Triple Win Property Management Blog

The First 48: How the First Two Days of Vacancy Impact Everything Else

Picture this: it’s a Friday move-out at one of your properties. Your team doesn’t get in for the inspection until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. By the time you’ve even laid eyes on the place, it’s been sitting vacant for three full days and nothing has been mobilized. That lag is painful and expensive. When we talk about reducing time to income or loss to vacancy, the first 48 hours after a move-out set the tone for everything else. Those two days determine whether you’re gaining momentum or playing catch-up. By focusing obsessively on mastering the first 48, you can increase net operating income for your clients and yourself, build owner trust, and create a smoother, less frustrating working experience for your team. Do a pre-inspection before you jump the gun When you get that notice of intent to move out, it’s tempting to immediately start pulling together a listing and ramping up the marketing machine. The problem is, until you set foot in that unit, you don’t know what kind of condition it’s in or what kind of work you’re going to need to do to move the next resident in. You don’t even know whether the resident will vacate on time. And you won’t know anything for sure until that resident has moved out all of their belongings and you can lay eyes on everything. The good news is, you can do a pre-inspection in the last month of tenancy to evaluate the situation and start making a turnover maintenance plan. Having information in advance allows you to prepare, which will cut down on your turnover time. Make sure you’re walking through the property carefully before move-out to get a sense of what needs to be fixed, cleaned, or updated. Make this a part of your lease and then actually follow through. With a well-run pre-inspection, nothing should be a surprise when you walk into a unit the day after move-out. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to your owner. Gather as much information as possible In those first 48 hours after move-out, your job is to assess the situation and get to work. That means getting in the morning after you get possession of the home with a checklist in hand and a plan to start marking things off. Detail is key As you’re walking through the home, make note of everything that needs to be changed, fixed, or updated. How thorough your list is and how strong your process is will make all the difference. It’s not helpful to write down that you need ten sets of blinds if you don’t have measurements, colors, and materials. Time is lost when work has to be redone, or when information isn’t available or clear. Be thorough. This is your opportunity to collect the details that will make the rest of the process go smoothly. At my management company, we use video for move-out inspections. When clients or team members have questions, they can easily reference the video. Sometimes it means working the weekend It might seem easy to prioritize getting into a unit the day it’s vacant, but it gets complicated when all your move-outs are happening on the same day—especially if it happens to be a weekend. If turn day is a Saturday, you still need team members working that day, inspecting, logging inspections, and making priority lists. The way we used to run things, if a move-out was on a Friday, we weren’t in there until Monday. If it was a holiday weekend, we weren’t in until Tuesday. That didn’t seem like a big deal when we had a relatively small business, but at scale, those three days on every property have a massive cumulative impact. Make sure you’re setting expectations with the right team members that, sometimes, Saturdays might be working days. Get the right people in place ahead of time It’s all well and good to make a list of all the work you need done during a turnover, but it only matters if you actually get the pieces in place to start checking items off. Every single day of a vacancy, the heat is on. You need to make sure your vendors know exactly where they need to be and when, and you can’t just shrug it off when they don’t show up. In those first 48 hours, you should have a complete schedule of who’s doing what and when. It takes a lot of time and energy to keep things moving and on schedule. In my experience, communication between departments is the biggest source of delays during vacancy. You need to make sure you have both technology and processes in place to keep communication fast and clear. And don’t forget, as you’re lining up all of these vendors, you still need someone on your team to walk through and quality-check before it gets turned over to the marketing team. How embarrassing is it when your leasing agent goes to show a “rent-ready” property and the old light fixtures are still there, even though a vendor was supposed to replace them? Now you’ve got to reschedule the vendor and more showings. These frustrations not only lose time in the path back to income, they also stress out your team. Get owner buy-in The other essential step here is getting your owners bought in so they don’t have sticker shock. Throughout the last month of tenancy, you should be prepping the owner so they can prepare for the emotional weight of spending money on maintenance. You never want big expenses to be a last-minute surprise, which is what makes the pre-inspection so valuable. Even if you don’t know exactly what needs to be done, you should have a sense of things like carpet replacements or paint. Make sure you have a set of standards you don’t deviate from, and estimates of costs. For example, you should know what a kitchen of a certain size costs in your market. You should know what flooring or paint costs based on the square footage of the home. This is a great opportunity to lead with your expertise. This isn’t about saying, “The carpets are getting pretty gross!” Instead, it’s about saying, “Here are the options I’ve priced out for new carpet and LVP. This is what I recommend.” Be clear about what’s needed and why. When you have this conversation early—hopefully before the previous resident has moved out—you give the owner time to question, resist, and eventually accept the expenses they’re facing. It’s frustrating and costly when their indecision happens during vacancy and you can’t move forward. Vacancy work isn’t just maintenance, it’s marketing The final piece here is remembering all the marketing requirements for the property. In particular, getting a photographer or videographer on the schedule as early as possible can save you valuable time during vacancies. Whether you’re using a third-party photographer or someone on your team who’s really good with an iPhone, you should treat them like the rest of your vendors during a vacancy. They should know exactly what day they’ll be in the property, what areas you want them to highlight, and when you need photos delivered. Decide ahead of time whether you need new photos in the first place. If you’ve made significant changes to a property, it’s time to update those images. Photos and videos also have shelf lives simply because of how technology and trends change. They start to look and feel old just because of the camera you took them with. You should be able to quickly see when your most recent photos were taken so you can know whether they’re outdated. The debate over hardhat tours Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you want to list a vacant property before all of the turnover work is done. Hardhat tours can be effective in multifamily or in portfolios where you have similar, finished units to show a potential applicant. If there’s the right level of scarcity and demand, and you have the right leasing agent, hardhat tours can work. Final thoughts How you handle the first 48 hours of vacancy can make or break your bottom line, and your relationship with a client. By putting energy into kicking off the turnover, you increase NOI, build owner trust, and improve your team’s experience at work. Want more expert advice from property managers like Jen? Join the Triple Win Property Managers group on Facebook to connect with like-minded peers.

September 16, 2025

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12 Wins You Need to Get Lease a Property

