The 5 Secrets to Property Management Success

How can we continue to grow? This is a common question we are hearing more and more from our clients as they share their frustrations about the increasingly evolving and competitive renter’s market.

At Assurant, we help Property Management Companies (PMCs) create seamless and enjoyable living experiences, from move-in to move-out, that grow their book of business, protect their assets, and build their reputation as a great place to live.?

Here are our secrets to property management success.

Ease the Cost of Move-In for Qualified Residents

You’ve invested thousands of dollars creating an engaging website, taking gorgeous photos, building out sales funnels, and doing everything you can to attract new residents. But all of that will go to waste if you’re not addressing the number one issue facing tenants in today’s rental market – the cost of moving.

Deposit alternatives are a simple and effective way to ease move-in burdens for qualified residents. While the product isn’t new, tenants are now more aware of their existence than ever before and look at these as a helpful option. Clients using our deposit alternative, FlexDeposit, have found success offering this solution to qualified residents for a fraction of the cost of a traditional security deposit, so they can simultaneously ease move-in costs for their tenants, while still protecting their properties from bad debt.

Protect Everyone’s Belongings with Bundled Renters Insurance

For many, the idea of moving is a headache that turns into a migraine. Providers that find ways to streamline the process for both the PMC and the resident will see success in the industry moving forward.

A simple solution most PMCs are turning to is offering to bundle the required renters insurance with the rent payment – a selection conveniently made during the leasing process. PMCs want to protect their assets and renters want to protect their expensive belongings, so renters insurance is a win-win solution. Unlike liability-only insurance, renters insurance protects the PMC from financial and reputational risk, while safeguarding the renter’s possessions. Assurant’s Cover360 solution conveniently bundles renters insurance right into the rent payment and can be secured during the leasing process.

Ensure Everyone Remains Protected

A major annoyance most leasing offices face is ensuring their tenants remain compliant with their renters insurance coverage. This often tedious and manual process takes them away from doing what they are there to do – maintain occupancy and facilitate an enjoyable living experience.

Assurant’s Cover360 essentially manages compliance for our clients by ensuring tenants retain coverage. If they don’t, Assurant will add coverage to ensure there is 100 percent compliance.

Find New Ways to Improve the Tenant Experience

In today’s competitive and transparent rental market, retaining good, qualified tenants is of high importance. We are hearing more and more clients looking for ways to improve the tenant experience with unique, value-add products and services.

An area often overlooked is a building’s maintenance team. They are equipped to handle the everyday tickets, but the growing volume of IT tickets is out of their reach. Industry data shows, 20% of all maintenance calls are now related to tech support (e.g., issues with Wi-Fi connections).

According to Assurant’s proprietary research, 86% of renters indicated that adding a tech support service to their building could significantly increase the positive brand perception for PMCs. Additionally, 56% of renters indicated that availability of a connected ecosystem (e.g., locks, thermostats, etc.) could influence their future rental choice when looking at comparable community options.?

Assurant? TechPro – a premium tech support solution that helps residents with nearly any consumer electronic device or tech challenge through a support channel of their convenience, is a fast-growing service our clients are quickly adding to their portfolios. This service not only solves tech challenges for residents, but offloads the growing burden of tech-related calls from maintenance staff.

Protect Your Reputation with Empathetic Recovery Solutions

In some cases, when a resident moves out there is an unpaid rent balance. Handling these situations with the empathetic care they deserve and require is necessary for a PMC to demonstrate their understanding of the situation, and to protect their reputation.

Assurant Recovery Solutions has specialized in servicing the renters industry for over 25 years, helping properties recover bad debt, with a highly specialized and trained team.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Which of these property management success secrets are you working on, and which ones are causing you stress?