How To Create Move-In Magic: 5 Timely Tips for Multifamily Property Management

In multifamily property management, the move-in process is more than just handing over keys — it’s a critical opportunity to shape first impressions, build trust, and set the tone for long-term resident satisfaction. While moving into a new home should be an exciting milestone, let’s be real — it’s often a stressful whirlwind of boxes, paperwork, and unexpected hiccups. 

For onsite teams, it’s important to realize that the move-in experience isn’t just a logistical hurdle; it’s a make-or-break moment that sets the tone for a resident’s entire lease term. Done well, it leads to higher resident satisfaction, stronger renewal rates, and better online reviews. Done poorly? Well, you might as well start prepping that unit for a new renter in 12 months.

But we all know there’s more to that story because even when residents experience a smooth move-in experience, behind the scenes, it’s often a major drain on leasing teams. In fact, recent data from an Updater survey reveals that 61% of onsite teams spend more than four hours each week handling move-ins, with nearly a third clocking six hours or more. That’s valuable time pulled away from tours, renewals, and resident engagement.

The good news is that it can be a positive experience for everyone. With the right strategies, you can craft a move-in experience that feels effortless for residents and efficient for your team. A thoughtful, streamlined approach can turn move-in day into a memorable welcome, rather than a dreaded chore.

So, how can you transform move-in day from a chaotic mess into a five-star experience that leaves residents raving? Let’s break it down.

5 Timely Tips for Making Move-Ins a Five-Star Experience

Move-in day marks the beginning of a new chapter for your residents — and the chance to make a lasting first impression. But because it’s considered one of life’s most stressful events (third only to death and divorce — yikes!), multifamily property management teams need to be intentional about creating a smooth, welcoming, and memorable experience. 

Here are five timely tips to help you turn the stress of move-in day into a five-star moment that residents will appreciate — and remember.

1. Communication Is Everything (Like, Literally Everything)
2. The Personal Touch Still Matters — Even in a High-Tech World
3. Maintenance Can Make or Break It
4. Gather Feedback (and Actually Use It!)
5. The Move-In Experience Impacts Your Reputation

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1. Communication Is Everything (Like, Literally Everything)

Consider this cautionary tale: A resident shows up on move-in day, only to realize they forgot to set up utilities, their renter’s insurance isn’t valid, and they have no idea where to park. Cue the panic.

For multifamily property management teams, these are the things nightmares are made of! While you can’t control for every misstep a resident might make, you definitely can develop a communication strategy that lessens the chances that these gaps are due to poor information sharing on your part. 

And the best way to do that is to over-communicate every step of the way. Here are just three ways to make sure your message hits the mark!

• Pre-move-in checklists: Provide residents with a digital or printable list of everything they need to do before move-in. It’s important to have resources like this created and available. However, if you stop at this step, then you are setting your team up for frustration. Why? Because many residents will never take the time to read your carefully crafted PDFs. And that means your leasing team will spend their valuable time answering all those same questions. 
• Leverage video: When you leverage video tools, like those available from Realync, you help ease the burden on leasing teams and increase the odds that residents will know what’s expected when move-in day arrives. It’s the perfect companion to both digital and printable PDFs. Check out this short 30-second video created by Margo, a leasing professional at Kenect, an Akara Living community. She excels at preparing renters for move-in — reminding soon-to-be residents about the three things they’ll need on move-in day — while making sure her team has all the necessary items for the property.

 

• Train your multifamily property management team: Seems obvious, doesn’t it? Yet, a less-than-stellar move-in experience often happens because leasing teams aren’t well-prepared. Clear and proactive communication sets the tone for a positive relationship, and setting clear expectations regarding the move-in process, required documentation, and available amenities helps to alleviate stress and confusion. During move-in, keeping residents informed about any updates or changes ensures a smoother transition, and ultimately, better communication fosters trust and satisfaction, making new residents feel welcomed and valued.

👀 Looking for more? Check out this blog, “The Science of Successful Move-Ins: Top 5 Tips You Need To Know.”