As property managers, we don’t talk enough about just how complicated the leasing process is. There’s this idea that leasing is just, “This property’s for rent! You want it? Great, you can move in next week.” In reality, leasing is a lot more than just posting a property on Facebook. It’s a detailed, complicated process that can be sometimes frustrating for everyone involved. If you’re a quality, professional property manager, you’re looking for qualified, credit-worthy residents. You’re not just accepting whoever walks in the door, because you know that’s going to cause more headaches down the line. If you ask me, there are twelve crucial points in the leasing process—points where property managers like us have to win over and over again. If we lose at even one of those twelve steps, we’ve lost that qualified applicant entirely. But if you know what the applicant wants at each step, you can get your vacant properties filled a lot faster, with great residents. Property managers play all the roles—and that makes it a tough gig One of the things that makes property management so unique (and, for many of us, so exciting) is that we’re wearing so many hats, even just in the leasing process. When you’re buying a home, there are multiple different people who each have a specific role to play. The Realtor is there to show you the home of your dreams and convince you that you should buy it, even if it’s at the top of your price range. The lender will counsel you through the process and push to get you approved for a mortgage. And then the underwriter is the bad guy. They’re this mysterious person behind the scenes. They’re the one who typically takes the blame if the mortgage doesn’t come through and you can’t buy the property. As property managers, it’s just us. We have to be the good guy and the bad guy. We have to market properties, woo applicants, enforce restrictions that determine whether they qualify, and then deliver the news, good or bad. Then, once someone’s moved in, our job is to keep them in line while also keeping them happy. It’s a lot of different jobs at a lot of different points in the process, so let’s take a look at the twelve wins you need to get to lease the property at market rent to a qualified resident. The self-driven discovery phase When an applicant starts their journey of finding a home to rent, you aren’t there to help them. They’re out in the ether somewhere, and all you can do is market that property as best you possibly can and try to get them to apply. 1. Be where the resident is looking The first step is to be where the qualified applicants in your area are spending their time. In 2025, that’s typically online. You need to be on listing sites, search results, and social media so that people searching for rentals will find you. Yes, some people still drive around and look at for-lease signs, or ask their hairdresser, or scan the newspaper. But the vast majority of qualified applicants are looking at Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com, and other major listing sites. If you’re not on those sites, they’re never going to find you. That’s not genius marketing, it’s just table stakes. 2. Win the click Once people have found you, you have to actually get them to click on your particular listing. This is one of the top three wins to be optimizing. Picture it: they’re probably scrolling through page after page, dozens if not hundreds of different properties. How do you stand out to be the one they click on? No click = no lease. It starts with filters. When people look for rentals, they’re filtering by price, by number of bedrooms, by pet friendliness. You need to have your listings structured correctly so that you’re not getting filtered out accidentally. Take a look at your pricing strategy. If you’re listing a home at $2200 a month, and someone adds a filter for “under $2200,” you may not show up at all. If you list at $2199, suddenly you’re right in the mix. I’ve tested this theory. I’ve gotten twice as many leads on the same property just by changing the price by $5 per month. Next, you have to have a great headline and thumbnail. Show the best aspect of that unit right in the first image, and emphasize it in the headline. If you operate a portfolio where you have consistent inventory, like build to rent neighborhoods, townhomes, or condos, you can do some experimenting with how you word these headlines. Try different things and see what resonates. Don’t be afraid to go on these listing sites and actually browse like you’re a resident. See where your properties are and aren’t showing up! You can even shop your competition or look at what people in other markets are doing. Most property managers no longer know what the modern leasing experience is like for applicants, and that’s why they’re falling short. At the end of the day, your thumbnail, headline, and price have to beat out all the other tiny rectangles on that screen to win that click. 3. Answer your applicants’ unspoken questions The thing about online listings is that you can’t be there to ask, “Do you have any questions for me?” If someone has questions you haven’t answered, they’re probably going to move on. Remember, a lot of people are browsing rentals at 3AM on a weeknight. They’re tired, they’re stressed, and they’re trying to plan a weekend of tours. (Trust me, I see when the emails and voicemails come in booking showings.) If your listing isn’t answering all of the questions that applicant has, it’s not going to make that list of places to go see on Saturday. Your ad has to be thorough enough to cover things like “Does it have a dishwasher?” and “Can I have a cat?” If it doesn’t do that, they are not likely to waste their time finding answers. Make it easy! 4. Spark desire to see it If you’ve made the short list for a showing, you’ve still got some work to do. The thing is, it takes a lot of energy and motivation to get up, get in the car (or on the bus, or on a bike, or whatever!), and go see a property. This is where your listing needs to really excite that applicant. You need to provide a realistic vision of what it’s like to live in that home. Is this somewhere they want to bring their family? Is it somewhere they can have friends visit and be proud of? You need photos, videos, and descriptions that sell the lifestyle, not just the walls. 5. Get it scheduled Scheduling is just an administrative task, but it’s where a huge number of applicants drop off. Your job here is to make the scheduling process as easy as possible. It has to be foolproof, or you’re going to lose qualified residents. Remember, it’s 3AM! This is not a fun process for them! You need the logistics to be dead simple so that they can immediately self-schedule online, without a phone call, and get their confirmation immediately. The showing phase Once you’ve gotten someone interested, convinced this is the place for them, and on the showing calendar, it’s time to move them through the showing process. The good news is, this is where you finally have their information and you can start communicating with them personally! 6. Get them to show up This is another of the top three areas most PMs can improve. It’s easy to forget how much can change between the time someone schedules a tour and the time they’re supposed to show up. They may have booked that showing with the full intention of being there on Saturday morning, but then the weekend rolls around and they’re tired, or someone’s not feeling well, or they forgot that their kid had a little league game. Your job is to keep building anticipation ahead of their scheduled showing, reminding them that it’s coming up. As a property manager, you can’t afford to lose five days thinking you have showings lined up for Saturday, and then no one shows up. You’ll be back to square one and a week behind. If you get ghosted, remember, that person went somewhere and rented something. They have to be living somewhere, and it should have been in one of your properties. You should be doing everything you can to maximize your show-up rate. Experiment with reminder cadences, incentives, get creative! 7. Deliver on the promise When a resident shows up to that property, you need to actually deliver the experience that you promised in the listing. The home needs to be clean, well cared for, and smelling good. The garage band next door can’t be practicing in the middle of a showing. Sometimes little things you might not think about can have a huge impact. I once showed a property that was around the corner from a school. It was a cute house in a great neighborhood, and ridiculously convenient if you had kids. But it’s also a nightmare at 3:00 on a weekday. For just that half hour on school days, it’s a remarkably inconvenient place to be, because the streets are filled with children. In reality, the residents may work outside the house and they’d never be coming or going at that time anyway, but that was the situation when I had a showing, and it was a disaster. Lesson learned, don’t show houses near schools at pickup time. Turning from marketing to compliance After the showing, your role starts to shift from just a marketing person to more of a compliance role. This is where you’re collecting applicant information, determining qualifications, and often delivering some tough news. 8. Win the application Applying to rent a home is a lot. You’re asking for this person’s pay stubs, their social security number, and a whole bunch of money to process their application, not to mention the emotional aspect of committing to this particular home. Basically, you’re now telling them that you don’t trust them unconditionally just because they came and looked at your property. Plus, best case scenario for that applicant, they get the pleasure of giving you their largest expense every month and moving all of their belongings across town (or farther). It’s not an easy process. We should be talking with leasing agents about how to overcome these objections and win these applications. One tip: you’re a lot more likely to get cooperation if you’ve properly set expectations in the listing. When you tell applicants exactly what they’ll have to provide as part of the application process, they won’t be caught off guard later. 9. Process it fast When someone applies for one of your units, it’s because they need to find housing, and they usually need to do it quickly. They aren’t just sitting around waiting for you to get back to them; they’re out seeing other properties. They’re still getting emails from Zillow and Apartments.com about new properties that are available, and they’re still getting calls from the other leasing agents they’ve met with. That means that every day you spend processing the application is an opportunity to lose that resident. You need to keep them on the hook. This is the last of those top three most important steps. You should be doing everything that you can to cut down the time it takes to get to a decision, while also still properly qualifying applicants. Speed is a competitive advantage here. In the meantime, keep communication open. Don’t let that applicant feel like you’re ghosting them. Let them know where things stand. It can make a huge difference to just shoot them a text or an email and say, “Hey, this is taking a little longer than I had hoped, but I have all I need from you and I will update you daily.” That keeps them engaged while you work toward an approval. The move-in phase Once you’ve received and processed the application from a qualified resident, your role shifts again. Now you’re trying to close the deal, get that resident to sign on the dotted line, and move them in so you can transition to their day-to-day manager. 10. Communicate approval This is another step where a lot of property managers get ghosted. The resident is approved, but they never reply to your email. The key is to present the “yes” as quickly, cleanly, and confidently as possible. You want to communicate enthusiasm and make that applicant feel over the moon about their new home. Don’t be overly dry and boring—really make them understand how excited you are to have them and that they should be excited, too. A personal phone call is a great way to build excitement and get them ready to commit. 11. Lock in the lease and deposit As property managers, we sometimes forget how big of a commitment a lease can be for residents. Let’s look at it objectively: you’re asking them to sign an agreement that, while fair, is typically very one-sided. At most property management companies, it’s not negotiable, and you’re asking them to commit to the biggest monthly expense they have, for at least a year. Oh, and you’re telling them that if they screw up along the way, you’ll take away their home. It’s also a lot of money up front. Between pet fees, security deposit, and first and last month’s rent, they’re coughing up a lot of money. We need to be understanding of that and help coach them through the process. No, we’re not here to be therapists, but a little bit of empathy and understanding can go a long way in one of the most important decisions a person will make. 12. Move-in & compliance You might think that the leasing process ends as soon as the PDF is signed, but there’s actually one more step where you need to earn a win. It’s resident onboarding. It’s not enough just to get the resident in the door—you have to get them bought in on your policies. They need to be willing to pay the rent, your RBP fee, and any late fees if they miss a rent payment. They have to be willing to cooperate with maintenance teams and routine inspections. You need to be as transparent as possible about how you manage properties and what your expectations for your residents are. Whether you use an onboarding video, a resident handbook, or an email campaign, you absolutely need to be communicating your expectations through the first 30, 60, and 90 days of the lease. It goes a long way toward reducing problems down the line and increasing the chances of a renewal. Final thoughts There are a lot of steps here, and it can be tough to earn a win at every single one. If you are like my company, you’re declining 45% of applications, so think about how wide the top of the funnel needs to be to get through all twelve wins and get a qualified resident moved in. But by breaking it out step by step, you can start to make tangible improvements and earn more wins. And remember, you can’t let the difficulty of getting all these wins push you to accept less qualified residents. You should always be doing everything you can to meet the standards of your market and the housing you manage.

