Texting and Tenants

[John K.]

My business partner handles the day to day operations of our rental property business, and I have been finding it fascinating lately how much more responsive tenants are to texts than phone calls. Have any other landlords seen a big increase in texting tenants instead of phone calls? What has your outcome been?

[John Hauser]

I think the benefits of texting, like leaving a clear record of who said what, are really offset by the natural tendency to interpret texts and emails negatively, and how that affects landlord-tenant relationships. Testy exchanges or misinterpretations are much more likely in a texting exchange than one on the phone or in person. And a great many problems result when rapport and trust break down.

Great speech but my tenants all seem to like texting better so I have been caught in the wave and unable to swim against the tide.