Good communication with your tenants is a crucial component of being a successful Newport rental property owner. However, with a very wide range of options available, which is the best method of communication? Landlords are now finding new convenience in the ability to text, email, and call their tenants, though are all of these options the best solution to go about staying in touch? It’s a good question in view of the fact that the approach you contact tenants with isn’t just about keeping them comfortable and notified. There are similarly real financial and legal issues involved with your chosen method.
Texting
Some tenants and property owners like the ease and convenience of texting. And for small stuff or just for staying connected, texting can be a splendid way to keep the lines of communication with your tenant open. Subject to what messaging platform you use, it is really now possible to send more than just text messages back and forth. Tenants can send photos to help you easily schedule repairs, and you can send links and attachments back.
But admittedly, there are difficulties with texting, also. Among the top ones include the ability to track and save your conversations. As a property owner, it’s necessary to document your interactions with your tenant in the event of disagreements or most especially when legal issues develop. You’ll need to ensure that you save the entire history of your messages back and forth while texting.
In keeping with saving messages, some tenants may equally abuse the privilege of texting you whenever they want. If you put into service a personal or business cellphone for your conversations, tenants may anticipate that you can immediately respond to them at all hours and get upset if you don’t. These burdens and issues should encourage you to think and plan carefully before employing texting to contact tenants.
Phone Calls
Calling tenants on the phone is a good way to be more direct and personable with them. There is no substitute for hearing someone’s voice and carrying out a verbal conversation in real-time. By having a conversation with your tenants on the phone habitually, you can help promote a positive working relationship with them and more favorably communicate your care and concern over their comfort and well-being. This, in turn, could lead to tenants staying longer in your rental.
Similar to texting, the greatest nuisance to using the phone to contact tenants is the struggle in documenting your conversations. Most importantly if you discuss liability issues or sensitive information, you will need to look for a way to record your discussions if a dispute arises. You will furthermore make it a point to answer your phone any moment your tenants call. Getting a landlord’s voicemail every time they call will discourage your tenants from contacting you in the future, making phone calls a less useful communication mode.
Email is definitely a middle ground area between texting and phone calls. It is a rather convenient method of communication, as quite a lot of people use it and are comfortable with email. But more importantly, it additionally gives you a worry-free technique to document your entire conversation with your tenants on the account that various email programs grant you the ability to save email chains for months or even years. An additional good edge and benefit of email is that it easily gives you time to think and write carefully before responding to a tenant’s question or complaint. You can send documents and other attachments more adequately with email, all of which are date-and-time stamped, so you know what was sent to whom and when. This can all be very worthwhile if you ever have a need for records of your messages afterward.
But sadly, email isn’t as quick or convenient as texting, and tenants may not prefer to write out every message in email. Several people don’t like using email or may not check their inboxes frequently, resulting in delayed responses. Email is, as well, more impersonal, and it can be quite difficult to manage your tone so that you sound warm and friendly.
Finally, you may utilize various methods to really see to it that your tenant communications are frequent, friendly, secure, and correctly documented. In any case, it’s a great idea to work with your and your tenant’s communication preferences to find a way to stay in touch that you both are comfortable with and will surely take advantage of.
Tenant communication can be a laborious and challenging feature of owning rental properties in Newport. But, we assure you, Real Property Management Delta can help! We can contact tenants on your behalf and make sure your tenants have someone they can rely on when issues arise – without disturbing your daily schedule or your good night’s sleep. For more helpful information, contact us online or call us at 501-404-0674.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.