2. The Personal Touch Still Matters — Even in a High-Tech World

In an age of self-guided tours and automated leasing, it’s tempting to let technology do all the heavy lifting. But here’s the truth: 68% of renters say an in-person move-in orientation is essential. Therefore, face-to-face connections go a long way in building trust and setting the tone for a positive living experience. 

That said, there’s a balance you need to find because not everything needs to be done in person. Creating a memorable move-in experience hinges on successfully leveraging technology to boost efficiency, along with valuable face-to-face interactions that foster connection. 

To create an impactful personal touch, make the move-in memorable:

• Have a team member personally hand over the keys.
• Walk them through key features of their new home (and test the A/C before they do!).
• Show them how to submit maintenance requests (before they need one at 2 a.m.).

But don’t stop there. Once you’ve engaged new residents in person, overlay the experience with technological touches that add to and support your move-in routines. By incorporating the right technology for the right processes at the right time, you can create a move-in experience residents will rave about. 

Move-in day can be overwhelming for residents. You’re sharing a lot of information, and the reality is that they won’t remember everything you told them. Video creates a perfect complement, and here are just two examples where using Realync video tools can help personalize the resident experience and make your property shine:

• Personalized Move-In Walkthroughs: Video tools let multifamily property management leasing teams create personalized move-in walkthroughs, showing everything from key pickup to trash disposal procedures. It offers a simple “go to” solution, enabling residents to replay the walkthrough and find many of the answers to their questions — because nobody wants to guess which bin is for recycling!
• “How To” Self-Help Maintenance Videos: Move-in day is overwhelming enough, so it’s a win-win when you can help residents help themselves starting from Day 1. With a quick 60- to 90-second clip, you can show residents how to troubleshoot simple issues using appliances and setups that match what’s actually in their apartment. No guesswork, no waiting for help. Just a sense of relief knowing they can focus on unboxing rather than waiting around for a service call. ➡️ Watch this video and learn more!

Yes, automation saves time and often improves the resident experience (when done right), but it doesn’t replace the personal touch. Your multifamily property management teams still must be able to greet incoming residents with a warm welcome and provide a quick apartment walkthrough with a friendly face. 

More importantly, a great move-in day experience boosts retention. In fact, 79% of residents who are satisfied at move-in remain satisfied through renewal time. So, those first impressions? They matter — a lot.

3. Maintenance Can Make or Break It

Picture this: Your new resident excitedly turns the key and steps inside, only to find that the fridge isn’t working. Or worse, they step into the shower or try to wash dishes for the first time and find no hot water. Nothing can sour a move-in experience faster than unresolved maintenance issues.

If you don’t think maintenance matters, you might want to think again. Maintenance was the most common reason for negative online reviews, mentioned even more often than rent, security, communication, or parking, according to a resident report cited by Multi-Housing News. As columnist Lew Sichelman noted, “One-third named maintenance as the reason for their negative response…[it] was the No. 1 negative response and the No. 2 positive response mentioned in the renewal stage.” 

Simply put, how you handle maintenance — especially early on — directly impacts your reputation and retention.

So, how do you combat potential maintenance woes? Consider SkillCat mobile maintenance training. SkillCat is a mobile-first training platform designed specifically for multifamily property maintenance pros, and it equips your technicians with the confidence and expertise needed to tackle challenges head-on. With SkillCat on your side, you can ensure your team is fully equipped to diagnose and resolve common service requests quickly and competently. And this is crucial because well-trained maintenance teams = fewer complaints, happier residents, and more five-star feedback.

🤔 Curious how you can equip techs and empower residents? Then you’ll want to read this two-part plan for multifamily property maintenance success!

Don’t be fooled into thinking it doesn’t matter that much. How your team responds to that first work order can determine whether a resident stays long-term or starts browsing Zillow.

4. Gather Feedback (and Actually Use It!)

You don’t know what you don’t know — until you ask. Move-in surveys provide invaluable insights into what’s working and what needs fixing, straight from the people who matter most: your residents.

