A good relationship is impossible without good communication, and you want to be sure you have a good relationship in place with your property manager.
We have been working with a diverse clientele of owners, investors, and landlords for many years. We know that everyone has different communication needs. What we’ve learned is that communicating with you regularly is important. However, if you’re like most of the people we work with, you don’t want to be bothered frequently. You trust us to make the daily decisions when it comes to leasing, managing, and maintaining your investment.
Large decisions, of course, require your input, especially concerning maintenance and lease renewals. Communication becomes especially important during these events, and you’ll want to hear specific and well-thought out recommendations from your management company.
To effectively rent out an investment property in Charlotte, Matthews, Ballantyne, Kannapolis, or any of the surrounding communities, you need a management team that’s responsive. If you’re not able to easily get in touch with your property managers, there’s a good chance your tenants can’t reach them, either. That can be problematic, especially if maintenance is needed or questions are waiting to be answered.
We think it’s important to establish expectations early in our relationship. So, let’s talk about what you should expect when it comes to how your property management partner communicates with you.
Expect Communication around Your Investment Goals
What are your investment goals? This is where all communication should really start. Understanding what you are trying to accomplish and why you are trying to accomplish it is where our relationship starts for us as property managers. This question is where it should start for any property manager you decide to work with.
To effectively communicate, we need to ask questions. Especially if you’ve never worked with us before.
You’re working with a property management company because you want to improve the performance of your investment properties and you know we’re your best resource to achieve that. You’ll expect us to manage the leasing process, the rent collection, and the lease enforcement. You know we’ll handle the maintenance and the tenant relationships. But, our relationship should be about something more than all of that day-to-day work.
This requires communication, so we talk with our investors about these goals early and often. We’re talking with you about your investment goals and the best path forward in achieving them.
Setting Communication Expectations between Owners and Managers
There are two important questions that any property manager should ask you before you begin working together:
- How often do you wish to hear from us?
- How do you prefer to hear from us – by phone, by text, by email, or something else?
This is a critical conversation to have early in your relationship with any property manager. It gives the property management company time and parameters for setting expectations.
If you want to hear from us at 5:00 p.m. every day for a daily briefing, we’ll let you know that’s simply impossible. That’s why this conversation is so important – so you can be sure we’re able to meet your communication needs and so we can be sure your expectations match our own.
Look for a property management company that’s willing to personalize their services to what you need. If this is your first time renting out a home and you need more communication than other owners, that’s okay. The more we communicate transparently, the better we can serve you.
Investing in Property Management Technology for Better Communication
When it comes to communicating effectively, you should always expect innovative and sound technology from your property managers.
Your property management team should invest heavily in technology. Not only will this contribute to a more efficient and productive management process, it will also assist in better communication.
The right technology can help us communicate better with you and with your tenants. You and your tenants will have access to online portals. These platforms will help us communicate effectively and efficiently to both owners and tenants. It also keeps everything documented so you can access what you need when you need it.
Talk about Tenant Communication
Communication with you as the property owner is essential. Just as important, however, is tenant communication. Don’t forget to prioritize that when you’re exploring how a property manager communicates.
As your property managers, we will be your liaison to your tenants.
There’s no need for you to engage with renters about maintenance issues, renewals, problems, or conflicts with other tenants. Your management company is responsible for staying in touch with residents. We manage the entire relationship.
You should expect your property managers to communicate with tenants openly, transparently, and with accuracy. You want us to be responsive to the needs of your tenants, including their maintenance requests.
Tenant relationships can be tricky. There might be tenants who like to complain a lot. Some residents are needier than others. When it comes to tenant communication, however, the most important thing your property manager can do is listen. Often, tenants simply want to be heard. Make sure your management company is willing to listen.
Tips on Better Communication with Charlotte Property Managers
A good property manager will already have excellent communication practices in place. If you’d like to help keep the lines of communication open, consider these tips:
- Keep your contact information up to date so we can reach you when necessary.
- Check in with your online portal once in a while so you aren’t surprised by information we share with you.
- Talk to us about your investment goals. The market is always changing, and we want to help you leverage what you own and what you earn by responding to the shifts and trends.
We would love to talk with you more about how we communicate with owners like you. This is an important part of how we manage and maintain properties. Please contact us at Wess Cason Realty. We provide real estate and property management services in Charlotte and the surrounding areas in Mecklenburg, Union, and Cabarrus County.