Multifamily property management involves juggling many uncontrollable factors—from weather to local construction to larger political and economic influences. This makes it more important than ever to optimize your properties where you can. As Multifamily owners/operators continue to fight obstacles such as legacy technology, competitive markets, and staff turnover, connecting with residents remains a vital element in helping your assets thrive.
Did you know that 79% of renters prefer to communicate through direct message, text, or chat? Nowadays, people expect instant, convenient communication in every aspect of their lives—from ordering food to booking appointments… Why should their housing experience be any different? Long response times, outdated communication methods, and lack of accessibility can lead to frustration and ultimately increased turnover.
Effective, real-time communication isn’t just about convenience; it’s about building trust, fostering a sense of community, and ensuring residents feel valued. When renters can easily reach property managers, ask questions, and receive prompt responses, they’re more likely to renew their leases and recommend your property to others. A modern, responsive communication strategy helps create a positive living experience, strengthening resident satisfaction and loyalty.
One way to streamline communication is by offering direct channels to connect residents with property managers. Providing residents with an easy way to ask questions, request maintenance, or check in about their lease eliminates friction to make interactions happen seamlessly. Tools such as 2-way texting makes it easy for property managers to stay connected with prospects, applicants, and residents from one central platform. By enabling properties with the ability to easily message residents from their core software, in a way that offers residents the ability to respond from the convenience of their own phone, you create accessibility for both your teams and residents.
2. Promptly Address Maintenance Requests
Crucial to resident retention, reliable maintenance is key to renters’ positive experiences. When service requests go unanswered for too long, frustrations build and increase the likelihood of turnover. A smooth maintenance process ensures issues are addressed promptly, with clear communication on timelines.
To remain competitive, Multifamily operators need to implement a platform that actually helps streamline these essential processes. By simplifying maintenance management through a central hub users can track, create, and manage work orders, upload photos, and communicate directly with residents without the obstacle of cumbersome, disorganized legacy systems. Transparency into assigned tasks and real-time updates are now essential in order to complete work orders quickly, keep residents satisfied, and prevent a pile-up of issues at your property.
3. Offer Worthwhile Amenities
Offering meaningful incentives makes a significant impact on a resident’s decision to renew. Understanding their experience can help you tailor offers to individual residents and increase the effectiveness of these incentives. This makes tracking their history of complaints or concerns more important than ever.
In-unit upgrades, rent discounts, and improved on-site amenities are small changes that can significantly transform a resident’s relationship with their apartment community. These improvements not only increase a property’s appeal, but they also demonstrate a true loyalty to your current residents' by prioritizing their comfort and satisfaction. You can create a true sense of community by addressing real feedback to actively strengthen residents' connection to the property and to each other, making them more inclined to stay.
4. Upgrade to a Better Software
It is almost impossible to create a positive experience if your legacy system is holding you back. Outdated technology can create friction for residents and staff, leading to frustration and turnover. Modernizing your property management tech isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a necessity at this point. Outdated PMS solutions lack the flexibility and efficiency required to meet the evolving needs of today's residents and staff.
If your core system is difficult to maintain, doesn’t integrate with newer technologies, and lacks data transparency, it can pose serious security risks due to outdated backends and ineffective workflows. Unintuitive technology can also increase operational costs, create user frustrations, and discourage prompt responses to residents
By adopting modern property management software, you can streamline operations, enhance communication, and provide a better living experience for your residents, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates. Providing your teams with tools that encourage them to do their jobs, rather than further complicating an already hectic workload, also benefits the resident experience with better workflows, improved culture, and more transparency.
Fortress OS streamlines operations, enhances communication, and delivers a seamless resident experience. From intuitive portals to automated workflows, we help you stay ahead, ensuring technology becomes a tool for retention, not a roadblock. Interested to learn more? Schedule a demo with our team: https://fortresstech.io/demo.