Avoiding and quickly filling rental property vacancies is a crucial part of effective property management. Since the start of the pandemic, the rate that rental properties turn over each year has been averaging around 42%. Overall vacancy rates have fallen somewhat in recent months, with the current national rental vacancy rate standing at 5.6%.
The average cost of a rental vacancy comes in at around $1,750 per month — including maintenance and repairs, but not the lost rental income. And that’s just for one vacancy.
The lost income can add up pretty quickly for rental owners and property managers. As a result, it’s critical to fill vacancies as quickly as possible — or, even better, to avoid them in the first place.
The faster you can fill your vacant units, the more you’ll be able to grow your rental income. Manual effort will only get you so far, but technology can slash your costs, labor, and time to fill a vacant property.
Related: 13 Tips for Marketing Rental Properties to Fill Vacancies Quickly
Property Management & Tenant Lead Technology Is Here to Stay
During the pandemic, the real estate industry saw a rush of technology that powered day-to-day operations. According to Buildium, that trend is here to stay. Today’s tenants have come to expect the convenience that technology delivers, and that’s not going to change.
The sooner you can begin to leverage technology within your property management processes, the faster you’ll start to see a positive impact on your business — and give your tenants the seamless experience they expect.
Technology like tenant lead software helps save time and improve your processes, but how can it help to actually fill and avoid rental vacancies? There are several ways.
Use Tech to Reduce Rental Vacancies
Tenant lead software can be a great tool for finding your ideal tenants — those who are more likely to stay at your rental property. Filling your properties with the right tenants means longer occupancies and lower turnover rates.
Here’s a few ways tenant lead software can help reduce vacancies:
- Tenant pre-qualification lets you find better tenants right from the start. Pre-screen and prioritize the highest quality tenant leads by identifying those who are most likely to stay for years.
- Add security with anti-fraud detection technology. Digital fingerprinting and proprietary known-scammer blocklists can help you identify squatters and avoid scams.
- Use tech-based conveniences like self-showings with secure lock boxes or virtual showings. Giving prospective tenants more flexibility improves your entire tenant experience starting from the very first impression.
- Automate common tasks to free up your time. Focus your energy on nurturing personal relationships with current tenants, enhancing the rental experience, and implementing other strategic priorities.
Use Tech to Fill Rental Vacancies Fast
Rental technologies are built to streamline your rental processes. By automating multiple aspects of the rental process, you can dramatically reduce the time it takes to fill your vacant properties.
- Easily syndicate online listings across the most popular listings sites, such as Zillow and Trulia. Avoid the wasted time and mistakes of repetitive data reentry or copy/paste.
- Aggregate and track results from your advertising efforts. This helps you to identify the channels that deliver good tenant leads and are worth the investment.
- Automate responses to ensure that all lead inquiries are answered within just 1-2 minutes. Any longer lag time and your chances of successfully connecting drop fast.
- Use a tenant showing scheduler so your prospects can book and confirm their own appointments online. Not only is this more convenient for your leads, it reduces interruptions in your own work. Look for a scheduler that integrates with popular calendars like Google and Outlook.
- Waitlist tenant leads while you’re qualifying prospective tenants. If your initial choice falls through during the leasing process, you can turn to your waitlist. You can also use it to promote other rental vacancies later.
- Reduce phone calls and other unnecessary interruptions to free up the property manager’s time. This lets them focus on getting leases signed and building the business.
Don’t forget to implement technology on both sides of your tenant process. Rental property management software like Rent Manager, Buildium, and AppFolio will make it easier for you to manage your properties once your tenants have moved in.
When you’re considering a tenant lead software, look for one like Tenant Turner that integrates seamlessly with the property management tools you’re already using.
Can Tech Really Reduce Your Vacancy Rate?
Tenant lead software prescreens tenant leads, streamlines property showings, and creates leasing efficiencies to help save time and quickly fill vacancies. The technology is an important addition to your rental property management process because it produces tangible results.
Tenant Turner has generated over ten million leads for users, has been proven to reduce phone calls by up to 90% and is an industry leader in anti-fraud detection. It even helps reduce vacancy rates. Ben Parham of Integrity Realty & Management says:
“Tenant Turner has been a total game changer for our business. It has streamlined the showing scheduling process to an extent that our leasing team gained an entire work day per week back…and it has reduced our vacancy rates. I am a raving fan of Tenant Turner!”
More and more property managers are discovering the advantages of using Tenant Turner software for their business. Tenant Turner frees up over 25% of their week by eliminating tedious and repetitive tasks and other inefficiencies. By using Tenant Turner property managers have more time to connect personally with prospective tenants, and cut their days on market in half.
Do you have vacancies you need to fill fast? You can start by downloading Tenant Turner’s Advertising Your Rental Property Guide for 2022.
