Communicating with a Difficult Landlord/Property Manager

I have been renting for the last 3 years and I’ve had 4 different property managers within that time.  One of the most frustrating things about being a renter is feeling that you are paying thousands of dollars per month and not having basic things taken care of.  The following tips have helped me communicate with my property manager more effectively.

Ask Your Property Manager When Their Work Hours Are

Finding out your property manager’s work schedule is key when trying to figure out when is best to contact them.  My property manager would work normal business hours (8-5) but worked Tuesday – Saturday.  There was a part-time assistant in the office to answer calls on Mondays, but after many tries, I came to the realization to not call on Mondays because the assistant would never relay my message to the main property manager.  Choosing the right date/time you contact your property manager can positively or negatively affect the timeliness of their response.

Find Their Best Form of Communication

After a handful of emails/phone calls/meetings with your property  manager you usually have a good idea of how they handle different forms of communication.  Some people are quicker to respond to emails than to voicemails; I know I am usually one of those people because I dislike having a cluttered inbox!  You’re most likely to get the quickest answer if you visit their office in person or are able to get ahold of them on the phone because you have their full attention.

One issue with calling, however, is if someone does not answer.  When you leave a voicemail, you may be voicemail #10 on your property manager’s answering machine.  If you try calling back later and someone picks up, you’re more likely to get your question answered, even if you left the voicemail hours prior to your second call.  The similar situation can occur with emails; if you email your property manager on one of their days off, your email will probably be toward the end of their long list of emails when they come back into the office.

In my experience, it is important to note that if you are experiencing an issue or inquiring about something that is serious, and this is not the first time you have contacted your property manager about this, emails are great in addition to calling/meeting in person.  I am a firm believer of having things in writing so you can turn back to the information, if needed.

Have One Person as the Main Contact with Your Property Manager

It is important to only have one person in your household as the main contact for the property manager, as I believe this creates less confusion for both parties.  Sometimes if there are too many cooks in the kitchen, things can get complicated and all information is not communicated effectively.

As much as I love to control everything in my life (well, as much as I try!) my husband is usually the one that contacts our property manager.  My work hours are similar to that of our property manager so I was never able to meet with her in person.  Brian’s work schedule was more flexible, allowing him to be able to visit her at her office, as well as be home for any maintenance/inspections that were during the day.  It made no sense to plan these in-home visits if I wasn’t going to be the one attending.  Also, as much as I hate to admit it, the property manager and I did not connect well.  We realized that she was much more responsive to Brian’s emails and calls, most likely due to his nice, laid back approach to things, while I can be… overly assertive… at times. Heh.

If your property manager has an online maintenance system, definitely use it.  By doing this you are recording a date and a description of when an issue has occurred, which must be followed up by the property manager.

Sometimes it’s Just Best to Find a New Place

Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you pay your rent on time every month and are extremely complimentary to your property manager.  Many property managers – not all – are concerned about the cost of maintenance more than their tenant’s happiness and will not always be willing to meet your requests.  Living in the Bay Area, they know that someone else would move into our place without asking for even that much.  Likewise, there are plenty of other apartments and homes to choose from.