5 Long-Time Resident Retention Tips

The old Texas saying, “Dance with who brung ya” was a favorite of former Texas Longhorns head coach and legend, Darrell Royal. I talked about this expression with The Apartment Association of Greater Dallas’ Anne Sadovsky at a past event, where she was recognized as a lifetime AAGD member and drew two standing ovations. The idiom is in line with what Sadovsky has preached in her work as an industry trainer and consultant: Go with the players who best help you win. To Sadovsky’s point, resident retention is critical in keeping apartments full. Build value by building relationships with long-time residents “Historically, we get so focused in our efforts to get new customers that we forget at renewal time about those who have lived with us and paid their rent for a year or more,” she said. “We spend our money and time on marketing to new residents, even standing on the corner banging our drum, to drive new business. Too often we forget the most important thing—keeping people we’ve got.” When a long-time resident doesn’t renew, a full roster of prospects can make it tempting for any head coach or property manager to look the other way. Having a call/wait list is insurance. The cost of turnovers is very expensive. The rule of thumb is that it costs five times or more to replace the resident than to keep them. Yet, Sadovsky reminds, that the industry doesn’t always think about the impact that a long-time resident has on the property, both in the value of the community but also the property. “If they stay with you for 10 years, they’ve bought the darned apartment,” she said. “Think about that: if you use $1,000 as a rent average per month, times 12 months times 10 years, that’s 120,000.” Resident retention helps build the community and pay down its debt. Improve resident retention with genuine expressions of gratitude Sadovsky suggests...