Evictions are never fun. They are probably the most difficult part about being a property manager. However, when someone stops paying rent, becomes a troublesome neighbor, or disrespects the rental space, you need to take action. Losing a resident is hard enough, but having to evict one can be especially difficult because evictions are usually not planned. Fortunately though, an eviction doesn’t have to be all bad. Instead, you can use an eviction as an opportunity for growth.

Upgrade Your Screening Process 

After you evict a resident, you should take a minute to review how the situation happened. If they didn’t pay their rent, did you do a good enough to check their credit and financial situation? If they were a troublesome neighbor, did you do enough investigation in their background to make sure they didn’t have a criminal record or a history of evictions? If they disrespected the space, did you charge enough of a deposit to protect yourself against the financial hardship? Whatever caused the eviction can be a great learning process that you can use to improve your screening process so that in the future you pick better residents. 

Try A New Marketing Strategy 

Since you didn’t plan to have the rental on the market so quickly, now is a great opportunity to try out a new marketing strategy. If you have been thinking about using a new listing platform or trying new photography, this is a great opportunity to test out a new strategy. You never know what may come of a new marketing strategy; you may find a clever way to increase your occupancy rates. Use this time to take that risk and try something new.

Improve Your Community 

When you lose a resident, whether from an eviction or a normal loss of renewal, it’s always a great opportunity to come up with ways to improve your community. The eviction can be stressful but it’s a great opportunity to show some appreciation for the residents that do pay their rent on time and create a positive community. So think about this as a good time to offer an appreciation gift. If you have to evict someone over property damage, you should consider this time to just make some general improvements to your rental and your amenities since you’ll probably have to call out contractors anyways.

Rather than seeing an eviction as a stressful event, turn it into an opportunity. Use this time to make some improvements and try new things. In the end, evictions are going to happen, so it’s better to keep a positive attitude about the process and use it as a way to create some opportunities than to get just mired down in the stress.