Remember to be professional

As a real estate investor, I feel as though I need to present a professional image.  One way to do that is through written communications.  I need to communicate with tenants, my real estate agent(s), potential sellers, etc.  Much communication is through written form.

Even while texting, or emailing, I try to be professional in my tone and language.  It makes me cringe when people write "to" when they mean "too" such as in "to much damage".

A professional tone means substituting words like "got" for "received".  As in, "I received your recent rent payment" instead of "I got your rent check".

This may seem like a small trivial thing, but I feel it benefits me on several fronts:

With Tenants

My tenants like to text.  I have sent text messages to and from all of them.  Texting is just a normal part of society, as well as a fast means of communication. However, to keep things professional, I keep a professional tone because I don't want my language to slip down to the level on which they text with their friends.  They might still text to me "when u want to come over?" when asking for a scheduled visit but I will respectively text back "I would like to visit on Saturday at 1:00 pm. Will that work for you?" with proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

With Real Estate Agents

With agents, I send emails versus sending texts.  In my emails I make sure to use paragraphs as appropriate and use the spell check to make sure I'm communicating clearly.

With Contractors

I do text contractors as well as email.  Having communications in writing, instead of verbally, can help eliminate confusion or mis-remembering something someone said.

In short, I feel that in order for people to take you seriously, you need to practice good communication.  Perhaps I go overboard for some people's standards, but I would rather be perceived as "too professional" rather than too casual.