Move Out Percentage for 2012

I had 20 move-outs out of 47 apartment for 2012. Is that high?

My top reasons for move-out were:

6 evitions for lease violations or non-payment of rent (mostly serious lease violations)

5 financial burdens (all moved in with someone else with larger homes)

4 roommates split up and the one left couldn't afford the apartment alone

Then misc. others

None said they moved because of anything we did or anything wrong with the apartment or area.

We had 22 move-outs last year.

My girlfriend has 78 units with 10 move-outs, which I think is very low for the area.

What do you think about my move-out numbers? High?

I would not be concerned with the numbers as much as the reasons. How many of them were due to causes you could control and how many weren't?

Evictions for cause, perhaps you could have prevented some of them by having a better residence verification with prior landlords and asking more in depth questions than how much was their rent and did they pay on time. I would include questions regarding housekeeping and other complaints against them. I would also ask if they would rent to them again in the future.

Financial burdens are unpredictable because this is too broad of a topic; did the household size increase beyond occupancy guidelines? Was there a loss of income making rent unaffordable? Was there a change in employment location that made commuting a burden?

Roommate loss? That is another broad topic, but certainly not something that you could predict, prevent, or control.

In the senior housing market; you also run into solid and unpredictable reasons of health concerns making it impractical, or even impossible to live independently (an alternative is to allow a live in caregiver as a reasonable accommodation); or worse, death.

Of the lease violations, how many were non payment? I think you had crime as a lease violation, based on a recent post; but perhaps you should say you had 6 evictions, x of those were for non payment and further break down the remainder?

What were the reasons for the remaining 5 move outs you say were miscellaneous?

20 is high for a property that small; this is a little more than 40% turnover; where 10 of 78 is almost 13%. Her owners must be happy with that number, what was her breakdown?

I could not control any of them, except reduce rent by $200 - $300 per month so those who moved due to a change in household income could afford it plus allow criminals to live in the community.

The breakdown on some could be viewed a couple of ways. For instance, one family lost disability income and employment income about the same time. I filed an eviction for non-payment but they moved out before the eviction was completed.

They were good payers until they lost their income. Another family paid on time for years, then she lost her overtime pay and was late for several months before deciding to move in with family. I consider that loss of income.

Five misc. were: two relocations out of state, one said she wanted to move to a house, but moved in with her mom. Two bought houses.

I started requiring a household income of 3.5 times the rent last year, but that won't help with roommates, if one move-outs out and the remaining roommate has 2 times the rent for income.

I don't know what average move-out percentages are, but I was sure mine is high. I have very tight screening process.

I have also started asking for a copy of their last bank statement to see if they had any NSF's the previous month for anything or anything drafted, like tax repayments. I'll deny them for that.

My screening is very tight and it's going to get tighter. I've been 100% for a couple of months and don't expect anything open until maybe March.

I agree that these reasons for move outs are solid; you certainly could not predict, prevent, nor control them. You can, however, minimize their effects going forward should these situations arise again.

Communications with residents is key.

1) Loss of income leading to failure to pay rent: this is something that most residents will never recover from. Give them a chance to leave before you file for eviction and have them sign an agreement that stipulates a payment plan. Make sure this plan includes a clause if a payment is missed; you will send the file to collections which will appear on their credit report until paid. Offer this as an alternative to filing for an eviction that will result in a judgement that will affect their credit and ability to rent as long as it is not satisfied. It also saves all parties the costs of the legal process.

2) Loss of a roommmate: allow the remaining resident to advertise for a replacement roommate and screen them like a new applicant. I would go to an income requirement of each household member needing to make 2.5x the rent ON THEIR OWN as opposed to 3.5x collectively. If you accept guarantors, the guarantor should make 5x the rent (just so you know they can meet their own obligations and assist your resident should the situation arise).

If I recall correctly; you are in a position to be able to replace residents quickly with new ones, so I would not worry too much about the turnovers as long as I could collect (or at least file for collection) on residents that leave owing you money. If you have units remaining vacant for too long on the other hand, I would worry.

You are doing everything else right.

Some years are worse than others regarding number of move-outs. While we all want to keep our turnover percentage as low as possible, sometimes it cannot be helped. Having that many move outs, 20 out of 48, is a lot. All you can do is hope the economy is better, that your strict selection criteria and screening procedures work better in 2013.

FYI: the first year on one of my properties, the initial year's turnover was 62%. Because of strong resident retention efforts, that turnover is 32%. I think that says a lot, too. Residents who are not experiencing financial turmoil or other life changes necessitating a move out, want consistent, caring team members who are not afraid of establishing and building a trusting relationship.

We had 27 move outs with 83 units. 32% is not a bad turnover rate for my market.

2 lost income source
2 transfers
3 Evictions for non-payment
4 job transfers (1 was picked up by a professional sports team!)
4 bought a house
6 non-compliance terminations, (3 housekeeping, 2 disturbances, 1 fee balance)
4 relationship changes (2 breakups, one move in together, one went back to wife.)
1 move out due to rent increase
1 death of child

Part of the reason for the high number of non-compliance terminations is that Resident verifications and rental criteria are not within my control. The income requirement is only 2.5x rent, and if the screening agency approves them, I have to let them in (and kick them out later if necessary.) We are very limited as to what we can ask (how much their previous rent was, if they paid on time, and how their housekeeping skills rate are not things I'm allowed to have knowledge of, even if the screening agency does find out) Our state laws lean more towards caring about someones current status and future than their past. So we just have to enforce the rules as best we can.

I do not mean to 'stir the pot', Rose; but I do not understand why your resident selection criteria and residential verifications cannot include answers to the following questions for at least the last 2 residences:

1) Move in date?
2) Move out date?
3) Was proper notice given for move out?
4) Monthly rent amount?
5) How many times rent was late?
6) Any other lease violations/complaints?
7) Would they rent to them again?
Did they leave owing money and if so, has it been paid?
9) Was/is their lease satisfied, or are they leaving early?

If you had the ability to at least suggest changes to your criteria; you may have been able to spot and prevent 6 (possibly 9) of your terminations for cause (Evictions and other lease violations) before they caused you problems. The other reasons you list were all outside your ability to predict, control, or prevent.