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1. Decrease Vacancy

The best way to minimise vacancies is to find a long-term tenant so that you don’t have to deal with turnover. This is covered separately by my next point because it is not the only way to keep your property occupied.Every month of vacancy costs you 8,3 percent of your potential yearly revenue, so you would be better off renting every property one month faster for 5 percent less rent, two months faster for 10 percent less rent, and so on.

Another way to think about vacancy is this. If a property does not have some characteristic that sets it apart from the rest and sells itself such as a prime location or a to-die-for kitchen, you can give it one by providing the best value in town.

2. Minimize Turnover

Turnover costs money in multiple ways. There are advertising costs, the cost of patching and painting walls and replacing flooring that your previous tenant would have lived with, and, of course, vacancy. It’s a little counter-intuitive, but this is another area where relatively lower rent may have the tendency to increase revenue.

One of your goals should be to find quality tenants that take care of your property and pay consistently.

When you find these people, do what you can to keep them!

The price of rent is not the only factor involved in tenant retention. The other key is customer service. Whether you personally manage your properties or have a property manager, make sure your tenants are treated with respect and professionalism, their concerns are valued, and matters are dealt with urgently and to their satisfaction.

A good tenant/landlord relationship keeps tenants from thinking about moving.

3. Increase Rent Strategically

As I mentioned, tenants may be more loyal if they can’t find lower rent elsewhere.

But this doesn’t mean that you should never raise rents when you have good reason to do so.

Moving costs tenants money too. If the value of their current rental is significantly better than the value of a new rental plus the cost of moving, you still have the upper hand.

Make sure you know the rents in the area.

You may find there is plenty of room to increase your revenue a small amount each year (1 percent-3percent) while remaining competitive.

Two tactics I use to increase rents: Communicate an offset to new costs such as increased fees, which cover utilities and amenities that they enjoy, and have them coincide with an upgrade to the rental.

For instance, I may plan to paint the exterior of the home or upgrade old windows from single to dual pane anyway, but I will schedule the work to coincide with a lease renewal and the tenant feels they are getting something out of the deal.

I may even ask them if there is anything that would make them more comfortable and select items from this list that will justify rent increases while increasing the market value of the home. In other words, make improvements that are necessary for maintenance or have immediate return on investment.

4. Be Diligent on Late Fees

Showing kindness and respect to your tenants does not mean being a pushover when it comes to rent collection and late fees.

Collections are not the most enjoyable part of being a landlord, but are essential to running a profitable business.

Make sure your tenants understand that this is a business, they have signed a contract, and it is your job to complete this transaction, following the contract and all applicable laws (including eviction proceedings if necessary).

5. Add Revenue Streams

In single-family homes, offer extra house cleaning and landscaping services to tenants when they sign the lease.

They may be happy to pay extra to avoid responsibilities they’d otherwise take on.

You can negotiate the rates of independent landscaping and cleaning services, contract them out, and collect a fee as the contractor.

For instance, if a cleaner agrees on a $75/month fee, you may offer the service to your tenant for $85/month, increasing your annual revenue by $120. — time.com