COMMUNICATION TIPS
Whether you are using a management company or self managing your rental home, the below outlined communications tips are for you! Our San Antonio Property Management Team members are experts in the field. These tips can help you, but if you are ever in the market for a management team, please feel free to contact us! RPM Alamo, 210-787-3876 or [email protected]. From online correspondence with prospective renters or tenants, to in-person meetings with tenants or vendors, streamlining communication will save you significant time and hassle as a property owner.
Use these three tips to support more effective communication for your rental property business:
1) Embrace Technology
Property management software can save you time on renewals, reporting, maintenance tracking and much more. When it comes to communication, having an online portal that your tenants can access 24/7, gives them a quick and simple way to contact you, pay rent, and make maintenance requests, all while tracking and documenting the correspondence for each action. Your renters will love the easy availability, and you’ll love the time you save managing documents and requests.
2) Utilize a Contact Center
The difference between capturing a qualified lead and not can be as simple as whether you answer a call or it goes to voicemail. Some prospects may hang up and contact the next community/property rather than leave a message. By working with a professional Contact Center you can start generating more leads while freeing yourself to attend to your other duties without the fear of missing calls. Tenants have access to a live agent around the clock, and an automated dispatch allows maintenance issues to be addressed at any moment.
3) Make Time for In-Person Interactions
While a tenant portal and call center will save time and energy, you shouldn’t neglect opportunities to meet with tenants in person. No matter how attentively you respond via digital means, your renters may feel as though you’ve taken a detached approach to managing your property without any face-to-face contact available. You can begin developing a stronger, more trusting working relationship with tenants from the very start by scheduling a meeting to cover the lease details in person rather than just emailing the document. This interaction allows renters to ask questions and seek clarifications, which will make them more confident when approaching you about future concerns. This simple matter of perception can contribute to resident satisfaction – and ultimately retention.
When you thoroughly review the lease with a new tenant and have them initial as you go, you also protect yourself from possible issues later on. As noted by BiggerPockets blogger Mindy Jenson, “Should they have a complaint or problem down the road that you address in the lease, it is so much easier to prove that you told them with their initials next to that clause.”
The same goes for vendor partners. Take the time to sit down with your vendors and go over expectations. Outline your processes for maintenance and billing, schedule to pay invoices, etc. Addressing these items upfront can lead to a good vendor/owner relationship allowing you to trust the work will be done to your satisfaction. As a professional San Antonio Property Management Company, RPM Alamo has several vendor partners that we work with. Our full-time maintenance manager works directly with our vendors to insure our reputation for quality work in a timely manner remains intact.
Ultimately, no single communication strategy or platform will solve every problem you encounter as a property owner. However, by relying on a diverse set of complementary methods, your tenants will always have access to the option that suits their needs.
Whether you require a specific, targeted communication solution for your property or a complete software system from the ground up, see how RPM Alamo can help you streamline your rental property business and succeed.
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.
