By Amy Alexander

Published Jul 2, 2025

Updated Jul 2, 2025

Move-in day shouldn’t be an exercise in logistics. It’s one of your biggest opportunities to set the tone for the resident relationship. Done well, it creates trust, ease, and connection. Done poorly, it creates stress, friction, and lingering dissatisfaction.

That’s why we appreciated the recent blog from Grace Hill, “How To Create Move-In Magic: 5 Timely Tips for Multifamily Property Management.” They outline simple but powerful ways to improve the move-in experience. Their insights align closely with what we see across the 2M+ units Updater supports.

One of the most important takeaways from their post?
Residents who are satisfied at move-in are 59% more likely to renew, and 79% of those satisfied residents stay satisfied through renewal.

Grace Hill also emphasizes that move-in satisfaction is often shaped by a handful of operational touchpoints: clear communication, team coordination, maintenance readiness, and personal attention.

The good news? Community teams don’t have to manage all of that manually. Here’s how top operators are turning these best practices into reality while saving time and reducing burnout.

Why move-ins matter and how to make them better

Communicate clearly, early, and often
Grace Hill’s top move-in tip? Don’t assume your residents are reading PDFs or emails with walls of text. Over-communication, especially across multiple channels, is key.

With Updater Pro | Onboarding, leasing teams don’t have to manually send instructions or reminders. Residents receive a branded welcome email the moment they’re approved, guiding them step-by-step through everything from setting up utilities to submitting renters’ insurance. Each task is clear, trackable, and timed appropriately. That’s communication that your teams don’t have to chase and residents don’t have to decode.

Blend automation with the human touch
While automation streamlines the process, Grace Hill notes that 68% of renters still want an in-person orientation. They crave real connection, especially during a stressful life event like moving.

Updater helps make space for that human connection. By automating repetitive tasks like document collection and verifying utility setup, your teams have more time to do what they do best: build relationships. Whether that’s walking new residents to their unit or hosting a welcome event, it’s the human touches that turn a move-in into a moment worth remembering.

Prevent last-minute surprises with real-time visibility
Maintenance issues and missed steps are a leading cause of move-in day stress and often a top source of negative reviews, according to Grace Hill. A bad move-in can derail trust before it’s even built.

Updater gives leasing teams a dashboard to see exactly where each resident stands: who’s submitted documents, who still needs to choose a move-in time, and who’s fully ready. That real-time visibility helps staff stay ahead of problems instead of reacting to them under pressure. When everyone knows what’s done and what’s not, teams can act proactively to keep the process running smoothly.

Collect feedback and encourage reviews at the right time
Grace Hill recommends surveying residents early in their lease to catch and correct issues fast. But Updater clients take it a step further by using Custom Tasks to collect reviews as part of the move-in journey.

One best practice: add a custom task prompting residents to leave a review after they’ve completed move-in. This approach makes the ask feel natural because it’s part of the checklist, not a random follow-up. It also encourages feedback while the experience is still top of mind.

This strategy not only helps your reputation it also gives your teams insight into what’s working and where the experience could improve.

Remember: move-ins shape your brand
Grace Hill emphasizes that residents will form opinions about your community from the moment they walk through the door. Smooth move-ins build trust, reduce complaints, and increase the chance that new residents will become long-term ones. On the flip side, a rocky experience can set the tone for dissatisfaction, even if the rest of the stay goes well.

Updater gives multifamily teams the structure and consistency to deliver that “wow” experience from day one. And it’s not only internal feedback that proves it. At Buckingham, where Updater is fully integrated into their onboarding flow, the results speak for themselves:

“We have gotten a lot of feedback from people moving from other apartment communities saying, ‘Wow, this one was a lot smoother than my last one.’ … First impressions are key in our industry,” says Ryan Clasey, who oversees centralized leasing and collections at Buckingham.

Final thoughts

A great move-in process is more than a nice-to-have. It’s a strategic advantage. It impacts renewals, reviews, and your team’s ability to operate without burnout.

With the right tools, like Updater Pro | Onboarding, community teams can automate the chaos, personalize the experience, and build trust from day one. And the best part? It’s completely free for multifamily teams.

Amy Alexander

A Seattle transplant, Amy is passionate about B2B marketing, having led go-to-market strategies for both Fortune 500 companies and startups. Outside of work, Amy enjoys an active PNW lifestyle which includes kayaking and skiing. She’s also a proud mom to her son, who is currently attending Oregon State University, go Beavs!