It is no exaggeration to say that one of the most important pieces of owning and managing worthwhile Hayward rental properties is creating good business relationships with others. As a rental property investor, you need a reliable network of market professionals to help you find and lease your properties and keep them profitable for as long as you own them. And as a landlord, you need to have a good reputation for attracting quality tenants.
With so many of our social lives happening online these days, protecting your online reputation has become essential to owning successful rental homes. Next to your tenants, your reputation is one of your most valuable assets. But knowing how to manage and protect your reputation online can be a challenge. Instead of letting fate decide, it’s important to ensure that your online reputation suggests the trustworthy, reliable landlord you are in real life.
Start with a Website
One of the best places to start cultivating a good online reputation is with a website. You absolutely should have one if you don’t already! Your website should look professional and be user-friendly. As prospective tenants search for new rental homes, they will probably try to look you up online. By creating a website, you can increase your chances that the information they see about you online is a fair representation of who you are as a professional.
For best results, include helpful information, frequently asked questions, and contact information on your website to make certain that you come across as helpful, knowledgeable, and accessible – all traits tenants look for in a Hayward property manager.
Embrace Technology
As a website is a fantastic starting point, it’s also crucial to create and manage social media presence and harness digital technology’s power. Utilizing technology effectively is essential to business in the 21st century and owning and managing rental properties is no different.
Social media accounts on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook can not only help you market your properties to a much wider audience, but it can be another opportunity to connect with people positively. You can see and respond to what is being said about you online, making it easier to manage your online reputation. Your profits and ability to lease your properties will suffer if you neglect to address a minor issue before it damages your online reputation.
You can and should also use digital technology to help you market, show, lease, and manage your properties. Today’s renters, especially those in younger demographics, are familiar with the conveniences that modern technology has to offer. Virtual tours, digital documents, online applications, rent payments, and much more can appeal to these renters and make your life easier.
Encourage and Respond to Reviews
Suppose you’ve put a lot of effort into forming positive relationships with your tenants. In that case, you can leverage that success to help protect your online reputation by asking them to write a review. Positive comments on social media are always a clever idea, but you could also have them leave a review on Google, Yelp, or other business-oriented review platforms.
At first, it may feel awkward to ask for feedback, but a good review or even some fair critiques of your tenants’ experience can help you manage your online reputation and be a better landlord too. Be sure to respond to all reviews in a positive way for an even bigger reputation boost.
Offer Quality Services
On behalf of yourself as a trustworthy, reliable landlord online is important. But it is equally important to ensure that you are living up to that standard in your daily interactions with tenants. In most cases, becoming a respected landlord in your market means going beyond the basics. For example, the top landlords typically offer quality services that many others don’t. These include cultivating open communication channels with your tenants and responding promptly and professionally to all complaints and maintenance requests.
Be respectful of your tenant and their time, and follow the terms of your lease carefully. You should also make sure your tenants have a way to reach you and offer conveniences like online rent payment if possible. When your tenants learn that you are fair and reliable, they will be more likely to share that opinion with others and, ultimately, help you manage your online reputation.
Of course, cultivating a good online reputation can take time and effort. Why not hire one of the most respected Hayward property management companies instead? At Real Property Management Masters, we consistently earn top reviews from tenants and property owners. That reputation helps us help investors like you to keep your rental properties profitable year after year. To learn more about what we have to offer, contact us online.
Originally Published on August 27, 2021