How Google Voice Can Help Landlords
Nathan's post helped me out a lot and now I am taking the time with my Property Manager to figure this out as well. Thanks Nathan and this is a good post for all to read my assistant says we can use this in other aspects of our business as well.
I wrote about Google Voice a while back and provided a detailed review of google voice right after it was released to the public. Time really does fly, as I'm shocked to see that was 3 years ago back in 2009. Since that time, Google Voice has become a valuable part of mine and many of our client's process.
Here's a complication of great reasons landlords and property managers are using google voice:
- It's free! This goes without saying, you can't get much good stuff for free these days; however, google voice continues to be an exception. You get a free phone number, free online storage, free voicemail, free texts (sms), and free transcription.
- Documentation. More than ever, tenants are communicating with landlords via text message. Most phones do not permanently store text messages, and even those that do stand to risk being lost and that documentation goes away forever. If you use google voice for your tenant communications, those text messages are stored forever. Read more on how documentation is a property managers best friend.
- Privacy. Many landlords do not want their tenants having their home phone or cell phone numbers. With google voice, you can provide this number and re-direct it to any phone of your choosing, to ring at your choosing. Don't want to receive calls from 9pm - 6am, no problem.
- Multiple destinations. With google voice you can configure roll-over so if you (or your employee) is not available at one number it tries another, which could even be another person. This is a fully automatic, and free, way to gain the capabilities of an expensive phone system.
- Did I mention documentation? Having a permanent record of voicemails and text messages is critical in todays litigious environment. Save everything, and google voice makes it really easy for voicemail and text messages.
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Nathan is a member of Rentec Direct who provides property management software, tenant ach payment processing, and tenant screening for property managers and landlords nationwide.
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