Owning and managing a property isn’t a very easy task, especially if you have other businesses to handle. But owning a rental is a great way to get started in real estate investing. It requires hands-on management, tenant screening and more. This is where property management comes in. Property owners seek the services of property managers to help with the overall management. Property management has a broad range, it involves handling the physical property, finding tenants for the owner, and taking care of the tenants during their stay on the property. In this business, the essential aspect is the tenants, without them, you’ll be out of business. This means you need to develop a healthy relationship with the tenants. This begs the question, as a property manager, how can you improve your tenant relationships? This article will address this concern for you, so follow through to the end for valuable insight.
To start off, consider the following tips to enhance and nurture tenant relationships:
Document Your Agreements
In property management, a lot of documentation is done with the tenants. This is before the client moves in, during the tenant’s stay in your apartment, and after leaving.
As the client moves in, there’s a lease agreement that they should sign. This agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of each party. Before the tenant signs this document, ensure they read it and don’t blindly sign it.
There are announcements you might need to communicate with the tenants during their stay. Have them in writing and file them for future reference. It’s also best to clearly outline dates and timelines to communicate to your clients effectively.
Documenting all your agreements and announcements prevents the rise of future conflicts, where a tenant might claim they didn’t see a clause in any of the documents. Besides safeguarding yourself, you’ll avoid conflicts that might negatively affect your tenant relationships.
Practice Proper Communication
As a My Dream Realty property manager, you deal with many clients with different personalities, this makes communication skills an important element to have. It’s best to know how to deal with your tenants to prevent stepping on their toes, leading to conflicts. However, you might find it challenging to keep up with each client. Therefore, it’s best to adopt proper communication to cater to all their needs.
One, it’d help to be friendly yet professional. Being friendly means smiling, not using vulgar language, or being dismissive. It also means learning to control your emotions even when you’re angry. Being in control of your emotions prevents situations where you might act irrationally, this may drive away your tenants, which isn’t good for business.
On the other hand, professionalism is also key. It’ll prevent situations where some clients take advantage of your leniency that might jeopardize your business. Some might fail to pay their rent in time just because you’re friends. It’ll be easy for them to manipulate you just because you let your guards down to be too friendly to your tenants. Keep in mind to always set boundaries in dealing with them.
Offer Timely Communication
Most tenants don’t want their peace and comfort disturbed by interruptions. With many properties, issues might arise that warrant a disruption of services. Interruptions might be due to maintenance and repairs that lead to power and water outages, among other services. No tenant desires to wake up without water, or a shortage that can last for several days or a week.
Due to this inconvenience, as a property manager, you need to give prior communication to your clients before there’s a service disruption. Also, be detailed, including the period of the disruption, where the tenants can get alternative services in the meantime, and the like. If you’re unaware of the time frame, inform your clients of the same for them to be prepared psychologically. Your tenants will plan themselves accordingly with prior communication and won’t be caught off guard.
Respect The Privacy Of Your Tenants
Yes, you own the property, but it doesn’t mean you can violate your tenants’ privacy. How do you ensure that you respect the privacy of your tenants?
If you’re installing surveillance cameras for security on your property, ensure to place them in areas that don’t capture your clients. Have them outside and angled away from the houses. Also, in no case should these cameras be inside the apartments.
The other privacy aspect is refraining from walking into and out of your tenants’ apartments as you wish. If you need to carry out maintenance, inform the client in advance and seek permission. However, it’s good to note that they don’t have to grant this consent, and if they don’t, it’s best to respect their decision.
Privacy also extends to the time you go to their houses; it shouldn’t be too early or too late. Always visit during appropriate hours of the day.
By doing this, your tenants will feel respected, which will foster a good relationship with them.
Listening To Needs
Property management is mainly about offering services to your tenants in different aspects that extend beyond giving them a comfortable home. In the course of tenants living in your apartment, they’re likely to encounter challenges, this is where you come in as a property manager.
Consider addressing any issue a tenant brings to you promptly. If a service, such as plumbing, isn’t functioning properly, inspect it and have it repaired immediately to avoid the recurrence of the issue.
Your tenants need to know that they can rely on you for their needs, that said, you should be actively maintaining the property. Don’t wait for an issue to arise for you to take care of things. By practicing routine maintenance, everything will be in top-notch condition, reducing tenant complaints.
To take things a step further, you might also consider renovations to keep your tenant happy, perhaps a budget bathroom remodel or something similar.
Solve Issues Amicably
Even after putting measures in place to ensure you serve your tenants appropriately, disputes are bound to happen one way or another. How you address these issues will show the type of relationship you’ll have with your tenants.
As a property manager, you’re in business, therefore, you need to have a clear head no matter your situation. As previously stated, whether the tenant is in the wrong or not, it’s best to control your emotions. For example, if your tenant needs resident pest control, it’s best to just handle the issue rather than forcing the issue upon them.
Consider letting all parties calm down before trying to solve any issue you have. If possible, seek assistance from a neutral third party. This is much better than turning to violence. By being violent, you might scare away other tenants on your property, making you lose clients, thus affecting the reputation of the property business.
Conclusion
From this article, it’s evident that improving your tenant relationships isn’t that hard. Basically, you just need to prioritize your tenant’s condition all the time. On the other hand, if you’re looking to get cash for your house, then you won’t need to worry about tenant relationships. This article has discussed tips you can easily apply to the daily operations of your property. Consider implementing them, and you’ll have a lasting and healthy relationship with all your tenants.
