The way you get in touch with your tenants insures your success as a Cedar Park rental property owner. But with so many options to choose from, how do you know if it’s the right method of communication? Landlords can now text, email, and call their tenants but which of these are appropriate for a given situation? The answer does not solely depend on which platform keeps your tenants up to date and comfortable. There are financial and legal factors that come to play.
Texting
Many tenants and property owners love the ease and convenience of texting. For simple “hello’s” and “how do you do’s”, texting is a great way to keep the lines of communication open with your tenants. Moreover, different messaging platforms offer services beyond the text. Tenants can send you photos that help you assess the problem earlier and then schedule repairs later.
There are drawbacks to texting. Number one of this is how to save or track or save your conversations. As a property owner, you need to document your interaction with your tenants because this could help you in case disagreements or legal issues arise. That means all your messages should be saved since you started texting.
Along with saving messages, tenants could abuse this privilege and just text you anytime they like. If you use a personal or business cellphone, some tenants expect you to reply to them right away. These are the things that you need to consider before you use texting to contact tenants.
Phone Calls
Communicating with tenants over the phone is very pleasant and more personal. There is no better way than hearing someone’s voice and having a verbal conversation in real-time. By talking to your tenants over the phone, you establish a good working relationship with them and you can be able to communicate clearly your care over their comfort and well-being. Your tenants would likely consider staying longer in your rental.
Similar to texting, when you use your phone to contact your tenants, you will have a hard time documenting your conversations. All the more true when liability issues or sensitive information is discussed, you need to find a way how to document these, should there be a dispute. In addition to that, the fact that you are expected to be on your phone whenever a tenant calls is quite stressful. But then, if tenants get directed to their landlord’s voicemail all the time, they might get discouraged and stop using the phone to call you in the future.
Email offers the bridge between texting and phone calls. It is a relatively convenient method of communication, as most people use and are comfortable with email. Email offers ease of documentation as all conversations with your tenants are saved. Another strength of email is that it gives you enough time to process a tenant’s question or complaint before hitting send. Plus, you can send documents and attachments through email that are date-and-time stamped. All this information is very important for record purposes.
But the disadvantage to email is that it’s slow and inconvenient compared to texting, and tenants may not prefer it as much. Most people simply do not like writing through email so your message just gets dumped in their inboxes leaving you without a response. Email also lacks the personal touch and it can be difficult to convey your message in a warm and friendly way.
Whatever method you choose or a combination of these, your communication with your tenant must be frequent, friendly, secure, and properly documented. It would be best to agree with your tenants which communication method you both prefer and could use consistently.
Tenant communication can be a challenging aspect of owning rental properties in Cedar Park. But Real Property Management Longhorn can help! We can do the heavy lifting for you. We can contact tenants on your behalf knowing that your tenants can rely on our expertise so you can free up your schedule and get that good night’s sleep. For more information, contact us online or call us at 512-580-3099.
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.
