Is tenant turnover still one of your biggest problems? Do you need help saving money during tenant turnover? Then there is a need to look at practical tips to manage your finances during the period.
No matter how great a relationship you have with your tenants or how much you strive to keep them happy in your rental, tenants may leave either by choice or because they have to. These tenant turnovers often see you at the spending end of damage repairs and lots of cleaning, which costs time and money.
When your rental property sits vacant, you are not earning any rent. However, you may still have to pay for maintenance, upgrades, landscaping, cleaning, and extra security. According to a study done by ResearchGate, tenant move-out costs can cost as much as $4000!
However, although tenant turnovers are costly, there are a few ways to reduce these expenses.
In this article, we look at some tips curated by our expert property managers at California Pacific Realty to help you save money during tenant turnovers.
Re-rent the Property Within 30 Days
Prolonged rental vacancies significantly hurt your cash flow and become a drain on your ROI. However, speedy re-renting results in consistent rental income, ensuring steady cash flow and profitability.
You can implement pre-leasing strategies to minimize the days between two tenancies and rent a property before your current renters move out. Hiring a property manager can allow you to use marketing tools to advertise your unit immediately to attract qualified tenants.
You can let the process drag on too long without a fixed deadline. So ensure you approach every turnover with strict deadlines and decide how quickly you want your property re-rented.
Consider working with the right vendors and resources to resolve maintenance issues before turning the property around and putting it back on the market. It can help accelerate the renting process and reduce the time between renters.
Work With Affordable, High-Quality Maintenance Specialists
After every tenancy, you may incur the cost of preparing your rental home for the next occupancy. You can use the tenant’s security deposit for the potential damage they have caused to your property. But you are financially responsible for general wear and tear items spotted in your property between tenants.
You can create a list of licensed vendors and contractors who provide quality work at reasonable prices. Consider reaching out to professionals for preventative maintenance and annual inspections. If you find them responsible, communicate with them frequently and pay their invoices on time.
You can also approach property management companies to find the best vendors, contractors, and real estate agents and maintain healthy relationships with them. It can help you get quality maintenance at reasonable prices, keeping your repair costs down. You can hire a team of professionals that can work quickly and accurately.
As an established landlord, you can also get contact numbers of painters, landscapers, cleaners, licensed contractors, and vendors who respond to your rental needs and work faster and cost-effectively, reducing turnover costs.
Focus on Property Upgrades to Increase Rental Value
One promising way to save money during tenant turnover is to make upgrades and updates. Your home has to be modern and inviting to reduce what you may lose during the turnover work.
Take some time to list items you need to upgrade the property. You can either spend money on entire property renovation or cost-effective upgrades.
It is better to make minor improvements that will raise the value of your rental home, and that turnover cost will be considered an investment rather than an expense.
Here are a few upgrades you can consider:
- Opt for deep cleaning
- Upgrade the interior
- Improve outer appearance
- Consider landscaping
- Put on new flooring
- Repaint the kitchen cabinet
With regular upgrades and improvements, you can significantly increase the market value of your rental.
Replace Carpets with Hardwood Flooring
Carpets quickly get stained and ruined by negligent tenants or pets. Even if you clean it thoroughly by spending your hard-earned money, you may still sense a lingering smell or see stains.
Installing more durable flooring like ceramic tiles, laminate, or vinyl can save you thousands of dollars during tenant turnover. Even if the unit sits vacant for a long time, you don’t need to spend money cleaning and fixing the flooring whenever required.
So rather than replacing carpets every five years, you can consider hardwood flooring in different styles and materials. Though These types of flooring can be expensive initially, they will stand up to huge amounts of wear and tear, saving you thousands of dollars over time.
Additionally, they are easy to clean and maintain. You can save money by ensuring you have no carpet in your properties. Your tenants will also be happier seeing your property has hardwood floors.
Install LED Bulbs
Installing LED bulbs may sound like a small thing, but it can save hundreds of dollars during tenant turnover. This little step can save you money and headaches. LED light bulbs last between 25-50,000 hours, which means fewer changing light bulbs for you or your handyman.
LED lights save electricity. They use less power (watt) per light unit (lumen) generated. Thus, they last longer and reduce electricity bills, providing 100 or even 200 lumens per watt. So paying the utilities after the tenant moves out already saves you money to have these in place.
Repaint the Whole Unit
You don’t need to repaint your rental property whenever your tenants leave. Instead, painting your house with a satin finish or high-gloss paint can help you save a lot of money you might spend on repainting.
Also, if you want to paint your property after every tenancy, you can stick to the same color to buy your paint in 5-gallon buckets, saving you time and money regarding repainting.
Consider painting interior walls, front doors, and window panes to improve the curb appeal of your rental property. Also, apply color to the mailbox and garage door to make them more attractive. It can help you attract quality tenants quickly after your existing tenants leave, reducing turnover and saving money.
Hire a Cleaning Crew
As a property owner, you may set a goal of getting everything as good as possible for your next tenant. As it creates a good impression on your tenants, they will likely lease your property in the long run, reducing tenant turnover.
However, cleaning your home thoroughly every time with a different cleaning crew can cost you a lot of money and cut down on your property.
Also, if you hire an individual cleaner, there is less protection against broken things. Therefore, hiring the same cleaning crew or company can save you hundreds of bucks in the long run. Once your cleaning crew becomes familiar with your home, it will develop a streamlined process that meets your cleaning requirements and expectations.
Consider Preventative Maintenance
Repair work and maintenance are inevitable while running a rental business. Considering preventative maintenance while your unit is vacant helps you avoid major repair issues in the long run. It is the best time to do everything you can to boost the longevity of your asset. Here are a few things you can cover under preventative maintenance.
- Inspect the HVAC system
A periodic inspection of your HVAC (Heating, ventilation & air conditioning) reduces the likelihood of having less heat when you need it most and avoids encountering expensive emergency repairs. You can check your property’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and get it repaired or replaced if required.
- Install Smoke Detectors
During tenant turnover, you can check the smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detector batteries and fire alarms to avoid sudden breakdowns and costly repairs. This includes inspecting the sprinklers, piping, valve assemblies, fire pump, standpipe, extinguishers, and emergency lights.
Have your home appliances inspected and replaced if necessary. While preventive maintenance may seem expensive initially, dealing with sudden repair issues is even more costly and frustrating. Consider hiring professional managers to inspect the property regularly, spot minor damages, and fix them promptly under preventative maintenance.
Save Money With a Property Manager
As a property owner, reducing turnover time and expenses should be your ultimate goal, and you should make every effort to achieve the goal.
One of the promising ways to do it is by hiring a professional property management company like California Pacific Realty. We help you keep the cost of maintenance down during rental vacancies. Our team rigorously markets your property to attract quality tenants and fill your rental with them in the long run, saving you money and time.
Reach us at California Pacific Realty to learn more about money-saving tips during tenant turnover.
