As the industry's most accomplished leasing and marketing company, apartment owners trust CLASS to achieve higher occupancy.

Resident Retention: As Easy as 300-200-100

March 13, 2014

easy button

One of the biggest selling features of today’s property management software is the efficiency and time saving steps that these systems provide our onsite teams.  Yet where does the spare time go?  The ratio of onsite staff to number of units managed has barely changed over the years, yet we have all of this technology that supposedly frees up hours of time for our teams.

What would happen if we committed some of that extra time to checking in with our residents 3 times each year? Studies have shown that the number one reason why people move out of their apartment is because they do not feel that the management or maintenance cares about their well-being. Can simply visiting a resident every 100 days change that perception?  I am betting that it will.

While CLASS has the luxury of only handling the sales and marketing side of things, we also get a chance to observe firsthand where time and money is allocated in the leasing office.  One place we do not see time spent is on resident retention.  Our only contact with residents is when they are paying their rent, creating a work-order or when we are pinging on them to renew their lease.  Why not adopt a 300-200-100 approach to resident retention? Make it mandatory that someone from the office personally drops by to check on a resident 300, 200 and 100 days prior to their lease expiring. Have them knock on the door to make sure they are happy and check if anything needs fixing.  If nobody answers the door, have a hand written note ready to leave on their doorstep letting them know you came by and inviting them to reach out and connect with the leasing office.

This entire process may take 30 minutes per resident per year. It requires diligence and oversight, but it may end up being one of the best investments you make in your property. This plan directly addresses the single biggest factor in resident retention and can instantly provide a renewed sense of community at your property.

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