Regardless of which rental option you choose when it comes to real estate investing, reducing your turnovers and minimizing vacancies is a common goal.
In traditional rentals, turnover happens when a current resident leaves and a rental property remains vacant until someone new moves in. Each day a traditional rental property sits vacant is a loss for owners, since it is earning zero rental income but still incurring costs.
The PadSplit model is a great option compared to traditional rentals, because PadSplit Hosts rarely have a 100% vacant property. Our award-winning rent by the room model means even if one Member moves out, your property is still occupied. Not only does this help property owners with upkeep, but it also means they are still continuing to collect rent from current residents.
Our average Member tenure is 9 months, and many Members stay even longer if their current PadSplit meets all their needs. While move-outs and room turns are inevitable, there are things Hosts can do on the front end to optimize their property and ensure longer tenures.
How to Minimize Vacancies and Reduce Turnover Costs
Provide a quality home
Our Members pick where they live the same way you do: location, price, and amenities. When selecting your property location, remember that Members prefer homes located close to public transportation and employment centers.
Price your rooms competitively, but make sure you factor in utility costs since those are the responsibility of the Host. Need help with pricing? Use our pricing recommendation tool, and browse the PadSplit marketplace and look at similar properties located in your area as a guide.
Choose the right materials
There are many things Hosts can do during the property preparation stage to reduce future turnover costs. Just like your property’s location can’t be changed, it’s important to think about how you can reduce turnover costs during the renovation stage.
When building a scope of work, we recommend Hosts get in front of any possible maintenance issues by focusing on choosing durable materials that can withstand wear and tear. For example, avoid soft surfaces such as carpet when possible, and choose hard surfaces that can withstand cleaning chemicals and everyday wear-and-tear. While granite countertops are more expensive up-front, they are far more durable than laminate or wood counters and will require less upkeep from Hosts.
In addition to selecting durable materials, put yourself in the shoes of the prospective Member and ask, “What can I do to make this property appealing for someone living here?” Sometimes that means replacing existing tile with a newer material, or painting wooden kitchen cabinets white to brighten a space. These cosmetic improvements can be relatively inexpensive but pare attractive to prospective Members when browsing available PadSplit listings.
Conduct bi-weekly quality assurance inspection
We recommend all PadSplit Hosts or property managers conduct bi-weekly quality assurance walkthroughs to make sure the PadSplit is in good working order for current and future Members. You can address current issues in the house with Members before they become larger and more costly issues in the future.
Be a responsive Host
PadSplit provides a maintenance ticketing service that allows Members to submit maintenance tickets directly to Hosts. Good judgment is required to triage and respond to tickets effectively.
When a Host provides prompt service on addressing issues in the home, Members tend to have longer tenure because they know their concerns will be addressed. Check out our recommended guidelines for maintenance response times.
We’re always looking for ways to serve our Hosts, and our Host Support team regularly seeks feedback from Hosts and regularly shares details about Product features.
