Text, Phone, or Email – How Should You Contact Tenants?

Establishing good communication lines with your tenants is key to ensure success as a Charleston rental property owner. But how will you know if it’s the best method of communication? It is now very easy for landlords to keep in touch with their tenants thru text, email, and calls. But which is the best option? You have to answer this question since there is more to keeping your tenants comfortable and staying informed. There are financial and legal implications for this.

Texting

Many tenants and property owners love the ease and convenience of texting. If you just want to touch base, texting is a perfect way to keep your lines of communication open with your tenant. Some messaging platforms offer services beyond the text. Tenants can send photos to help you schedule repairs. This is very convenient for both parties.

But there are disadvantages to texting. It’s the question of how to track and save your conversations. As a property owner, it is important for you to keep a record of your conversations with your tenant. This will be valuable when there are disagreements or legal issues that could arise. This means that not a single message should be deleted the moment you start texting.

On top of saving messages, some tenants may lack basic etiquette and text you anytime they please. If you use a personal or business cellphone, some tenants would expect you to reply to them right away to a text they sent even beyond office hours. Consider these things first before you decide on texting as a way to communicate with your tenants.

Phone Calls

Calling tenants over the phone gives a more personal touch. It is always best to hear a human voice and having a verbal conversation in real-time. By talking to your tenants over the phone, you strongly establish a good working relationship with them and you can communicate your concerns properly. Your tenants will appreciate this and will most likely stay in your rental longer.

Just like texting, when you use your phone to call tenants, it would be difficult to document your conversations. Now when disputes regarding liability issues or sensitive information rear their ugly head, it is all the more important that you have a record of your conversation. It would be quite stressful for you to be always ready to answer phone calls from your tenants. On the other hand, when tenants find themselves constantly relegated to their landlord’s voicemail, they might not call you anymore, thus rendering this communication option useless.

Email

Email offers a compromise between texting and phone calls. It is a relatively convenient method of communication, as most people use and are comfortable with email. One of the advantages of using email is that you will no longer have problems with documentation as conversations with your tenants are all saved. Email lets you think thoroughly and write a better response to your tenant’s question or complaint. With email, you can send documents and other attachments and these are all date-and-time stamped. All are essential for this purpose.

But on the flipside, email is not as convenient or fast as texting, and tenants do not prefer writing through email. When people do not use an email that much, you do not get a timely response since your message just sits in their inboxes. Another thing is that the nature of email is not very personal so a warm and friendly tone is not easy to achieve.

Regardless of the method you use, your correspondence with your tenant must be frequent, friendly, secure, and properly documented. Lastly, sit down with your tenants and agree on which communication method is best for both of you.

Tenant communication can be a challenging aspect of owning rental properties in Charleston. But Real Property Management Distinguished Care can help! Leave the hassle to us. We can contact your tenants so you can free up your schedule and you can relax and get a good night’s sleep. For more information, contact us online or call us at 828-342-9683.