Effective tenant communication is, indeed, the cornerstone of owning successful rental properties in Macungie. Nevertheless, for most investors, effective communication is a skill that takes time and effort to develop. The good news is that you can learn this ability and that many experts in the industry could provide you with guidance. Communicating with a tenant may be a unique challenge, that is why it is important to understand the specific elements that could surely help improve your ability.
Communicating effectively with your tenants starts with the very first interaction – often a screening phone call. Whenever prospective tenants call about a property, it is essential to describe your screening criteria in a clear but friendly way. This would help you to not just get a sense of who your potential tenant might be but even start to establish expectations regarding the landlord-tenant relationship.
Whenever a tenant has done and made it through the screening process, another key aspect of effective communication is reexamining the lease documents. Your lease documents are more than just a legal contract. They must, moreover, outline the responsibilities for both you and your tenants, including things like landscaping maintenance, parking, and pets, to mention a few. Your lease should also detail how you will handle future communication. It’s a great idea to start early and encourage your tenant to communicate with you regularly. This is something that’s made extra easier with software, apps, and online tenant portals. Through ensuring that your tenant clearly understands the lease documents and providing them a chance to ask questions, you greatly encourage them to take their responsibilities so much more seriously.
Effective tenant communication doesn’t end when your tenant moves in, however. To keep the lines of communication open, you need to establish a set of guidelines for how and when regular communication will take place. For instance, your lease must endow specific information with regards to how much notice you will provide tenants with before entering the property or performing routine maintenance. Occasionally, this timeframe is specified in state or local landlord laws, though you can likewise increase the timetable as a show of goodwill. Several experts suggest providing one week’s advance notice before routine maintenance would be fulfilled and delivering that notice in more than one format (a phone call and an email, as for example).
In the case of an emergency, effective communication takes on a new urgency. As a property owner, it is critical to ensure that your tenants can contact you in the event of a serious problem with the property. It is, as well, necessary that your response is both prompt and proactive. You have to address emergency repair requests as soon as possible, but no later than a few hours once the tenant contacts you. It is additionally vital to communicate more often with a tenant in an emergency, sending updates of when and how repairs will be made and any actions the tenant should take. By keeping the lines of communication open, you can support your tenants to trust you and share better information relating to the condition of the property throughout their tenancy.
Finally, don’t forget to practice the golden rule in your relations with your tenants. Treating them with the same respect and courtesy that you expect from others can go a long way toward building good tenant relations and cultivating a culture of effective communication. By all means, hiring a trustworthy Macungie property manager is also a great way to ensure clear and effective communication with all your tenants. Contact us online or at 484-544-3351 today to learn more.
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.