Leasing your Hawthorne rental home is an important process. Who wouldn’t want to attract and retain great tenants? To be able to do so, each of your prospects must have a positive experience beginning from their very first screening calls. Whether you call it good customer service or just common courtesy, the most successful rental property owners know that there are specific things you can do during the viewing process to get your preferred applicant to sign a lease.
A great property viewing experience does not involve just the tenant checking out your rental home. The prospective tenant is also checking out who they are renting the home from. A negative experience will likely turn qualified applicants away and make your property difficult to keep occupied. So, it is critical that you manage that experience well. Listen to yourself as you talk on the phone and note if you consistently sound pleasant and polite even when you are stressed. Remember that the person on the phone is someone who deserves courtesy and respect. That will guide you in interacting with them.
As soon as the property viewing has been scheduled, you can elevate the first impression of yourself and your rental home with these other customer service strategies. When you show up for your viewing appointments, look the part! Show up as a professional. That means that you should dress nicely, in business or business casual clothes. Be prepared to answer your applicant’s questions, not just about the property but also about the neighborhood, nearby amenities, schools, public transportation, and other points of interest. When your prospects don’t ask, work the area’s best selling points into the conversation as you give them a tour of the property.
To add to professionalism, establishing a connection on a personal level with each applicant is also important. Welcome your potential tenant with a warm smile and ask for their name so you can use it during your tour. This is the most polite thing to do and will give them the impression that you see them as an individual, and not just your next rent check. The secret to selling anything is to establish a personal connection. You can do this by simply asking them questions about their interests, work, or other appropriate topics. Just avoid anything that may be viewed as too personal or that might make your applicant uncomfortable (religion, politics, or family status, for example).
Finally, remember that while renting a house is your business, to your prospective tenant, it is going to be their next home. They might be at the end of a long tiring day or at peak excitement over a new place to stay. Either way, greeting them with a pleasant tone and a clean, well-maintained property can help you and the rental property stand out from the crowd. A home is a place that must invoke safety, even for renters. Give them a picture of how they can relax, live, and enjoy life in the home and you increase the likelihood of your rental property being leased as well.
Take time to learn and apply these customer service techniques so you may no longer be dealing with vacancies.
Whether you’ve already got a lease signed for your investment property or need someone to find a tenant for you, Real Property Management DePenn can help manage your rental. Contact us online or give us a call at 866-820-9913.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