September 11, 2025

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Move-In to Move-Out: Rental Walkthrough Checklist for Property Managers

Resident turnover continues to climb across the property management industry, driving a more pressing need for comprehensive move-out and move-in plans. In fact, a 2022 Zillow report revealed that 74% of recent renters plan to move in the next three years. 43% of property managers listed maintaining high occupancy rates as a top concern, when surveyed for AppFolio’s Property Management Benchmark Report, reflecting higher turnover rates across the industry. In order to manage move-ins and move-outs, property managers need a detailed rental walkthrough checklist to help standardize their process. A rental walkthrough at the beginning or end of a resident’s tenancy helps get the property manager and the resident aligned on the condition of the unit, what work needs to be done, and whether part or all of the security deposit will be withheld. It also gives the property manager the opportunity to plan for any turnover maintenance that needs to be done before the property can be rented again. Keeping this organized can help property managers get units back on the market more quickly, avoid difficult security deposit disputes, and protect the condition of their properties. Our rental walkthrough checklist gives property managers a clear standard to follow when conducting walkthroughs at move-in and move-out. What is a rental walkthrough checklist? A rental walkthrough checklist is a tool used to standardize the documentation of a unit’s condition, typically at move-in or move-out. A walkthrough checklist is typically either completed alongside the resident or shared with the resident in order to create a shared record and get alignment on the condition of the home. A walkthrough checklist is slightly different from an inspection checklist, which is used during residency to assess the current condition of the unit and determine whether any maintenance work is needed. The walkthrough checklist can often be an important document when it comes to disagreements over security deposits and damage liability upon move-out. Why property managers should use a rental walkthrough checklist with every resident Rental walkthrough checklists are important for a number of reasons, most notably minimizing disputes and getting residents on the same page as property managers. Here are some key reasons why property managers should use a rental walkthrough checklist with every resident: Avoid disputes over damages: When you have a standardized checklist from both move-in and move-out, you can easily identify areas of damage beyond usual wear and tear. Because these documents are shared with your resident, you can minimize disagreements or legal disputes over who caused the damage. Support property documentation for deposits: Depending on your state and local guidelines, you may need certain documentation to support withholding part or all of a security deposit. By standardizing walkthroughs, you have more robust documentation if you need to withhold security deposit funds. Make turnover faster and more predictable: A move-out walkthrough can also be a valuable tool when performing turnover work after a resident has moved out. You can use the walkthrough to identify what work needs to be done and begin lining up vendors to shorten turn times. You can also provide move-in walkthrough documentation to those vendors so they know exactly what condition you expect the unit to be in for the next resident to move in. Show professionalism and consistency: Standardized processes make residents understand your thoroughness and professionalism. By following consistent procedures, you’re presenting both competence and sophistication. When should property managers perform a rental walkthrough? In general, property managers should aim to perform rental walkthroughs as close as possible to move-in day and move-out day. That minimizes any opportunity for disagreements to arise between the walkthrough and the handing over of keys. Some property managers do choose to perform move-out walkthroughs early, often up to a month before the resident’s final day of occupancy. This gives the management company more time to plan ahead of turnover maintenance and get vendors scheduled to do work immediately at the start of the vacancy. This can shorten the time a unit sits empty and get rent checks coming in sooner. What to include in a rental walkthrough checklist Your walkthrough should be detailed and comprehensive in order to make sure you aren’t missing crucial maintenance items or damages. Your checklist should include: Walls Floors Appliances Faucets, drains, toilets, and other plumbing fixtures Towel racks or hooks Lightbulbs Lighting fixtures Outlets Switches Doors, handles, and doorframes Cabinets Drawers Countertops Shelves Windows, screens, window frames, and blinds Closets (including shelving and rods) Baseboards and moldings Shower doors or curtain rods Water heater Boiler or furnace HVAC system, including vents and filters Whole-home water softeners or filters, if present A comprehensive checklist should be broken out by area of the house so that you can quickly document whether damage is in a primary bedroom, secondary bedroom, or living room, for example. The checklist should have a clear categorization of which items are clean, dirty, and damaged, along with space for notes on condition. It should also include notes on whether you have photo or video documentation, and where that documentation can be found. Finally, the document should have signatures from both parties. There are many dedicated apps for walkthrough documentation, which can often link photos directly to checklist items and store everything together in the cloud. Some digital walkthrough tools are included directly in property accounting software programs, while others have optional integrations. Tips for a successful rental move-in walkthrough Moving day can be chaotic, so simplifying the move-in walkthrough as much as possible will help give your resident and your team a better experience. Start by scheduling the walkthrough ahead of time. Aim to perform the walkthrough before the residents bring in furniture, which can cause damage as it’s being moved or obstruct already existing damage. To minimize future disputes, perform the walkthrough alongside the resident so that you can note any issues together in real time. This will minimize disagreements in the future. And of course, make sure to have the resident sign and date the checklist. Finally, make sure to provide the resident a copy and keep one for your own records. If you have a resident portal, make the document available there so that residents don’t have to contact you if they lose their copy. If you have photos or videos in cloud storage as part of your walkthrough, make sure that the resident can access those files. That way, when move-out time comes, they know exactly what the expected condition of the unit is. It’s helpful to include general move-in tips, resident expectations, and any information about the particular property alongside the move-in walkthrough checklist, typically in a resident welcome letter. This will help start off the property manager/resident relationship on a good foot. Tips for a successful rental move-out walkthrough A move-out walkthrough is not entirely different from a move-in walkthrough, but it does come with some unique considerations. At move-out, the walkthrough is typically focused on finding damages or issues caused by the resident, often with an eye towards security deposit charges. Schedule your move-out inspection for as close to moving day as possible, either just prior to the resident leaving or just after. Be sure to bring the original move-in checklist so that you can compare the unit’s current condition to how things looked on move-in day. Note any damage that goes beyond normal wear and tear, and be sure to take updated photos or videos for your records. When you deliver the move-out walkthrough checklist to the newly vacated resident, be clear about next steps regarding the security deposit and repair costs. You should also consider writing a simple thank you note to the resident, particularly if they’ve taken great care of the unit and are leaving on positive terms. You never know when they may be looking for another home to rent, and you want to be high on their list! Make property management easier with Second Nature Rental walkthrough checklists are a simple step that can protect your property, your residents, and your investors. A high-quality checklist sets clear expectations with residents and minimizes disputes down the line, creating a true triple win. Second Nature’s Resident Benefits Package is another triple win you can add to your toolbelt. Designed to make property management easier while also delivering the best resident experience on the market, the RBP is a must-have for strategic property managers. Interested in getting started? Book a demo with a local RBP expert to see it in action.

September 4, 2025

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Property Management Turnover Checklist & Tips

