Build Good Relationships

"We treat our residents and our vendors the way we want to be treated. We feel that's the path to lasting success in this business," says Jerry Perezchica, senior regional marketing manager with Oakwood Worldwide, a Los Angeles-based property management firm.

Isn't good tenant relations a fast-track to poorer performance because renters will demand ever more costly repairs and upgrades? Don't believe that old school thinking. New-style property managers argue that strong relationships produce high occupancy, high renewal rates and, in the long term, better financial performance—because empty units that result from unhappy tenants contribute nothing to the bottom line. But full buildings mean full bank accounts.

Community Relations
One route to better tenant relations is to improve the property in ways that make a quick and favorable impact on tenants.

"When you improve outside lighting and building security, tenants will notice, but you are also raising the value of your property," says Hilary Becker, a Long Island, N.Y., property manager. He urges following a regularly scheduled maintenance program to, with minimal disruption to tenants, paint walls, install new carpet, and keep units refreshed and sparkling.

"Tenants feel more a part of a community when they see real improvement in their quality of life," Becker adds.

Building community is central to the Oakwood strategy for good tenant relations. Oakwood complexes hold monthly (weekly, in some areas) social mixers, free movie nights, and they plan special events, such as Easter egg hunts for kids, and in many locations they serve free continental breakfasts on Sundays.

"Often several hundred people turn out for these events," Perezchica says, estimating that about 25 percent of Oakwood residents habitually drop into their buildings' social events. A guiding philosophy: people like living around people they like, and when neighbors are encouraged to be more neighborly, only good can result—no matter how large or small the community is.

Rewards and Accommodations
Evidence that Oakwood's approach pays dividends is that many of its residents refer friends to building management; if leases are signed, the referring resident is rewarded with anything from a $100 to $500 gift card, depending on location.

Another relationship-building secret: Make it easy for tenants to request repairs. Wherever possible don't set arbitrary limits that require repair requests to be filed only in a tiny time window. Provide an e-mail address and follow up with a phone call. The less hassle tenants experience at this point of contact, the happier they will be.

An obvious but often overlooked step is to be sure people can be spoken to in their native language, advises James Landon, a Tucson, Ariz., lawyer and author of "The Weekend Landlord." Landon is a partner in several multi-unit residential properties in Tucson, a city with a sizable Hispanic population, and Landon's property manager is fluent in Spanish. "This definitely helps in building relations," Landon says.

Vendors Matter
When vendors such as handymen, contractors and suppliers are happy, they are more responsive to your needs. How do you keep them happy?

"Pay your bills as soon as they come in," Landon says. "Also, sending a steady stream of work to your contractors can be helpful in building relationships."

A handyman service that regularly gets a couple days of work a month from you—even if it's not in your building—will be that much more likely to accommodate emergency service. And fast repairs translate to satisfied tenants.

"We see our vendors as our business partners and we treat them accordingly," Perezchica says. "When we find vendors we like, we are quick to refer them to other properties. This can mean a lot to their success."