The Art of Working with People and Finding the Right Tenants for Your Property: The Best Landlord Management Property Software

Even in a world where technology and brain power reign supreme, a smile and a great personality still play trump.

I learned something when I worked for about 2 ½ years at an Internet Marketing company. Actually I learned a lot of things. Some of them had to do with HTML code and some of them had to do with CSS (cascading style sheets). I learned a few things about marketing copy (I am a copywriter) and a few other tidbits that I found to be intellectually stimulating. However, I learned something else that I find to be…….well, more enriching than the rest.

When I became the managing copywriter for a team of web content specialists, it was my newfound responsibility to interview applicants for open positions. My boss (We’ll call him Daniel) offered to help me do the interviews. I was very nervous and at first Daniel did a lot of the work. After several interviews, I began to relax and enjoy the task. At the end of interviews, Daniel and I would discuss what we thought of the applicant’s "standing". Some of our thoughts would point towards "Yea" and some of our observations would point towards "Nay." Two of the main factors that Daniel would use when deciding whether to hire someone or not were 1) analyzing what the applicant’s future plans were and 2) deciding whether or not his or her particular personality would fit in well with our company. I was honestly surprised at how much the personality and "the nature" of the person made a difference in Daniel’s eyes. At first I thought that he was being somewhat superficial, but then as I began to notice the way that my growing writing team "melded" together so easily, I realized that Daniel was wise.

You might be wondering what this brief, personal anecdote has to do with landlord management property software. Well, in some odd way I started to realize that every landlord (i.e. personality) can be the best landlord management property software available. No, I am not saying that you should not invest in "real" (i.e. technical) landlord management property software, but I am saying that once you buy it you should invest a little time in your "human" side and in finding those tenants who have the personalities that will most likely fit the standards of your establishment. If you don’t want people who do drugs, or get drunk on the weekends then stand up for the personalities that you do want living in your area. Technical landlord management property software is one thing, but you too could be called human landlord management property software. I’ll show you why in the next paragraph.

Let’s Talk About Software

You are probably already aware that software is simply a set of technical instructions that "tells" the hardware of a computer what it should do. I like to think of people (i.e. you and your tenants) as the software and your business as the hardware. After all, you are the one who provides instruction for the operations that your business will "perform." . Here are 6 things¹ you can do to be the best landlord management property software:

1) Be a good person

This may seem ridiculous but I have never known the adage "what goes around comes around" to be a false one. As a landlord, make sure you treat your tenants fairly. Check rental prices in the area and offer a reasonable price for your apartments, town homes, etc. You will find that a good reputation goes a lot farther than the extra cash will.

2) Hold Your Ground

I know of a landlord who owned some apartments that were starting to run down. She didn’t want the caliber of people to wear down as well, so she buckled down and started to choose the tenants with only the highest of standards. She kept her rent rates low so that competition became fierce. She now has a waiting list that I hear is "years long."

3) Know Your Tenants Names

You don’t have to become your tenants’ best friend, but getting to know their names, what they do for a living and what their spouses and kids’ names are can really go a long way. Small gifts during the holidays or incentives for good tenant behavior will also affect how long your tenants will be willing to stay with you.

4) Respond Promptly to All Situations

When your tenants make a request for a repair or contact you with a simple question or problem, make sure that you respond quickly and with friendliness.

5) Be Organized

This is where the "real" landlord management property software comes in. If you are going to be a landlord you need to make sure that your record books are in tip-top shape. If you hire someone to take care of your accounting and records books, make sure that they have a record of careful bookkeeping skills and honest behavior.

6) Get Online

You will also want to help yourself and your tenants get online. You can do this with online property management software (same thing as the landlord management property software). Your tenants will love having the opportunity to pay their bills and make repair requests online.

Be the best landlord management property software you can be by not only becoming technologically aware but by becoming more aware of the personalities that willyou’re your business.

About the Author: Marci Crane is a web content specialist for 10x Marketing in Orem, Utah. For more information about landlord management property software or online property management software, please feel free to contact a Buildium representative.

¹Some of the ideas for the 6 "make yourself a better landlord tips were found by the author at this location: http://www.enrichr.com/how_to_become_their_best_landlord_ever