We all know an essential part of our property management process is the rent review and many of us undertake rent reviews but are they regular, effective and efficient? When the time to review the rent comes along, we are generally finding out what the tenants plans are and if they want to stay on and then letting the landlord know the current rental value. But what if we took this simple rent review a step further and conducted a complete tenancy review with the landlord?
It’s the perfect time to think about how we can add value for our landlord. Perhaps, next time the rent review comes up we conduct the tenancy review as if we were sitting at a new listing presentation with them to discuss their needs by asking questions such as:
• “Before we review the rental value on your property I just wanted to have a chat about you. What are your plans for the next 12-24 months?”
• Do you have any plans to move back in or sell in the foreseeable future?”
• “What is going to be most important to you in reviewing this tenancy? Increased rental value? Or tenant security?”
• “Are you happy with the tenancy so far?”
• “When would you like us to next review the rent?”
Perhaps the landlords expectations have changed since you appraised their property 12 or more months ago. Situations change so quickly, and we need to consider that our landlords needs are also constantly changing. Perhaps they were planning to stay away for 3 or more years but now plan to return home in six months time. Perhaps they are thinking of selling in a year but may not realise increasing the rent now risks the tenants vacating closer to the sale time.
This new process of reviewing not just the rent, but the tenancy itself will enable you to best recommend options to the landlords based on their needs (and not what we assume their needs are based on our process). Most importantly, you are improving the relationship between yourself and the landlord by showing you actually care about their wants and needs.
For more information on how you can revise your rent review process, join us for our live webinar on July 12th
