Nurturing and maintaining a solid relationship with tenants is a monumental step towards better property management. It may sound like a ‘soft’ strategy compared to maintaining the property and keeping the lights on and the bills paid, but it has a significant impact on long-term tenancy. The current dip in the property development market and underperforming rental percentages have sent property managers and landlords looking for more creative ways to keep rental numbers up, and property management systems could just be the answer.
Having tenants renting long term provides a high return on investment, as they provide a guaranteed income, require less effort in the long run (due to not having to find new tenants frequently), mean less down-time between tenants, and if they like where they live they tend to look after the property. All in all, it makes sense to invest time and effort on good tenants to encourage them to settle in and become part of the local community.
However, building a relationship with long-term tenants means more than staying on top of repairs and collecting rent, it’s also about creating a two-way communication line that manages potential issues effectively before they become a big problem. The longer a tenant stays the more likely it is that issues may arise, and one of the biggest culprits are utility bills.
Prevent arguments over utility usage
A simple way to strengthen the relationship with tenants is full transparency around the more sensitive issues, such as utility usage and paying bills. Disputes about utility usage and bill settlement are common in the rental industry, but completely avoidable with proper property management systems in place.
Prepaid meters are fast becoming the most popular solution to some aspects of property management. A prepaid meter bypasses the complexities of utility bill allocation and prevents arguments about usage with tenants, which are compounded when managing larger property portfolios and varied utility bills.
Most municipalities are moving towards bulk electricity supply to estates and complexes, which means the owner or body corporate must foot the entire bill and separately charge all the tenants based on their usage, and hope to recoup all costs successfully. But with the introduction of prepaid meters, as an integral part of the property management system, it makes it possible for tenants to pay up front for their utility services and keep track of their own water and electricity consumption.
Smoother processes transmute into smoother relationships
If everything ticks over nicely every month, with the most complex of processes taken care of automatically by better property management systems in place, both tenants and landlords will be happier at the end of the day.
Citiq Prepaid is in the business of helping property managers and owners build tenant relationships and forming the foundations of a community centred around transparency. When partnering with Citiq Prepaid, tenants know exactly what they are paying for, and property owners are assured of competitive fees and absolute security for their funds and utilities.