Vacancies and turns are the bane of property managers’ existences. They’re costly, time consuming, and difficult, particularly in the scattered-site and single-family markets. That’s why we’ve built our property management turnover checklist to help PMs streamline their workflows and save money. This article will help you better understand the costs of vacancy and turnovers in single-family rental homes, and provide a workflow that can help shrink vacancies and minimize the associated costs. We’ll walk through the full turnover process, identifying opportunities and tips at each stage. Why speedy turnovers matter for SFR managers Single-family property managers feel the pain of slow turnovers even more than multifamily. While MFR managers might have a model unit to show prospective applicants while turnover maintenance is happening, SFR managers don’t have that luxury. There’s more travel involved in showings, maintenance, and inspections. There’s no closet or warehouse of replacement parts that are standardized across all your units. All of that adds up to make the turnover process more lengthy and more expensive for scattered site managers. Quantify vacancy losses A large part of measuring your vacancy losses is getting a better understanding of your resident turnover rate. Resident Turnover Rate = (Number of Move-outs) / (Number of Units) X 100 For example, if you have 450 units, and an average of 34 move-outs a year, your turnover rate would be: (34/450) x 100 = 7.56%. Your turnover rate not only helps you calculate how much you spend on turns and vacancies, it also gives you insight into how well your management strategy is performing and whether you should consider making changes. Break down actual turnover costs Next, you’ll need to get a more thorough understanding of the financial costs of turs—both opportunity costs and actual costs. Lost rental income: Every property manager knows that a vacant unit isn’t collecting rent. Every day that a home sits empty is lost income for you and for your client. Marketing & advertising: Marketing isn’t cheap. Listing fees, paid ads, and agent commissions all add up quickly, and can be particularly high in competitive markets. Maintenance & repairs: Cleaning, painting, flooring, and appliance services are common tasks during turnovers. Larger CapEx expenses can also pop up if upgrades are timed with vacancies or a property has a lot of deferred maintenance. Resident acquisition: Beyond just marketing, screening reports, application processing, lease drafting, and legal review can be expensive. Your application fees may cover some of these expenses, but often not all. Staff time & opportunity cost: Showings, move‑out coordination, and vendor follow‑up all take up your team’s time, pulling focus away from growth tasks. Impact on resident experience and retention Don’t overlook the fact that turnovers can also have significant impacts on resident experience and retention. For example, if you manage HOAs, multifamily buildings, scattered units in condo buildings, or several homes in the same neighborhood—like build to rent developments—frequent turnovers can disrupt other residents. Noise and parking issues from movers can be frustrating, and turnover maintenance can be loud and disruptive. It becomes a self-sustaining cycle. Turnovers cause unhappy residents, who then are more likely to turn over. Stable, long-term residents mean predictable cash flow and less work for your team. By maximizing the resident experience, you can prevent turnovers and increase NOI. Single‑family rental turnover workflow Let’s take a step-by-step look at the turnover process for single-family rental homes. Send and confirm the notice‑to‑vacate package If a resident has indicated their intention to move out at the end of their lease, make sure to require written notice. Send a notice to vacate in order to protect yourself legally. Schedule an automated message to send a move-out guide to vacating residents. Provide clear instructions on the move-out process, expectations for the condition of the home, and reminders about any potential fees or penalties as outlined in the lease. Schedule a pre-move-out walkthrough to take place within five days of the end of the lease. Collect keys & document possession transfer In many jurisdictions, possession of a property is not officially surrendered until keys or access fobs are returned. Make sure to schedule the key handoff ahead of time, in writing. Provide instructions for what a resident should do if a key—including an access fob or mailbox key—has been lost. Take a timestamped photo of the key handoff and share a copy with the resident. Perform resident‑present move‑out inspection You want to be on the same page as the resident when it comes to the condition of the property at move-out. Use a standard checklist to document the condition of the whole home. Take at least four photos per room and additional photos of any damaged areas. Consider recording a video walkthrough to minimize potential disputes. In your report, clearly mark normal wear vs. billable damage. Settle the security deposit per state law Security deposits are highly regulated in most states, so know your jurisdiction’s specific requirements. Always consult with legal counsel if you’re unclear on the particulars. Make sure to follow your state’s deadlines for returning the security deposit or provide an itemized list of charges. Itemize charges and attach photos where relevant. Provide payment for any balance due back to the resident, in accordance with your lease agreement and state or local laws. Schedule make‑ready tasks in optimal order A large portion of turnover maintenance happens in the first 48 hours. Use your walkthrough inspection to determine what repairs and upgrades are needed. Flag major repairs, especially those that will need investor approvals, like plumbing, electrical, or HVAC. Schedule vendors to paint and patch walls or repair flooring. Schedule professional cleaning and landscaping teams to make the home rent-ready. Relist & open self‑showings Once the property is ready, it’s time to start marketing. Refresh any outdated photos, especially if you’ve painted or installed new appliances. Syndicate your to MLS, Zillow, Facebook Marketplace. Enable self-guided lockbox showings. Lease turnover repair and maintenance checklist Turnovers are often a great opportunity to tackle deferred maintenance, or to perform upgrades on a property. Even if larger ticket repairs aren’t needed, you’ll still have maintenance tasks to get the home rent-ready. Let’s dive into some of the most common turnover repairs with this checklist. Change locks and reset smart devices Provide peace of mind for residents by rekeying locks. Reset any smart home devices, security codes, or other items so that they’re ready for new residents. If you offer internet as an amenity, update wifi credentials to ensure network safety. Consider upgrading to a smart thermostat to make the home more efficient and minimize utility bills. Service or replace appliances Create an appliance maintenance checklist, including filters, drains, and hardware. Replace any appliances that are not in working order, or that have been repeated sources of work orders. Update your marketing photos if new stainless steel appliances have been installed. Keep an inventory of appliances with photos and serial numbers, which will make it easier to communicate with vendors in the future. Patch, paint, and caulk walls & trim Consider hiring a professional painting company if you’re repainting multiple rooms. Patch any nail holes or damage from the previous resident. Spot-prime any repairs before painting over them in order to ensure a smooth coat. Use neutral colors that will appeal to a large audience, like eggshell or light grey. Repaint every three to five years or if necessary. Deep‑clean or replace flooring Professionally clean carpet to remove spots or discoloration. Replace flooring if the old flooring poses a health risk or shows cracks, bulging, or damage. Consider replacing outdated flooring even if it’s still in acceptable condition. New flooring can significantly increase the value of a property. Safety & maintenance roundup Replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries. Replace any dead lightbulbs throughout the property. Test GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms. Tighten hardware on doors, windows, cabinets, and drawers. Check electrical systems, as well as plumbing, drains, and any other fixtures. Replace air filters and water filters, including in appliances like microwaves, range hoods, and refrigerators. Clean out dryer vents to avoid potential fire hazards. Promptly and completely address any pest control issues. Time‑saving tips to minimize vacancy Vacancy is one of the most costly phases of property management, but by minimizing the time a turnover takes, you can get back to bringing in rent quickly. Perform mid‑lease inspections every six months Perform an inspection with a comprehensive inspection checklist. Look for leaks, filter neglect, or other emerging issues that could balloon into expensive repairs. Always give the resident advance notice and try to find a time that works for them to minimize disruption and provide a better resident experience. Pre‑schedule preferred vendors when notice arrives As soon as you receive notice of intent to vacate from your residents, schedule key vendors that you know you’ll need, like painters and cleaners. Perform a pre-vacancy inspection to identify any other key maintenance issues and contact the appropriate vendors. Stock turnover kits in bulk Have locks, lightbulbs, air and water filters, and paint on hand for upcoming turnovers. If your portfolio is large enough, consider purchasing in bulk to minimize per-item costs. If you’re managing multifamily, bulk turnover kits are more relevant, but they can still be applicable to SFR. Consider pre-leasing: market 30‑45 days before vacancy Know the benefits and risks of pre-leasing a property. Consider putting off pre-leasing if a property needs significant maintenance or will be getting upgrades. Consider “coming soon” listings with a tentative availability date. Keep residents longer with an RBP Consider instituting a Resident Benefits Package to increase resident satisfaction and keep residents longer. Encourage faster lease renewal decisions with Resident Rewards. Turn vacancy stress into a Triple Win with Second Nature Remember, time is money with turnovers, but cutting corners can cost you in the long run when maintenance items resurface and residents are unhappy. Use this checklist to save both time and money on turnovers without putting your future peace at risk. Second Nature’s fully-managed Resident Benefits Package can drive increased resident retention, providing valuable benefits that residents are willing to pay and stay for. Calculate how much an RBP could save you on your next turnover by speaking to one of our dedicated RBP experts in your area.

