Self managed landlords, do you give tenants your cell?

[Landon Rasmussen]

I'm in the process of closing on my first property. I plan to be self managed. It's a 3 unit that is currently fully occupied. All tenants are on month to month agreements which means that it's possible for me to need to start looking for new tenants at almost any point. 

My question is this: when searching for new tenants and posting your property without a real estate agent, do you use your personal cell as a point of contact or do you do something else? Do you have a separate cell phone? 

Same question applies to tenants you already have. How do they get a hold of you when they call? 

I'm not so sure I want to give out my personal cell number to everyone that applies or even to tenants I might end up with. How do you deal with this problem?

Thanks in advance everyone!

[Chris Ellis]

A great source for a free number is through Google Voice. Create or login to a gmail account. Open a new tab and go to https://google.com/voice and set up a free number to use. This can forward directly to your cell without having to give them your personal number.