Turning properties quickly is extremely important in Property Management. Now by turning, we mean getting the property rent ready for the new tenant to move in. The owner, tenant, and property management company all benefit from having the property turned as quickly as possible. With our business model, turning properties quickly is even more important as we pre-lease. This means we show and rent the unit while the exiting tenant is still there. With that said, nine times out of ten, our properties are rented before the old tenant moves out. Basically, the only time that a property is not rented is the time it takes to turn the unit.
The property management company benefits from quick turns by being providing measurable that potential owners are looking for. When an owner is looking into a property management company they need to know you are good for their investment. Just like if you were hiring a landscaper to work on your yard, you are going to want to know what kind of work they can do before you hire them. When you can show an interested owner that you can get properties turned and re-rented in a timely manner, it lets them know that their investment is safe with you. The owner benefits from having the unit turned quickly as it reduces the days they go without rent. An owner is losing around $30 average per day the unit is vacant!
As the property managers we do not want to see the owners losing money because the turn between tenants is taking too long. We want to show our owners that our end goal is the same as their end goal, this is getting vacant units turned and re-rented. In 2017 our average business days it took to turn a unit was 5.83 days. In 2018 our average was 4.68 business days. Our goal for 2019 is 4 business days or less to have the units turned and rent ready.
Tenants can have many different reasons why they are moving. They may have just had another baby and need more space. Maybe they are going to college and they are moving into their first apartment, or they took a promotion at work and are new to the Boise area. Whatever the reason for the move is, they want to be in the new apartment as soon as they can and having the unit turned quickly will only help them achieve this goal!
To reach the goals we have set for our company, choosing vendors that we can trust to get the job done is important. Keeping in constant contact with the vendors helps us make sure the turn is completed timely as well as up to our standards. When you have three to four vendors that are going in and out of the unit being organized helps to know where each unit is during the tuning process.
Turns are an important part of property management. We know that the tenants that move in are not going to stay forever. When we all work together to get the units turned, this makes our owners and tenants happy to do business with us. Our main focus as a property management company is to try and ensure that everyone we are working with is taken care of.
Lacey Hofman, Maintenance Team Member
First Rate Property Management, Inc.
Boise, Idaho
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