What’s Your Email?
Don’t worry this is rhetorical, but important and relates to your privacy.
You see, email can be a great way to stay in contact with tenants, send them updates and to get updates from them, but you really need to make sure the email address you use as a landlord is different than your normal email. For privacy reasons!
Be a Mystery And Protect Your Privacy
I’m probably a poor example of part of this, which I’ll explain in a moment, but here is what you need to know. Ideally you don’t want tenants to know where you live and to know as little of your personal life as possible. In fact, many sophisticated landlords don’t even tell the tenants they are the owners, they just tell them they manage it for the owners.
It moves you one step back, lets you still call the shots, it stops you from being the bad guy/girl if there is an issue or a rent increase. It’s “the owner” who is calling the shots, you’re just the manager, all while you protect your privacy a bit!
This brings me back to the email. If you advertise on some online platforms, they are nice enough to allow visitors to see your other ads as well. This is all tracked by the email address you sign up with, so if you use the same email for personal items and rental properties, tenants can potentially find out way to much about you.
I recently ran into this with a new landlord I was coaching. I checked out their ad and then followed their other ads to find out all the other items they were selling. This could lead to tenants getting your home phone number, your home address and basically just knowing too much about you.
As I mentioned, I’m not much of a mystery and as such I am a poor example of this in action. If you were to search my name you find thousands of references to me (I think they are all good!), but it’s because I am very active online, have multiple websites and hundreds of posts and articles online.
In this case, do as I say, please don’t do as I do!
Let’s Talk Facebook Privacy
Please please please don’t friend tenants on Facebook or any other Social Networks, there is simply to much opportunity for them to learn too much about you.