Nowadays technology has made communicating with people a cinch. Contacting friends, family, employees, and even customers has never been easier. And the same holds true for your Rockville tenants.
With so many different ways of communicating with your tenants, issues can be resolved quickly and effortlessly. Utilizing the different methods of communication, you can achieve an active connection with your tenants making them feel important and cared for. Plus, it allows you to stay proactive when it comes to your Rockville rental property.
Today we will look at the most common ways you can communicate with your tenants so you can see which method best suits both you and your tenants’ needs.
1. Snail Mail
Although this method has largely been abandoned, it still serves a purpose in the management of your rental property. This is true whether you manage your own property or enlist the help of your favorite Montgomery County property management company.
Sending your tenants correspondence regarding important things such as their lease agreements, inspection dates, and rent payment related information is best done using mail. You should send each letter via first class certified mail to ensure that you can prove you at least attempted to contact your tenant.
It is well-known that in a court of law, the party that proves the attempt to contact usually has the upper hand.
- Hard copies of important documents will allow tenants to have their own personal and original copy.
- If you receive the certified mail portion signed, you have physical proof your tenant received the letter.
- If your letter is returned due to non-arrival and should a court case arise, you have proof that you attempted to contact your tenant that the judge can examine.
- This method also works for those that are not comfortable relying on electronic communication.
In the end, using regular mail is the best solution for providing your tenant with any time-sensitive or essential correspondence. Making it more difficult to ignore than electronic correspondence, hard copy documents mailed to your tenants are less likely to be lost or ignored and will protect you in the case of a landlord-tenant dispute later down the road.
2. Electronic Communication
There are several ways you can communicate with your Montgomery County tenants that fall under the “electronic communication” category. For instance you could keep an updated website with information regarding your properties. This is especially helpful when your properties are managed by a property management company.
The one drawback to this option, however, is the fact that you would then be relying on your tenants to access the website regularly to receive updated information. If your tenants do not make an effort to seek out the updated information, you run the risk of many tenants claiming they simply did not know something important was going to take place.
Also falling under the category of electronic communication is email. While this offers a much more active way of communicating with your tenants, it still has its downfalls. Sending out emails and newsletters to your tenants is a good way to ensure that they will see it in their inbox.
Rather than having to seek out information, as with the website updates, you bring the information to your tenants. However, there is no guarantee they will open and read your emails or that they won’t end up in a spam folder. In addition, there is a lot more work to be done on your part that you must be prepared for: updating email lists, dealing with distribution and bounce-back emails, and the actual drafting of the correspondence.
Though electronic communication does offer a relatively easy and quick way of communicating with your tenants, this option should typically be used for more casual updates that will not affect your rental property or tenants in any major way.
3. Texting
With over 90% of all Americans having a mobile phone, chances are high that texting will be an effective way for you to communicate with your tenants. As the most active method of reaching your tenants on an individual basis, and in real-time, texting has many benefits.
- They will receive the message. There is little chance your tenant will not receive the message. More so, they will open it and read it relatively quickly. Studies have shown that those receiving text messages rarely erase texts before opening and reading them. Plus, there is no spam box for them to get lost in.
- Texts are universal. Even without a smartphone, your tenants can receive text messages. And remember, without a smartphone, your tenants will not be able to access an email you send them without the use of a computer. This makes texting a more accessible method for those without smart phones.
- A response is likely. As one of the most convenient ways of communicating with anyone these days, it is likely you will receive some sort of response from your tenant should you text them. In fact, your tenants are more likely to respond to your text message than even your email correspondence.
- It sets you apart from competition. Tenants are often interested in leasing from those that have high customer service standards. Text messaging is not only convenient, it is personal. This means that you will be setting yourself apart from the other landlords that rely on snail mail or some other form of electronic communication.
There are many benefits to texting your tenants. As texting grows in popularity amongst tenants, landlords, and property management companies, it is important you take this method of communication seriously as an option for communicating with your tenants. However, there are some important things to consider:
- Make sure you have your tenant’s permission to text them.
- Put this permission in writing. For instance, add it to the lease agreement as an agreed upon method of communication.
- Limit the text correspondence to things such as repair updates, rent due dates, or seasonal maintenance reminders.
- Dictate which kind of information your tenant can text you with.
- Do not send too many text messages. You do not want to annoy your tenants.
While some courts are starting to recognize text messages as a legal form of correspondence, it is still a good idea to leave important things, such as rent increases and changes to the lease term, to hard copies sent in the mail.
Final Thoughts
Communicating with your Rockville tenant is a must, regardless of whether you manage your own properties or have the help of Maryland’s premier property management company, Bay Property Management Group.
It is important that you discuss with each tenant which method of communication he or she prefers at the start of their lease term. This will prevent any annoyances later on and ensure that your tenants receive the information they need in the method they are most comfortable with.
If you are looking for a high quality property management company to help you keep in touch with your Montgomery County tenants, consider contacting Bay Property Management Group. Finding the best method to contact your tenants is their job. This means you don’t have to worry about contacting your tenants about difficult things such as rent increases, or even minor things as the spring maintenance cleaning. Your peace of mind is the goal of Bay Property Management Group. So, call them today and see how they can help you stay connected with your tenants in the most effective way.