Annual Tenant Survey????

Question

I have a few rental houses out of state that I have managed by property managers. They are not all managed by the same manager. I would like to do a end of the year survey of all the tenants satisfaction, etc. I have been looking online for a sample survey to get some ideas but cannot find any. Does anyone have a survey they use or know where to get one??

Thank you

Tom Sylvester · Answer

I would just create one based on what information you want to find out.  I would also suggest offering an incentive, like a $25 rent credit or something to get a better response rate.

Scott Kiessig · Answer

good thought about the possible back fire... i will have to work it in a way to seem that we are just making sure the property management co is doing their job as opposed to being above them.

also... good idea about the incentive. i was thinking of something like sending $25 to starbucks or something when they returned the survey.

does anyone have ideas about the specific questions...

the ones i have already come up with relate to 
-response time of property manager
-customer service skills of receptionists?
-quality of vendor repairs etc
-response time of vendors
-satisfaction with house/apartment

anybody have any ideas about other things i should address??

thanks

Jeff Takle · Answer

You don't need that many responses if you're not trying to prove statistical significance. You can ask open ended questions, as them to comment on their least favorite part about their home, most favorite, etc. That's useful information even if you only have a few units.

If you're surveying 50+ units then for your own sanity you'll probably want to standardize the answers more.

Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be. Get a free SurveyMonkey account for small scale surveys and put something together. Send out an email to your tenants with the link and a $25 rent credit. Well worth the money and a good idea.

-Jeff

Account Closed · Answer

I used to live and work in Silicon Valley. The above sounds a but like what an engineer would ask.

I am concerned about the objective. Just what are you trying to find out about PM?

If you have normal tenant turn-over, you are earning the market average rent and other statistical measures is that not the best feedback as to the PM effectiveness?

While a customer satisfaction survey of the end customers can be a great idea I am not sure that is the purpose. Maybe what you need is closer to mystery shopper rather than a survey.

Customers can provide all sorts of feedback that while honest might have little to do with the PM's capabilities. The building, the area and other factors will come out. Not good or bad but clearly beyond the scope in may ways.

Online surveys can make it very easy to protect your identity. Just the fact that it is online might cause bias in the survey depending on the tenant demographic.

If you allow feedback and are later seen as unresponsive the tenants might become unhappy. If you did not ask they would not care in many ways. If you ask and then do not perform they know you are the problem.

Mr Landlord talks a bit about tenant surveys though I have no idea how he normally organizes them. He finds the survey is a good tenant retention tool. Note that he is talking about surveys he runs where his company is the property manager. He is not using the survey to check up on the management. The questions are tailored for the purpose.

There could be some privacy issues or HUD disclosure statements (no discrimination, etc) required. I have no idea but I have seen many surveys that take the time to say all the normal things about who and why the data will be used.

John Corey

Lynn Z · Answer

I worked for the government for years. Feds and state.  Remember those wonderful exit interviews when employees told what their problems were with management and the process and how the system could be made better for everyone?  The results were bundled up and fed back to the department heads who felt stung by any adverse comments.

Good example of useful information but terrible use of the information.  No changes ever occurred because of an exit interview.  When I finally had mine I just smiled and left without criticism.  Feels good to this day.

Lynn Z · Answer

isn't this kind of like an office employee satisfaction survey?  Everything participates honestly but results in nothing of any benefit to employees?  
Why not ask what improvements, features, ideas they have for which they might pay a little extra rent for to help spot trends.  That way there's benefit to both parties.  I would be afraid that the owner is trying to f/u on the property manager through using the tenant and they can be made to suffer if the results are used to nudge the property manager.

Richard F. · Answer

First off, for a survey to be of much value, you need to have LOTS of units. Secondly, you really need to put careful thought into what you ask, and how you ask it. I have worked for companies that did essentially a QA survey, and one company that was looking for input on a redevelopment. My impression was the latter was pretty instrumental in planning, while the QA's can certainly help you identify areas needing improvement, as long as you take them with a grain of salt. You must keep in mind the possible motivations of existing tenants.

Basic followup phone surveys may be more useful for checking on vendor performance, and possibly prospect impressions, although it can be difficult to get anything useable from most rental home hunters. It depends on how much time you want to spend...

As for surveying out of state tenants to check on the PM, this can easily backfire. Presumably, the tenants don't currently know how to contact you directly. Once they do, it is not at all uncommon for manipulative tenants to try and play both ends against the middle...the PM that has boots on the ground. A better idea would be to work with your PM to develop the survey, and then tabulate and review the results, again keeping in mind the various motivating factors.

As to a survey format, ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes/no, or 1-5 scale that can be easily and clearly checked off. Leave SOME space for written comments at the end, but keep it to a minimum. The responses should also be completely anonymous, to encourage truthfulness, and you must provide postage paid (or online) replies to get an adequate response.

N/A N/A · Answer

Thank you for being considerate to your renters! If you would like some ideas let me know and I'll jot some down for you.

Account Closed · Answer

Interesting topic. It will be fun to see what others have done. I have never thought of doing a survey so I have much to learn in this area.

John Corey

Annual Tenant Survey????

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