As landlords, it’s important for your rental property to be occupied at all times.  Vacancies mean lost of income while frequent tenant turnover can mean big expenses for repairs.  Not to mention marketing expenses to search for the perfect tenant and holding cost.  Due to the number of homes on the market, renters have a huge selection of rentals to choose from.  A number of times, it works well to offer incentives for your new tenants.  For example, I know a tenant that was searching for a place in the Charlotte area and he found a fully furnished townhouse available and the landlord said if he was to pay 3 months upfront, he would give him 3 months free.  Now this is a bit extreme then what I would offer, but this shows you that deals are out there for tenants. 

So how do you retain your tenants for long periods of time?  In this market, a great smile doesn’t go far.  You must be able to entice the tenant into leasing and remaining in the property, after all, this is a business relationship.  Here are a few good strategies that I’ve seen work well in this market:

• You want to make the property safe for the family living there.  This is an important rule when leasing your property.  When someone feels safe in the property, they tend to stay there longer. 
• Clear communication between tenant and landlord is a must.  If there is a maintenance issue in the property, it should be addressed as soon as possible, within 24 hrs.  There is nothing like a landlord that you can’t contact for a repair or a tenant that you can’t contact to collect rent.
• A tenant survey will let you know what you can improve on or around the property.  After 6 months, ask your tenants to complete a survey and get $25 off of their rent for that month.  Ask about matters such as cleanliness, maintenance, exterior areas, amenities, noise, parking and management. 
• If you have a good tenants and a vacancy becomes available on another unit, ask them if they have anyone that would be interested in renting the property.  Usually good people associate with other good people (not always the case) and this is an inexpensive way to market the property. 
• A reward program for tenants that pay on time.  An effective program that I’ve seen is telling tenants that if they pay their rent before or by the first of the month, they can knock $20 off of their monthly rent.  You can always manipulate this when you set the rental amount, so actually there’s no loss or reduction to your cash flow. 
• If you install a carport or outdoor shed to your property, you increase the likelihood of tenants leasing and remaining in your property for long terms. 

Of course proper marketing and tenant screening are essential in finding the right type of tenant.  Failure to do proper screening will cost you in the long run in tenant turnovers and repairs.  I’ve seen it done time and time again, landlords become desperate and rent to the 1st Joe that comes along.  This is your investment, sometimes you have to make those extra sacrifices and steps for it to be effective.  Set standards and follow them, be a concerned landlord, and treat the property as if you lived there yourself and you should be able to retain your tenants for longer terms.