Most property managers start planning for renewals and vacancies around the 60 or 90 day mark, as the existing lease starts coming to a close and it’s getting toward decision time. But great property managers start planning as soon as the resident signs a lease.
As a strategic property manager, you need to start resident relationships off on the right foot, and then keep that momentum throughout the entire lease.
From day one, you’re either setting yourself up for a renewal… or you’re setting yourself up for a vacancy. Every touchpoint, every bit of communication, and every process you run builds toward one of those outcomes.
Lease signing is more than paperwork—it’s your first big impression. The way you run the process, the way you communicate, and even the way you choose residents shapes their opinion of you. And whether they’re likely to stick with you for the long haul…
From the very first interaction, you should be conducting and presenting yourself in a way that shows you care about renewal. Residents can tell when we’re just trying to fill a vacancy or when we’re actually invested in building a lasting relationship.
A huge part of this is just making sure you’re signing the right residents. I’m a big advocate for the first-come, first-served system (assuming your marketing and screening process is solid). The right-fit resident is often also the one who’s easy to work with and more likely to renew. No matter your selection method, the goal is to show professionalism and care from the very beginning.
I like to call the first 90–120 days after move-in the Raving Fans phase—because your job is to turn new residents into people who love working with you.
You should be setting check-ins, calls, letters, gifts… anything you can do to delight your residents. While that might sound like a huge undertaking, it actually doesn’t require a ton of money, and sometimes you can even bill some of the expenses back to the owner. As a property owner myself, I approve an annual gift budget because I know that it’s a strong investment in the future.
And here’s the thing: a lot of this can be automated. I’ve used third-party services that handwrite and mail cards for us, based on messages we send them. Residents get a personal touch, but your team doesn’t get buried in busywork.
We call this approach “unreasonable hospitality.” The goal is to help build a positive association with your company. You don’t want residents to see an email, text, or piece of mail from you and assume that something’s wrong. Instead, you want them to be excited to hear from you.
Remember, these don’t have to be incredibly personalized gifts. That’s great if you can do it, but it’s often not realistic with how busy your team is. Don’t put off sending gifts because you want to personalize them. Perfect is the enemy of good. Find a gift level that makes sense for your margins and your market, and stick with it.
The Raving Fans phase isn’t just about “feel-good” touches. For example, you should provide clear instructions on understanding the maintenance portal, submitting a maintenance request, and what your company considers an emergency. The goal is to educate them, get on the same page, and create consistent expectations. You’re identifying potential points of contention and resolving them before they even happen. All of that drives a better resident experience and increases the likelihood of a renewal when the time comes.
I think that too many property managers assume a level of knowledge that residents don’t necessarily have. We’re so involved in our businesses every day that we forget our residents might not have the same knowledge that we do. For example, what is or isn’t an emergency? When should something be reported in order to prevent future damage? What’s the property manager’s responsibility and what should be reported to an HOA? Helping residents understand these things early makes them more confident, more comfortable with our management style, and more likely to have a positive experience.
Before wrapping up the Raving Fans phase, let them know exactly when they will hear from you next. Share a simple outline of your upcoming communications, including when you typically start renewal conversations, so they know what to expect and keep that positive association when your name appears in their inbox.
Once the Raving Fans phase ends, we enter what I call the day-to-day management phase. This is where things are typically pretty quiet, unless one of the following pops up:
None of these are “fun” for residents. The key is to handle them with empathy and clarity—and to frame things in a way that feels protective, not punitive.
If you have a six-month inspection in your process, it will also fall in this phase. While it is not as negative as a delinquency or major repair, it is still a disruption. For us, inspections are routine, but for residents they can feel intrusive.
Keep it positive by being transparent. Explain that the purpose is to check for anything that could affect their health, safety, or comfort, not to look for violations. Give clear notice, outline how long it will take, and explain if photos will be taken and why. When handled well, inspections can build trust instead of damaging it.
The rest of the day-to-day management phase is just staying the course and maintaining a high quality of work. That means maintaining clear communications, working with the right vendors, and delivering fast resolutions to any resident concerns.
As the day-to-day management phase goes on, you’ll want to communicate as early as possible about a renewal. You’re not making a commitment to renew, but you’re asking what their plans are and whether they’re interested in renewing. I think it’s completely reasonable to do this 150 to 120 days before lease end. While that might seem a little bit extreme, getting buy-in early and being as prepared as possible is hugely beneficial.
This isn’t just about the resident, either. You should be having similar conversations with the property owners. It’s so, so valuable to gauge interest in a renewal from both sides. You might get insight on whether an owner wants to renew, or if they’re potentially considering selling the property. On the other side, you might find out that a resident is planning on relocating or buying a property. Of course, if you have a sales arm of your business, that can tee up an easy sale.
There have also been times when an owner planned to sell but a resident wanted to renew, and the guarantee of that renewal meant that the owner was willing to hold off for another year. Not only did it secure management fees and reduce my customer churn, it also set the owner up for better returns the next year when the market was in a better spot.
The earlier you do this, the more you can establish peace of mind for both your clients and your residents. As property managers, we’re the only people in the equation who really have the power to do that, so we should wield that power responsibly.
Renewals aren’t decided in the last 60 days of a lease. They’re decided over the course of an entire tenancy—through every single interaction, big or small.
If residents see you as a helpful partner who makes their life easier, they’ll want to stay. If they see you as just a rent collector or rule enforcer, they won’t.
Set the tone at lease signing, nurture the relationship, and educate your residents along the way. That’s how you minimize vacancies and keep renewal rates high.