Thursday, October 20, 2016

Love, Kindness & Gratitude: Setting the Tone in Property Management





Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."  I John 4:7-8

Man, it’s nice when people are nice.

 

We have a tenant, Monica, who just goes out of her way to be easy to work with.  If we need her to do something for us, she does it.  There is no complaining, back biting, or procrastination.  Communication with her is a joy.  And she is soooo nice and gracious.  When we perform repairs (aka our job), she is so gracious and thankful.  Her rent is always on time.  She and her family go out of their way to perform maintenance to the house.  And at the end of her positive and funny e-mails, she always includes the Bible verse above.

 

We have another client, Mike, who goes out of his way to compliment us for working on his home; once again, for just doing our job.  Small things don’t escape his notice.  His level of graciousness is astounding.  Truthfully, we should be thanking Mike much more than he thanks us.  We made a good amount of money working for Mike: we helped him buy houses, repair them, manage them, and finally, sell them.  These are all things we collect fees for.  But he would let us know how much he appreciated our efforts, even if the work was imperfect at times.

 

I think back to how our relationships started.  It would be easy to say that they were “good folks” and that they get along with everyone (they probably do!).  But why? 

 

They set a positive tone with us early.  Early conversations were easy, paperwork was complete and accurate, and meetings were punctual.  They were easy going about details as we got to know each other.  They got the things they needed from us, but their requests were made in a graceful and kind manner. 

 

Property management can be a difficult business.  At the face of it, a property manager is the middle man between two parties with divergent interests, the owners and tenants.  Both would prefer that the other party pay for anything that breaks.  The owners want the rules of the lease followed precisely to protect their investments, while the tenants want to use the house as they see fit.   The property manager is hired by owners and is tasked with protecting their investments, but can’t get it done well without tenant involvement and buy-in.  It’s a balancing act that produces many colorful (and costly) stories of when the relationship breaks down.

 

But Monica and Mike also show that it can be a rewarding business with warm relationships. 

 

As the property manager, our job is to always set the tone early with kindness, love, and gratitude.  The tenants need to feel this from us, their point of contact, from the moment of their first inquiry.  Even if we wind up having to reject a tenant application, we can do it kindly.  But if we wait for the clients to set the tone, it might not happen.  And it needs to.

 

So set the tone early!  This will allow landlords to reap the benefits of a mutually fulfilling partnership and make property management a joy.

 

Thank you to our clients (Monica, Mike & many others) who make coming to work a pleasure.

 

Happy Landlording!

 

Brett Furniss is a property manager at BDF Realty (Charlotte Residential Property Management), the trusted real estate advisor for Charlotte landlords & Home of $100 Flat Fee Property Management.   BDF Realty utilizes their innovative Pod System for exceptional customer service in residential property management, home repairs, and home sales for single-family homes, Uptown condos, and town homes in the Charlotte-Metro Area.  Contact Us Today!