3 Ways A Real Estate Answering Service Supports Property Managers

Why Does my Brokerage Need a Real Estate Answering Service?

Property management can keep you hopping, from viewing potential new client properties to taking care of maintenance problems late into the night.

The commitment of property managers is commendable. But who helps the helpers? A real estate answering service can play a supporting role in your business.

Property Management Support 24 Hours a Day

The problem with property management is that it’s a 24-hour a day job, but most in-house employees work eight hour shifts. Maintenance and gardeners can come and go as necessary, but telephone operators have to be manning the phones at all times, just in case someone calls.

An answering service solves this problem in a jiffy, by giving you access to an entire team of customer service representatives, any time you need them.

They can perform a variety of functions, including:

  • Customer service. When your tenants call with the same types of problems over and over, it can really bog you down. After all, installing a furnace filter or changing a light bulb is a basic process that anyone could walk them through. Your answering service team is there to help with these sorts of calls.Just arm them with the instructions they need to give callers and helping with common questions becomes a job you can outsource. In many areas, your real estate answering service can also answer questions about available units, freeing you up to meet with tenants and property owners.
  • Emergency call routing. Nighttime calls can be the worst, especially if the caller isn’t actually having an emergency. Instead of being on edge all night waiting to see if you’ll hear from your tenants, your virtual receptionist can handle any problems that arise. If you let them know who to route the most important nighttime calls to, they can even contact your handyman or other service professionals on your behalf.For calls that aren’t as pressing as they first seemed, the operator at your answering service will help reassure the caller and take a detailed message so you’ll know exactly how to help during normal business hours.
  • Appointment scheduling. Managing real estate means showing lots of units to potential renters and taking lots of applications. It can get pretty crazy in your office, but your real estate answering service has a system and process for taming it. Using software that’s compatible with the digital calendar you already use, callers are scheduled in real time so you never have to worry that you’ll be double booked.Taking advantage of more efficient appointment setting processes means your appointments are better organized and you don’t have to take time away from other things in order to schedule visits with future tenants.

Property managers may discover that real estate answering services aren’t just great support, they’re also a great value. Since you don’t have to pay to train, house or provide benefits for your outsourced team, they’re already less expensive than in-house staff. When you consider that your answering service only charges you for the calls they take, it can amount to significant savings for better support.

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