September 2, 2025

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The Most Critical Leasing Objective Isn’t Speed, It’s Selection

Hot take: resident selection is the single most important thing you do as a property manager. It doesn’t just make your life easier, it drives performance and maximizes income. There’s a very real temptation to fill vacancies as quickly as possible, minimize the time that a unit sits empty, and get back to earning management fees. But if you want to grow and mature as a property manager, you need to resist that temptation. Instead, you need to be selective about who you accept, using a clear, standardized process. When you pick the right residents, you can generate more revenue in the long term because you have fewer disputes, fewer issues, less delinquency, and higher renewal rates Your greatest liability isn’t the property, it’s the person in it There are three main sources of risk in real estate: Market risk: Think about the economy, job market, interest rates, etc. These will impact pricing, the number of applicants you get, and whether investors are buying or selling homes. The thing is, you can’t really do anything about. (Trust me, if I could magically change the global economy, I wouldn’t be writing blog posts right now.) You just have to accept them and stay aware of them. Asset risk: This is the risk associated with the physical property itself. Is it going to burn down? Is the boiler going to go out? Is a storm going to rip the roof off? We mitigate this risk by scheduling regular inspections, doing preventative maintenance, and carrying sufficient insurance. Resident risk: This is the risk that comes from your choice of resident and their behavior once they’ve signed a lease. Will they pay the rent, will they damage the property, will they sue you? That is just the tip of the iceberg. This is your largest source of risk and the only one that you have 100% control over. The thing about resident risk is that it’s inherently complex, yet you only get the decision on who you rent to when you (a) have a vacancy, or (b) choose whether to renew a lease. My philosophy is that If we can obsessively focus on our acceptance and renewal decisions, we can have a real impact on the business, but most companies aren’t making it a priority. Typically, property managers are accepting the first vaguely qualified applicant they get, and then renewing that lease at every opportunity unless something truly awful happens. Instead, we should be using verifiable, objective data to look at how residents are performing and what they’re costing us in time and energy, then making renewal decisions based on that. As always, every market and portfolio is different. I’m not going to be prescriptive about exactly how you should be making acceptance and renewal decisions, because it depends on the product you’re offering and the community you’re serving, but it should be backed by concrete metrics. The main thing is that you never want to be in a spot where you’re stuck with a resident because you renewed them when you shouldn’t have. You should be as deliberate about renewal decisions as you are about applications. Draw the line early, and watch the wrong applicants walk away Another hot take: If an applicant is “ghosting you” midway through the process, they’re not actually ghosting you; they’re actually just self-selecting out. And that’s a good thing. Self-selecting out of the process just means that the applicant realized it wasn’t a fit, or that you were probably going to decline them anyway. People opting to drop out of the process is actually a sign that you’re communicating your expectations and your process well. Applicants have digested that information and decided you’re not the right fit for them (and that means they probably weren’t going to be the right fit for you, either). When you’re trying to find residents to fill your vacancies, you basically have two main things that applicants are looking at: your product—what the property is—and your process—how you manage it and make decisions around it. You need to align on both in order to find a good fit. Your rental isn’t “just a rental.” It’s your reputation. The product you’re marketing is the property itself; the home someone’s going to rent from you. The quality of that product and how you present it are a direct reflection of your company. If you’re showing a property that’s not in excellent condition, clean, and ready to be shown, residents are going to assume that they’ll have a chaotic, less-than-stellar experience living there. If it’s well maintained, clean, and neat, that communicates that you’re on top of things. It shows that you care about the quality you’re delivering, and that you never treat a property as “just a rental” (which, by the way, is one of my least favorite phrases on earth). The process sets the terms of the relationship The process behind the product is how you run your business. How you approach maintenance, resident relationships, inspections, late payments… that’s all process. The application and leasing process is about filling a vacancy, yes, but it’s about telling the resident what to expect. When we work with a renter through the application process, we’re showing them that we’re going to be communicative and helpful, we’re not going to leave them high and dry, and we’re going to meet every obligation we have. We’re going to do it professionally, expertly, quickly, and friendly. At the same time, we’re communicating that the resident has obligations they’re agreeing to, and we’re going to hold them accountable to those. We’re illustrating what those obligations are, and that we’re not going to accept people who want to duck those responsibilities. In a way, this is where we’re giving them the opportunity to self-select out. If they aren’t ready for those expectations, this isn’t going to work. We’re not trying to scare them away, but we’re also trying to be honest and transparent about who we are and how we work. So how do we set that expectation? We start at the listing. Each of our rental listings includes a thorough description of both the property and our process, which aims to answer as many of their questions as possible. We want to outline our expectations to a T so that only those renters who are going to be a good fit actually apply. Part of that clarity includes describing our onboarding process, too. Moving is almost never fun for residents, so when you’re thinking about your onboarding process, you want to be there to support them, but you also need to set clear expectations. At OneFocus, we’re very upfront that we do a video move-in inspection. That’s often a 20-25 minute video where we walk through the home, open every cabinet and drawer, and document everything. We also ask the resident to do exactly the same thing so that we can clear up any inconsistencies. When we tell residents about this, it lets them know that we’re not a management company that plays fast and loose with security deposits. We don’t make exceptions and we don’t let things slide. How the applicant responds to that is very telling. It shows us who they’re going to be as a resident. Their cooperativeness throughout the application process is the only subjective piece of our application process. If they’re abusive, rude, unresponsive, and difficult to work with, that’s going to work against them. When I say that, I don’t mean just asking questions or getting clarification on how to go about the process. I actually really like residents who have a lot of questions for me about how I run my business. That’s not a nuisance, it’s a sign that they’re aligned with my expectations, they’re going to be a good fit, they’re proactive, and they’re communicative. They’re as invested in finding the right fit as I am. When I talk about difficult applicants, I’m talking about people who are repeatedly dialing, calling over and over and refusing to leave a voicemail. I’m talking about any kind of abusive language, yelling at my staff, or otherwise treating us poorly. I’m talking about repeatedly no-showing appointments that they’ve made and disrespecting our time. Those are all red flags that show us we probably don’t want to commit to working with this person for a year or more. Bend the rules today, pay for it tomorrow Building and sticking to a comprehensive process takes time, but it takes even more discipline. There’s a lot of pressure to fill vacancies quickly, both from your investor clients and internally. The thing is, over the years, I have deviated from my process, and every single time I’ve ended up paying for it later. At this point in my career, if a client asked me to do them a favor that circumvented my process, there’s a decent chance that client is getting fired. I don’t break from my process, and my clients know that. It’s never worth breaking the process just to fill a spot. If you’re struggling to find qualified applicants, yes, you can make some changes; revisit how you’re presenting the process, revisit your pricing, but don’t lower your standards and accept a resident who’s going to cause problems down the line. It’s not only a potential fair housing violation to deviate from your published process, it’s also just bad business. If the process fails, fix it—don’t abandon it If a resident gets through applying, selection, and my onboarding with me, they have no reason to be surprised with how I manage the property and what I expect from them. That’s the goal of a robust process. If you’re finding that your residents aren’t aligned with your expectations, it’s time to strengthen the process. It’s worth stating that you don’t strengthen your process by just updating your lease. Old-school managers tend to just add another addendum to the lease to cover whatever stupid thing the last resident did (and some of those addenda aren’t even legally enforceable). The best property managers will look deeper, make their process more thorough, and actually drive business improvements. Want to see how you can appeal to more financially responsible residents with benefits like credit reporting and identity theft protection? Request an RBP demo with a local expert today.

August 28, 2025

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Build a Brand Residents Trust, and Vacancies Take Care of Themselves

