13 Feb Top 8 Reasons Why A Tenant Moves Out

Are you ever left wondering why your tenants moved out? What can you do to retain them? Let’s take a look at the top 8 reasons that tenants move out and a few tips to try improve your resident retention. 

1. They’re Looking for Something More Affordable

When the home becomes too expensive for your tenant, they’ll start making plans to move into something more affordable. With the ever-increasing cost of rent, it’s important to always analyze the market around your home and ensure that your rates are competitive.

• In order to retain your tenant, you may offer to lower their rent by $25 to $50. The loss in rent may end up costing less than the expense of the vacancy & re-leasing the home.
• If lowering the rent isn’t a reasonable option, offer your tenants another available home that you have in your portfolio. While you’ll still need to re-lease the home, you’ll be doing them a favor and building great rapport.

2. They Need More Space or Want to Downsize

At some point your tenant may start to feel cramped in their current home. Reasons vary from needing an extra bedroom, larger  kitchen space, an additional bathroom, or more outdoor space. 

• If you have an available home that has more space, offer it to your tenants. If you don’t have anything larger available, see if you can offer to make any upgrades to their current home. Getting new flooring or fresh paint may be enough to entice your tenant to stay a bit longer.
• The same goes when a tenant is looking to downsize. Offer an upgrade to see if they’d be interested in staying. Otherwise, check out what’s available in your portfolio and allow your tenant to transfer properties if you have something smaller.

3. They Want to Purchase a Home

In several markets, rents are more expensive than a mortgage payment. When the interest rates are low or their credit scores are in a good spot, it’s an attractive time for your tenant to make the jump into home ownership. 

• While you wouldn’t want to talk a tenant out of purchasing a home, you should be as supportive as you can. Offer to help your tenants with the buying process!
• Once they’ve completed their move into their own home, ask for an online review of your services.

4. Having Problems with a Neighbor

Let’s face it, living next to a neighbor that you have issues with is never an easy situation. As the owner or landlord, it’s best to keep open lines of communication with your tenants and see if you can help mediate the situation. If you can’t, try to be as understanding as possible. 

• If your tenants are set on moving due to consistent neighbor issues, try to help them find something else in your portfolio.
• In order to avoid problem tenants from the beginning, it’s best to have a good screening process in-place and always verify previous rental history by getting references.

5. Job Changes

When a tenant has a job change, they may start looking for a new place to live. Whether it’s a change in jobs with a new salary or an out-of-town relocation, review their situation and see what you can do to help.

• Job Relocation – A relocation for employment purposes will often force a tenant to move. While there isn’t going to be anything that you can do to stop it, you can refer them to a Real Estate Agent in their destination location that can assist them.
• Job Change (with a salary increase) – Maybe your tenant received a promotion, or they’ve changed jobs and now have a higher salary. They may start looking for another rental property with their higher budget. See what you have available for them, and allow them to transfer within your portfolio.
• Job Change (with a salary decrease) – If your tenant changed jobs and is now working with a lower income, they may be forced to find a rental home that costs less each month. Can you lower the rent? If you are able to lower the rent, even a little each month, if you allow your tenant to stay in their current home. If lowering the rent isn’t an option, see what else you have available for them.

6. Recurring or Frequent Maintenance Issues

A tenant doesn’t want to deal with maintenance issues, especially if it’s a recurring or frequent problem. Keeping up on your properties is essential in avoiding maintenance related move-outs.

• Conducting inspections of the property allows you to keep up on the regular maintenance. You should be inspecting the property at least annually, or more often if possible. Have a list of items that you can check during these inspections & make notes to reference later.
• Having a preventative maintenance schedule may help you from having bigger issues in the future.When a problem does arise, be sure to be attentive to the repairs. Fixing problems in a timely manner and keeping good communication with your tenants during the process shows them that you care.
  

7. Change in Family Size

Did your tenants get married? Maybe they had a baby? Do they have an elderly family member moving in with them? When your tenants’ household size has changed, they’re going to be looking for a new home.

• Show them any available homes you have in your portfolio to see if you have something that will meet their needs. 

8. Moving to a Different Neighborhood 

A tenant may want to move into a new neighborhood for any number of reasons. Some may feel that their current location is no longer safe. Others may be looking to move into a specific school district. Or maybe someone who’s been living in the city is ready to get outside of those city limits.

• Discuss the reasons your tenant is looking to move and see what you have available that may work well for them. If you don’t have any available rentals in the area that they’re looking at, it may be a great time to discuss the possibility of purchasing a home.

The key to successful resident retention, is happy residents. Always try to build rapport with your tenants from the beginning. You can do this by maintaining open & consistent communication, be attentive to their needs, and by working with them to resolve any issues in a timely manner. When you have built a solid relationship with your tenants, they’re more likely to be honest with you when the time comes that they want to or need to move. This allows you to be able to find a solution to keep them in their current home, or assist them with finding their next home.

Caylia Collins
Real Estate Agent | Property Management Administrator
7350 Manchester Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63143
Office: 314-802-0797
Fax: 866-841-2153
www.HermannLondon.com