenance issue, we always see this as an opportunity to engage with the tenants. We’ll ask how things are going, get an idea of what they love and what could potentially be improved.
When it’s time to approach the lease renewal process, we want to feel like we have a good idea of whether a tenant will renew or move on. When it’s negotiating the lease renewal, sharing information on why the rent is going up, or talking through the options when it comes to renewal terms, we’re honest and forthright with tenants. They appreciate that and respond well to it.
Long-term tenants provide a steady stream of rental income, minimizing the risk of vacancies. They also provide better property care. Tenants who feel valued are more inclined to take care of the property, leading to fewer maintenance issues and lower repair costs.
Let’s talk about how we can better reach your tenants and provide an exceptional rental experience. Please contact us at Paragon Property Management Group.