Grace Hill’s resident survey solutions make it easy for multifamily property management teams to collect real-time feedback and implement improvements quickly. For example, if multiple residents mention confusion over parking, it’s a clear signal to update your move-in packet or send a short, pre-move-in video tutorial.

Here are a few stats that drive the point home: “The renewal rate for residents who were satisfied at move-in was 59% higher than the renewal rate for residents who were dissatisfied at move-in…[and] 79% of residents [who are] satisfied at move-in remain satisfied at renewal.” If that’s not motivation to fine-tune your process, we don’t know what is!

Several years ago, AIR Communities, a Denver-based REIT, decided to take a proactive approach to satisfaction by surveying residents within three days of move-in, and then again within the first 30 days. It was an operational shift that helped them identify pain points early on and make adjustments — before minor frustrations become major complaints. 

By integrating a move-in survey, you don’t just solve today’s problems — you spot patterns, improve processes, and lay the groundwork for consistently better move-ins in the future.

💡 Knowledge is power: Learn why resident surveys are essential for creating a thriving community.

5. The Move-In Experience Impacts Your Reputation

Love them or hate them, online reviews matter — a lot. Before signing a lease, most renters scour Google, Yelp, and apartment review sites to get the inside scoop. And when a slew of negative move-in reviews dominate the narrative, even the best amenities or pricing may not be enough to keep residents, and you can be certain it sends prospects running.

‼️ Did you know that every time a resident moves out, the effort and expense of renting the apartment drain your budget by nearly $4,000! Here’s a way to calculate the cost of resident turnover at your property.

But here’s the good news: When move-ins go well and residents feel welcomed, informed, and cared for from day one, they are far more likely to leave positive reviews — and that drives more traffic, tours, and leases to your community. 

Make it easy for happy residents to share their experience:

• Include a gentle prompt in your move-in survey inviting them to leave a review.
• Following move-in, send a brief, personalized thank-you email, and provide links to preferred review platforms.
• If they rave about their experience, ask if they’d be willing to post their comments as an online review.

➡️ Here are 10 ways to ask for apartment reviews and encourage feedback! 

Grace Hill’s Reputation Management solution helps property teams monitor, respond to, and learn from online reviews across multiple platforms — all from one centralized dashboard. With it, you get alerts for new reviews, insights into sentiment trends, and tools for responding professionally and promptly, turning even less-than-perfect feedback into an opportunity to demonstrate responsiveness.

Remember, first impressions last — both in person and on Google.

Final Thoughts for Multifamily Property Management Teams

A seamless, stress-free move-in doesn’t just benefit residents — it streamlines operations, boosts team morale, reduces costly turnover, and strengthens your property’s online reputation. Although often overlooked, a well-orchestrated move-in is more than a nice touch — it’s a competitive advantage.

By leveraging Grace Hill’s suite of solutions, including Training, Policies, Resident Surveys, Reputation Management, and Virtual Leasing and Video Tools by Realync, your multifamily property management team can deliver a consistently high-quality move-in experience that residents notice — and talk about.

Each of the five tips shared is a building block for long-term success: clear communication, personalized touches, timely maintenance, meaningful feedback, and a reputation rooted in trust. When these pieces come together, you’re not just moving people in — you’re laying the foundation for satisfied, long-term residents.

👀 Watch this on-demand webinar: “The Move-In Effect: How the ‘Hello’ Impacts the ‘I’ll Stay Longer.’”

So, multifamily property management pros, it’s time to ask yourself: Is your move-in process setting you up for long-term success? If not, now’s the time to fix it. Small, intentional changes can lead to big wins — for your residents, your team, and your bottom line. 

Because happy move-ins lead to happy residents — and happy residents lead to stronger renewals, better reviews, and thriving communities. It’s that simple.

Ready to learn how Grace Hill can be your partner in success? Connect with our team today to create a move-in experience residents will rave about!