Four Communication Tips to Make You a More Successful Property Manager

From online correspondence with tenants and owners to in-person meetings with vendors and staff, streamlining communication will save you significant time and hassle as a property manager.

Use these four tips to support more effective communication for your property management business:

1) Embrace technology

The latest property management software suites can save you time on renewals, reporting, maintenance tracking and much more. When it comes to communication, a tenant portal gives your residents a quick and simple way to contact you, while tracking and documenting all of your correspondence for each exchange. Your renters will love the 24/7 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 prove as simple as whether you answer a call or it goes to voicemail. Some prospects may hang up and contact the next community rather than leave a message. By working with a professional property management contact center, you can start generating more leads while freeing your office staff to attend to other matters around the community 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 clarification, 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 a rental agreement 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 owners and vendor partners. Take the time to sit down with your owners and go over reports and discuss each tenant. Outline processes for maintenance and collecting rent online, and discuss any key items that you would like to address.

Vendor partners can help strengthen your reputation or damage it. Taking time to meet with your vendors – even on a quarterly basis – allows open discussion of things such as response times and process improvements.

4) Save time for your internal team

While tenants and owners represent your main priority, remember to maintain a consistent communications protocol with internal team members as well.

Weekly meetings, even ones shorter than 15 minutes, provide team members with opportunities to discuss any concerns. Additionally, weekly meetings offer the perfect venue to train team members on new processes or review relevant reports with the entire team present. Having an outlet for everyone to share what works and what needs improvement within the organization will only strengthen your business and your team.

Ultimately, no single communication strategy or platform will solve every problem you encounter as a property manager. However, by relying on a diverse set of complementary methods, your team and 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 Propertyware can help you streamline your business and succeed.