Landlording is about people, as well as the buildings they live in. If you’re a landlord, you probably spend much more time dealing with people than you do with the rental houses or apartment building you own. Successful leaders and managers of people have some common traits—and so do successful landlords.

The first is that they listen more than they talk. Your tenants want to be heard and understood. You can hear someone if you’re doing more talking than they are. The best tgift ou can give someone is to make them feel like they’re the only person in the world. You can do that by making eye contact and really focusing on your tenant and what they are saying. Indicate you’re listening and ask clarifying questions if they say something you do not understand. Repeat back to them what you just heard.

Successful landlords are strong and sometimes even stern. The word “no” is an important part of every landlord’s vocabulary. Making sure that all your tenants are treated fairly means saying “no” to certain requests. Being a pushover may make the current situation more tolerable, but it can lead to undermining your authority.

That doesn’t mean that successful landlords aren’t flexible. In fact, being willing to change a policy or admit you are wrong is vital to maintaining good relationships with your tenants. For example, more landlords are allowing pets than ever before; this helps fill vacancies and keeps animal-loving tenants happy.

Finally, successful landlords are some of the most patient people we know. This is no business for hotheads or those who are unwilling or unable to negotiate, renegotiate, and count to 10—or 100—several times every day. Watching what you say, taking a deep breath when a tenant is upset, and exercising patience in every situation will go a very long way to your success as a landlord. Remember, not everything is an emergency and, not every tenant is trying to get something over on you.

Listening, showing respect to people from all backgrounds, being patient and saying “no” are all common-sense attributes to successful rental property management.