Every property manager dreams of a flood of qualified, eager applicants to fill their vacancies, followed by happy renewals for years on end. But many of them don’t know how to position their company to create these happy, loyal renters. By branding yourself as a resident-friendly property management company, you can stand out from your competitors, attract residents to fill vacancies more quickly, and increase renewals, all without significantly changing your company’s process. At OneFocus Property Management, I’ve leaned into resident education as a means of brand building, but there are plenty of other ways to establish yourself as resident-friendly. The key is to make sure you’re actually delivering on that brand promise to drive genuine brand affinity among residents. Teach residents well, and they’ll trust you back I’ve previously written about how my go-to-market approach leans heavily on investor education. Now, as a second phase of growth, I’m building similar materials for residents. The sad reality is that there’s a huge void for resident education. In many communities, no one is educating residents on what’s available to them, what their rights are, or what they should expect from a high-quality rental property. That’s a gap that I want to fill. What does that look like? For one thing, I share with them the market research that I’ve developed for clients. I give them context for the market that they’re renting in so they can better understand things like pricing and competition. I also develop guides for the areas I service, giving them an overview of different neighborhoods and what kinds of housing stock are available here. I even give an overview of my competition, because if that’s what they’re looking for, I’d rather have them find it than rent from me and be a bad fit. I frame a lot of information through the lens of Fair Housing, giving residents a better understanding of their rights and how they should be treated. That starts to build a baseline knowledge among residents, which improves the property management industry as a whole, not just my company. In some markets, like mine, most residents don’t understand their rights or how they’re supposed to be treated, so when you start treating them correctly, it stands out. For renters, there’s always some insecurity about housing. My goal is to provide as much security as possible. When you provide valuable information to applicants and residents, you start building trust and brand affinity. Beyond education: More ways residents see your brand Our branding doesn’t just happen through resident education, even though that is a huge focus for me. We’re also looking to build loyalty with each and every touchpoint in the resident journey, even if they never actually end up renting from us. Listing sites To start, we’re branding our listings on sites like Zillow and Trulia. When I say that, I don’t just mean a watermark on each of the listing photos. Instead, we’re writing listings in a way that makes it clear to the reader that it’s a OneFocus property. Each of our listings incudes: As much information as possible, clearly detailed A high-effort, high-energy video introducing the property and driving engagement High quality photos that reflect the effort we put into our management An easy self-scheduling process for showings We’re always trying to make it easier for people to recognize us and see how present we are. The goal is ultimately to shift those users over to our website to look at our available properties there. If we can achieve that, we can make an even bigger impression and really drive a positive association with our company. Community involvement One of the next areas I want to get my company even more involved is community events. I’d love to work with local organizations to provide education to the general public, especially on things like: What is Fair Housing? How does it work? How is the housing market changing in our area? What’s typically expected of residents when they apply for a rental? It’s a great way to continue that resident education while also getting more eyes on our company, and of course it’s a fantastic way to give back to the community. This is a people business, so getting involved is essential. Review management We work hard to make sure that the reviews people are posting about us online tell the true story of interactions with our customers. That means we’re not only encouraging happy residents to leave reviews, but we’re also creating moments of delight that they actually want to write about. It also means that, when we get a negative review, we’re not dismissing it out of hand. Instead, we’re taking that feedback seriously and always trying to improve. A brand promise means nothing if you don’t deliver The biggest part of this, of course, is actually delivering a resident experience that upholds the trust and loyalty residents are putting in us. If we’re not delivering on our brand promise, we’re not going to maintain that brand for very long. Responsiveness defines real success For us, success isn’t just about increasing tenant duration or holding a certain renewal rate. Instead, it’s about delivering high quality service at market rents. That’s what’s best for us, our residents, and our clients. Top of the list is responsiveness. We want to build a reputation as trustworthy, responsible people. We’re on top of our stuff and we’re willing to be held accountable. That means not delaying things. We’re highly responsive to every single person that we interact with, not just our residents and our investor clients. Think about all the other people who come into contact with us: vendors, judges, attorneys, tax officials… the list goes on. I want everyone in the community to know that we’re responsible and can be trusted. This isn’t just about branding, it’s about helping people understand the value that we bring to the table and how we’re different. When residents become raving fans A lot of small businesses struggle to measure whether or not their branding efforts are working. They might feel like they’re creating a trusted perception of their company, but how can they really know? Well, here are a few ways we’ve seen our branding efforts reflect back on us. For one thing, on the off chance that we’ve stopped working with a client, we’ve had residents who were devastated. When they found out that we weren’t going to be managing their home anymore, they were upset, because they were going to miss the level of service we deliver. That’s a huge compliment, and such a testament to the relationships that we develop. Second, we’ve had prospective applicants come to us and say, “I want to rent from you. Can you help me find a property?” Rather than finding the perfect property that just happens to be managed by us, they know first and foremost that they want to rent from us. Those calls are always hugely flattering, and we want to do everything we can to deliver for them. I’m looking to build a true multi-generational reputation. In fifteen years, I want someone to call me up and tell me, “Hey, I grew up in a OneFocus house. I want to live in one again.” That’s true loyalty. Final thoughts: Branding works when you know your market—and yourself Like everything in real estate and property management, all of this is subject to your local market. A lot of these branding strategies are going to be harder in more competitive markets, but they’re also going to matter more. There are more companies for residents to compare you to, and that means you have to meet a higher standard. At the same time, though, larger markets also offer more opportunity for collaboration. Maybe there’s another company that you can partner up with on some of this educational content, or just brainstorm and get creative with. Finally, some markets have longer or shorter renewal notice periods than others. The tighter the notice period, the more your branding is going to matter. With less lead time for a vacancy, you need to have eager, excited prospective residents lining up around the block to apply. That’s all down to your brand. Looking for more insights from expert property managers? Join the Triple Win Property Management Facebook Group.

August 25, 2025

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Planning for Vacancies Starts at Lease Signing

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 sets the tone 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. The “Raving Fans” phase 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. Practicing unreasonable hospitality 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. Educating and setting expectations 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. The day-to-day management phase 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: Lease violations HOA violations Delinquencies Maintenance requests 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. Start renewal conversations early 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. Final thoughts 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.

August 19, 2025

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The Costs of Marketing a Property Too Early

Many property managers, especially those feeling pressure from their investor clients, might be tempted to list properties as early as possible. Instead of waiting until 30 or 45 days before a vacancy, they list it four to six months in advance. The idea is that the longer a property is listed, the more opportunity you’ll have of finding a qualified resident. In reality, there’s almost no benefit to listing a property far in advance, and it comes with a lot of hidden cost. Whenever possible, property managers should wait until a property has been turned and is rent-ready before listing, so that the listing is accurate, fresh, and appealing, and showings present the best property possible. In this article, I’ll walk through why you should wait to list properties, the costs—both financial and reputational—of listing too soon, and how to work with owners who want to push properties to market ASAP, potentially to the detriment of their bottom line. Keep it fresh: preventing stale listings One of the biggest risks in posting a listing too early is that, in the eyes of prospective residents, it will turn stale quickly. Even with great photos and accurate details, a long-standing post raises red flags for potential renters. Most renters aren’t looking several months ahead; many don’t even know if they’re renewing their current lease. Meaning, by the time most qualified residents start looking at your listing, it’s already been up for weeks or months. The two thoughts residents have when they see a stale listing are: “Did someone forget to remove this? It’s probably been rented already. Maybe it’s a ghost listing,” or “Why has it been available so long? Something must be wrong with it.” In both cases, we have lost the attention of a potential renter due to no fault of the property. The bottom line? If you don’t have a set move-out date for the current resident, or the available date isn’t in the next 60 days, it’s probably too soon to list. Update your description every time When it does come time to post a listing, make sure you’re revisiting the content. You should never be reposting a listing with the exact same description that you used during the last vacancy. Reread it and update it, even if you haven’t done any major renovations to the property. Even small things may have changed; “fresh paint” might now be “two-year old paint,” and even though it seems like a small difference, applicants will notice. Rewriting listings from time to time also helps algorithms recognize that it’s a fresh listing and not spam, which can help increase the number of views your listings get on sites like Zillow or Apartments.com. It also shows repeat viewers that the listing has been updated, making it feel current rather than outdated or stale. Choose photos wisely Some listing agents swear by taking new photos every time a unit is listed. Others will use the same pictures for a decade or more. My advice is to fall somewhere in between. If you have older photos that are high quality and still accurately reflect the current state of the property, feel free to use them. Just make sure that they present the property fairly, both the good and the bad. If something big has changed since the last time the property was made available—like flooring, paint, countertops, or fixtures—update the photos so prospective residents know exactly what they’re applying for. Protect your reputation A big part of waiting to list a vacant property is protecting your reputation, among both current and future residents. Showing an occupied property is particularly risky, because it can irritate the current resident and make a less-than-stellar impression on the applicant. Among current residents Showing an occupied home is sometimes necessary, but it can create friction. I recognize that it’s unavoidable in some markets, and that’s okay. But if you have the option to wait until the unit is empty, you should. Residents who feel imposed on are going to be much more inclined to leave a negative review. In fact, even if they’ve had a great year, or two, or even three, if you cause disruption and frustration at the end of their stay, it will reflect poorly on you, thanks to the peak-end rule. The peak-end rule states that, in any experience, we tend to remember two parts: the most intense point (good or bad) and the ending. How an experience ends has a disproportionate impact on how we rate that experience, so making life difficult for a resident at the end of their lease is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth. And, of course, we all know that people are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive ones, so creating a negative experience at the end of a lease cycle is just encouraging bad reviews. It can also make a resident more likely to try to fight a move-out charge or a deduction from their security deposit, even if it’s completely justified. The end of a lease is already a high-touch period for our residents, so adding more to the pile only increases the risk of a negative interaction. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. And when you fall into one of those exceptions, the most important thing to do is communicate clearly. For example, if you know well in advance that a resident is not renewing due to a job change, life change, or home purchase, then you can have a conversation with them about when and how you’ll be showing the property. You might decide to list the property a month in advance and begin showing it while it’s still occupied, but only schedule showings for qualified people who have already applied, in order to minimize disruptions. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the resident (who’s probably already stressed about preparing for a move) and do whatever you can to make their life easier. Among future residents Even if you’ve communicated effectively and your current resident is okay with showings, you still have the future resident to consider. Occupied properties are rarely show-ready. Clutter, odors, and personal belongings can turn off applicants instantly. And remember—every photo and detail in your listing reflects on your reputation. If the property doesn’t look its best, why take the chance? Besides, the whole time they’re looking at the property, they’re already going to be wondering, “well, if I live here, am I going to have to deal with people coming to see my house before I move out?” Consider the financial impact A listing that sits for months creates more work: extra showings, additional cleanings, more calls to answer, and more negotiations with applicants. Add to that the time spent fielding calls or inquiries about it, especially from potential applicants just asking “Is this still available?” (Remember, stale listings tend to raise more questions.) Older listings often weaken your rent position, putting you on the defensive in discussions. Meanwhile, your team is tied up managing this property instead of focusing on other priorities. Market conditions change quickly The last major issue with marketing a property too early is just that a whole lot can change between listing and move-in day. Whether it’s economic factors changing rents in your market or your new resident’s life circumstances, you can end up in a very different situation than you expected. Getting rent right Making sure that rent is fair and competitive is always a challenge in this industry. You have an obligation to get the best possible outcome for your client, but you also have to find a number that will attract qualified applicants. In many markets, property managers are required to rerun rent comps every 90 days, but in some markets there can be big shifts in as little as two or three weeks. If you’re listing a property six months in advance, it’s nearly impossible to assess a competitive rent price. Seasonality is huge here: listing a May vacancy in December makes it harder to justify peak-season rates. Tracking rent trends allows you to show owners the data: waiting often means higher returns. Your company should be tracking how rents rise and fall throughout the year. This not only helps you predict future adjustments but also gives you the hard data to tell investors, “We shouldn’t list this six months early—if we wait until 30 days before move-in, you’ll likely get a much better price.” Tracking trends and timing listings strategically often means higher returns and stronger owner trust. Life circumstances can change Beyond just economics, people’s life circumstances change. Someone might get a new job or lose their current one. They might decide that they want to move in with a partner instead of renting on their own place. The more time there is between signing a lease and moving in, the greater the chance that life events will derail the plan. In other cases, new properties hit the market closer to their move date, and your applicant gets cold feet or finds something they like better. That can put you in the awkward position of dealing with a cancellation request and starting the process all over again. Final thoughts Owners may push for early listings to minimize vacancy loss, but in practice, it often backfires—creating tight turns for vendors, missed rent opportunities, and avoidable stress for your team. Use your data and market knowledge to help owners see that patience isn’t just about avoiding problems - it’s about maximizing profit in the long run.

