Dealing with Problem Tenants

It's important to show that you value your clients by referring to them as residents and not tenants. This can demonstrate that you see them as people and not just that person you expect a rent check from every month. If a resident feels valued, they will value your services. Remind them of all of the quality services you provide them and how you try to keep your residents' needs at heart. The will feel appreciated and will become more convinced of your efforts..

Always treat your property management as a business even if you are just a single person running the show. Use the term 'we' instead of 'I' as much as possible in your communications. Try to portray yourself as a much larger business than you actually are. Residents will take you more seriously and will not be keen to walking all over you.

Don't let your resident see you become too emotional about an issue. This is hard to do considering how much you have at stake in a property - from the mortgage payment, to the maintenance repairs, to the property taxes and so on. However, you have a professional image to uphold. This is key.

When dealing with a dissatisfied resident try not to make things personal by attacking them. Even if they have left you a message or written you an e-mail that is rude and unprofessional, make sure you take the higher ground. Remember that this is a business and that you have to stay professional. They are not your first or last resident and you will be left holding the bag at the end of the day with your shoddy business reputation. You will need to entice new clients to join your resident community in the future and negative word-of-mouth will hinder you. You must also keep into consideration the power of the internet - residents can easily write negative comments on blogs and other forums that will easily come up in a generic search engine result about you.

When replying to an e-mail or returning a phone call that is rude, always start off each point with "we are sorry to hear that you feel dissatisfied with...we value you as a resident and hope we can come to a resolution on this matter." Let them know that resident communication is important to you and that you would like to continue to have a positive relationship with them. Sometimes a resident may complain of unfair treatment, reassure them that you treat all of your residents equally and that they are receiving the same answer or service that any other resident would be given.

Do not try and avoid communicating with your resident. This is the worst road to take. A resident will just categorize you as another deadbeat landlord who does not care about them, the property, or how you conduct business. Even if you are going to say 'no', pick up the phone or write that e-mail and get it over with. Avoiding your residents will only worsen issues. Do not be scared of your residents - if it's their questions, maintenance requests or complaints. Figure out what your answer is going to be prior to conversing with them and stick to it. Do not let a resident sway you from an already calculated decision on the matter. Remind yourself that you are not able to please everyone and that it is alright to have to say 'no'.