When you’re renting out your Bonita, Chula Vista or South Bay investment property, you’ll need to communicate with a number of different audiences. Most important will be your tenant communication. Tenants will need a way to reach you at all times in case something happens at the property. You’ll also need to communicate with vendors and contractors and other people who work with you to lease and maintain your rental home.
If you’re working with a Chula Vista property management company, you can leave most of the communication to those professionals. Managing on your own requires you to communicate openly and transparently at all times. Today, we’re providing tips on how to do that more effectively.
Maintain Accessibility and Availability
Landlords never love being interrupted late at night or over the weekend with repairs that are needed at their investment property. It’s frustrating to have your dinner interrupted because your tenants have locked themselves out of the house. However, you need to be accessible and available to your tenants and your property at all times. This means you’ll need to share your cell phone number, your email address, and any other contact information that you have with your tenants. If you’re going out of town and you know you’ll have a hard time answering your phone or responding to questions, make sure your tenants have the name and number of someone you trust.
You also need to be prepared to communicate in ways that work best for your tenant. Some tenants will want to call you on the phone and others will want to send a text. Some tenants might prefer in-person conversations. It’s important that you’re willing to be available in ways that they communicate.
Respond Immediately to Maintenance Concerns
Communication is especially critical during maintenance emergencies. If the water heater bursts in the middle of the night or a storm blows a tree through a window, your tenants will need to get a hold of you right away. Even with routine maintenance, you want to respond with a sense of urgency. This will help you preserve the condition of your home, and your quick response times and open communication will show tenants that you care about them. That’s going to keep good tenants in place longer. The main things that will cause you to lose tenants are poor communication and a delayed response to maintenance and repairs.
Take Advantage of Online Portals
Professional property management companies utilize special software that makes communication efficient and easy. With online portals, tenants can pay rent online, make maintenance requests, sign leases and other documents, and send messages to their property manager. While it might be difficult for you to offer an online tenant portal on your own, you can utilize technology as much as possible to communicate with your tenants. Most renters are comfortable with online rental payments, and they’ll appreciate being able to send you messages and make requests at any time of the day or night. This also helps you to document your tenant’s requests, questions, and complaints.
We’d be happy to tell you more about how great communication can help you with your rental property. For more information on Bonita, South Bay or Chula Vista property management, contact us at Encore Realty.