August 14, 2025

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What to Know About Reusable Tenant Screening Reports

Choosing the right resident is one of the most important things you do as a property manager. Not only can it prevent future headaches, but it can impact length of stay, maintenance alerts, and more. At Second Nature, we’re all about making the resident experience as enjoyable as possible, which is why we recommend reusable tenant screening reports. Not only do consistent screening reports help you process applications more quickly, they also help residents save money and apply more quickly. The result is that you get more quality applications sooner, filling vacancies and reducing turn costs. In this article, we’ll walk through what reusable screening reports are, why they’re good for both residents and property managers, and how you can add them to your workflow to increase compliance and efficiency. What is a reusable tenant screening report? A reusable tenant screening report is a comprehensive screening report that applicants can submit to multiple landlords, eliminating the need for them to repeatedly go through the screening process every time they want to apply for a property. These reports are also sometimes called portable tenant screening reports (PTSRs) because applicants can carry them with them from one property to the next. These reports are created by consumer reporting agencies and are paid for by the applicant directly. They typically include information like a credit report, any eviction history, a criminal background check, and income verification. Once a resident obtains a PTSR, they’re typically valid for 30 days and can be submitted to property managers either directly or via a third-party platform. The best part is, there’s no expense to the property manager or property owner. Why they exist and where they’re gaining traction In today’s real estate landscape, especially in more competitive markets where rentals are in high demand, applicants are typically applying to multiple properties. The process is time-consuming and often expensive, leading applicants to seek out other options. Reusable reports reduce screening costs and time for residents, which can typically range from $15 to $40 per application. That adds up quickly, so it’s easy to see why reusable screening reports are rising in popularity. Components of a tenant screening report Depending on the consumer agency an applicant uses, the exact contents of the report can vary slightly. However, there are some main items that are consistent across almost all screening reports. What to expect in a typical resident screening report Credit report: The applicant’s credit report includes their credit score, any outstanding debts, bankruptcies, and payment history, which a property manager can use to assess financial responsibility. Many PMs look for scores above 650, but this can vary based on market and company policy. Rental history: This section lists all previous addresses, lease dates, reasons for leaving, and management references. This section often includes any eviction records or red flags reported by previous property managers. Criminal background check: Depending on local laws and the screening provider, this may include felony convictions, pending cases, or sex offender registry status. Always refer to your state and local laws to determine what will and won’t be included in a criminal background check. Income verification: This section confirms whether the resident earns enough to cover rent, using pay stubs, employment history, tax returns, or bank statements. Employment details: This portion of the report is intended to verify the applicant’s employment status, including their job title, length of employment, and employer contact information for direct verification. References: Personal and professional references help validate the applicant’s character and responsibility outside of documentation. Other relevant factors: Depending on the specific report, it may include details like pet ownership, smoking history, and other property-specific requirements. Why these components matter Each of these sections is important in helping you find the absolute best resident for your property. They provide a fuller picture of financial stability, reliability, and potential risk, empowering you to make more informed decisions and reduce future costs. Having a highly detailed process also leads to more consistent standards, allowing you to evaluate applicants fairly and maintain compliance with Fair Housing laws. How to avoid tenant screening fraud Some property managers may be hesitant to accept reusable screening reports due to concerns about fraud. They feel confident in their established screening process and don’t want to stray from it. While we’re all about consistent process, there are also plenty of ways to reduce the chance of fraud in portable screening reports. Use additional verification to protect your time and your portfolio Portable tenant screening reports can be helpful, but they’re not foolproof. In order to reduce risk, property managers should review every screening report carefully and look for red flags. Things like inconsistent dates, gaps in rental or employment history, or mismatched addresses can signal possible fraud. Best practices for spotting and avoiding fraud Manually review reports: Be sure to look carefully at employment history, rental timelines, and formatting for inconsistencies. Independently verify key data: Confirm income, employer details, and references directly where possible. Contact previous property managers: Reach out to previous property managers and ask about payment reliability, lease violations, and unit condition at move-out. Layer in other tools: In-person interviews or document requests can reveal red flags not shown on a PTSR. Don’t be afraid to ask for additional documentation if you feel that an applicant’s report isn’t trustworthy or comprehensive. Stay up to date: Tenant screening laws and tools are evolving. Attend webinars or join industry groups to keep your process compliant and effective. What states allow reusable tenant screening reports? Legislation around portable screening reports varies by state, but is continuously expanding. Several states now allow residents to submit reusable reports instead of paying new application fees for each property. Some states allow property managers to accept them, while others require acceptance and don’t allow PMs to charge additional screening fees. These laws aim to lower housing costs, reduce the financial burden of applying, leasing, and moving into a new home, and increase resident mobility. The lifespan of a reusable report may also differ by jurisdiction. Most states that accept these reports define the time limit for validity. Most commonly, reports are valid for 30, 60, or 90 days, but this varies by jurisdiction. As always, we recommend researching laws surrounding screening reports in your state, county, or city, and consulting an attorney if you’re not clear on the specific regulations. Compliance varies by state In most states, property managers must disclose their screening process upfront, including whether or not they accept PTSRs. Some states require written notice in listings, applications, or websites, and might specify the exact language that needs to be present. Another variation by state: in some areas, property managers may be allowed to request a certification that no material changes have occurred since the report was created. For example, they can request verification that the resident hasn’t been evicted, been charged with a crime, or filed for bankruptcy in the last 30, 60, or 90 days. Failure to comply with these rules can result in financial penalties and legal liability, so it’s always worth it to seek legal assistance from an attorney if you aren’t 100% confident in your compliance. Reusable reports don’t replace a fully managed screening system Keep in mind that reusable screening reports are just one tool in your belt. They shouldn’t be the only way that you’re evaluating applicants or making leasing decisions. You still need visibility, protection, and consistency Portable reports offer a lot of convenience, but that comes with tradeoffs. Reports pulled days or weeks earlier may miss new credit or legal issues, so it’s important to request updated documentation for older reports. Because portable reports are based on resident-supplied data, they may lack verification or completeness, especially for income and employment history. Some reports may not be as comprehensive in some areas, like rental history, or might only provide surface-level employment info. Without built-in verification tools, property managers may be left tracking down references manually, adding costly time to their process. Disconnected tools create more work and more risk Portable reports also don’t integrate as well with your lease, payment, or maintenance systems, meaning that you may have to copy or retype information between different platforms. That increases the potential for errors and creates large inefficiencies. It also makes it difficult to track patterns between screening data and later resident behavior, which can make it more challenging to update and improve your screening process. A fully managed system keeps everything connected If you’re looking to up your screening game without creating chaos in your tech stack, look for tools that are fully integrated. You’ll create less back-and-forth, more reliable data, and stronger resident outcomes. Look for solutions that include verified screening, but also consider additional features that will attract high-quality applicants, like credit building and identity protection services. Simplify leasing, but don’t sacrifice oversight In order to help you be successful in today’s market, modern property management tools must support both compliance and the resident experience. Building smarter workflows is great, but they should ultimately drive better outcomes for both your team and your residents. Portable screening reports should always be considered in this context. They’re great for reducing friction and resident expenses during the leasing process, but they don’t always provide the full picture. Leading property managers pair these reusable reports with a fully managed system to deliver consistency, efficiency, and long-term resident satisfaction. Ready to create your Triple Win? If you’re looking to drive resident satisfaction and attract more qualified applicants, look to Second Nature’s Resident Benefits Package. With a full suite of benefits designed to create triple win outcomes for you, your investors, and your residents, the RBP is the perfect tool to elevate your property management company. Request a demo with an expert in your area today.

