As a landlord, you may come across as intimidating or unapproachable. People often couple fear with what they don’t understand, so here are some tips to better connect with your tenants.
Establish Personality
Don’t let your residents live in fear of your authority. Enforce the rules, but be personable by doing the following:
- Publishing a monthly newsletter to keep tenants updated
- Hosting social events (e.g., potlucks, open mics)
- Introducing a forum where tenants may voice concerns
- Greeting tenants often, by name if possible
- Arriving at your office 10-15 minutes early
Essentially, present yourself as a friendly, helpful neighbor. Your residents will respect you all the more.
Complete a Welcome Packet
If you’re dealing with first-time or out-of-state movers, they’re probably flustered by the time you hand them their keys. Put together a welcome packet to help ease their transition and include
- local attractions, restaurants, and bars
- gyms, schools, and neighborhood statistics
- nearby parks and recreation opportunities
- a list of businesses currently hiring
Help your clients transition into their new homes as smoothly as possible. If they relax quickly, they will make fewer rookie mistakes—and you, by extension, will need to make fewer corrections to their behavior.
Cultivate Flexibility
Deadlines are nice because of their calendar uniformity, but having a grace period will take some of the pressure off your high-stress clients. Rather than requiring rent on one particular day (or weekend), arrange a week’s worth or so of flexibility.
Renting can be difficult for some adults because, even though they are living under a roof that contractually belongs to them, they still have to play by someone else’s rules. Understanding this psyche should help you connect with them; if you give them a few extra days to meet deadlines, they will relax tremendously, even if they don’t need the slack.
At Keyrenter Premier, we’re dedicated to helping you connect with your clientele in a manner conducive to ideal relationships. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a better landlord, give Keyrenter Premier a call today!