July 31, 2025

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Why Vendor Relationships are the Key to Efficient Turns

We all know that turns can be one of the most expensive parts of property management. But what I don’t see talked about very often is what a vital role your vendors play in minimizing the time and expenses of turns. I like to challenge the way that property management companies look at hiring vendors. Vendors bring a tremendous value to your company if you build the right relationships with them. In this article, I’ll outline why vendors are a key part of your team, how to build stronger relationships with them, and how communicating turns to your vendors proactively can save you money, time, and relationships. Your vendors are your team Property managers tend to see vendors as a necessary tool in their belts, but in reality vendors are as critical to our team as any employee; and should be approached with the same mentality. When they’re doing work for you, they’re functionally an extension of your team. The quality of their work reflects on your company, not theirs, so it is imperative that you set them up for success just like you would an employee. This all starts with vendor selection. When you hire a vendor, you should be vetting them just like an employee. Ask yourself: Are they qualified? Do they have the necessary relationship skills to work with you? Do they understand the expectations you set for your company? When you start to think of vendors as part of your company, you quickly realize that it’s not the vendor’s responsibility to turn a property sufficiently, it’s the management company’s. If the vendor falls short, it's not fair to shift the blame. Just as you wouldn’t call out an employee to a client, you shouldn’t throw a vendor under the bus. If the work wasn’t up to standard, that’s still on us as we made the decision to hire them. Building strong vendor relationships Shifting your thinking about vendors can also help you start to build important relationships with them. Vendors don’t want to feel like they’re being hired for one job and then discarded. Not only do they want to feel valued, but they also want recurring work. In most situations, vendors value relationships with property management companies because of the consistency of work, especially in competitive markets. It means they’re getting more business on a regular basis. I know of some maintenance companies who really only took off because of the relationships they built with property managers and the steady stream of work that came from those partnerships. As you build better relationships with vendors, you can become a preferred client, making it easier to bring vendors in for unexpected maintenance items or shorter turn times. You may also get favorable pricing or payment terms, which can add up in the long run. Creating a vendor handbook The other huge advantage of building vendor relationships and sticking with the same teams is that they start to learn how your company works and, importantly, what your expectations of them are. I’m a big advocate of using a vendor handbook, just like you would have an owner handbook or an employee handbook. It helps establish expectations for the relationship upfront, and sets the tone for how you’re going to work together moving forward. It also makes the vendor feel more comfortable and get to know your company, policies, and standards. Here’s some of what I recommend including in a vendor handbook and the questions they should answer: A company description: Who are you? What geography and unit types do you serve? Key contacts and company structure: Who will be their main point of contact? Who should they go to with questions during the work day or after hours? Mission, vision, and values: What are the company’s values? How should they be emulating those values when they’re working at one of your properties? Expectations: When the vendor walks into one of your properties, what’s expected of them? What condition are they leaving it in? How are they getting access and locking up? Vendor portal instructions: What do you use a portal for and where can they find it? Include a QR code with a link and an image that shows what it looks like. Vendor questionnaire: What information do you need from the vendor that you might not already have? By giving your vendors the same clarity and structure you offer residents and owners, you’re setting everyone up for success. A well-designed vendor handbook not only prevents confusion but also fosters accountability and builds a stronger, more professional partnership. Getting ahead of turns I’m a strong believer in using task management software. At PM PathBuilders, it's one of the most impactful tools we help companies implement. They’re tremendously helpful in helping your team be more proactive about things like vacancies. But automation alone isn’t enough. If your workflow only kicks in 30 days before a move-out, you’re already behind. There’s a lot more you can be doing outside of an automated workflow that starts 30 days before move-out. For example, during renewal inspections or pre-move-out inspections, your team should be documenting what work is needed and creating a clear, detailed list that’s ready to go as soon as that unit is vacant. You can even have residents do this themselves. If your state regulations allow it, consider having residents take inspection photos themselves while they’re still occupying the unit. You can even incentivize them to do so by letting them know they’ll get their security deposit back sooner to encourage participation. You should also be tracking the age of items like carpets that have a defined life span. You should know well in advance of a vacancy whether you should be calling someone to clean the carpets or replace them. The goal is simple: gather as much information as possible before the move-out. That gives you time to line up vendors, order materials, and cut down turn time. It pays to be proactive Getting ahead in the game isn’t just about saving time. The more proactive you can be, the less likely you are to run into rush fees or have to find alternate vendors because your preferred vendors are already booked up. Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to give owners more lead time so they can plan for expenses, rather than feeling like it’s being sprung on them. It also allows you to be extremely clear with your vendors about what specific work needs to be done during each turn. You shouldn’t be relying on your vendors to give you the checklist of what needs to be done. That’s like taking your car to a mechanic and asking, “what’s wrong with it?” and providing no additional information. They’ll find a laundry list of (very expensive) things they need to fix. Instead, you already know what needs to be done and on what timeline. Sure, the vendor might suggest additional work, but then the choice is yours whether you take that to your owner as an optional service. Besides, your vendors should already know what your standards are and how to uphold them, so you should already be on the same page. One strategy I’ve found incredibly helpful is gathering general pricing information from vendors upfront. During the vetting or onboarding process, I recommend sending out a vendor pricing sheet that includes the most common services you regularly need: like smoke detector servicing, repairing or replacing blinds, carpet cleaning, interior painting, or annual HVAC tuneups. Each vendor gives their best estimate for a price range, and now you have the information you need to select a vendor and give your owner an accurate estimate ahead of time. With enough practice, you’ll be able to calculate roughly what all your combined turnover maintenance will cost before the current resident even moves out. Aligning your team One last thought: your entire team must be aligned when it comes to vendor relationships. Everyone should clearly understand: Who your preferred vendors are and why they were chosen When it’s appropriate to gather competitive bids The process for submitting and tracking work orders Consistency is key. Ideally, vendor communication should run through a centralized process with a single point of contact responsible for coordination. This prevents confusion, keeps timelines on track, and ensures vendors know exactly who to communicate with. What you want to avoid is this: one property manager having one preferred vendor while another PM has a different preferred vendor for the same work. You also don’t want multiple PMs competing for the attention of the same vendor. I once had a vendor fail to turn a property of mine because they had a closer relationship with a different PM on my team, and they had a property they needed turned. This kind of breakdown leads to delays, inconsistent results, and ultimately, a poor experience for your owners. Make alignment a priority. When your team speaks with one voice, your processes stay intact and your vendor partnerships get stronger. Looking for ways to delight your residents and encourage them to stay longer? Join Second Nature’s upcoming RBP workshop to see how you can improve the resident experience.

July 22, 2025

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