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You are in charge now. You call yourself “the boss.” You are the landlord. Your first order of business is what? You must collect information from your tenants, as you will need to be able to contact them at some point.

The first and most important thing to remember is that you must smile. Always, always smile.

Worry not, for collecting information from tenants is quick and easy, usually. You are in charge, and you must remember this. Do not forget that you are the boss. That being said, don’t be a jerk either. Be firm, fair, and friendly. Do not forget these three Fs.

Fill your voice with confidence and stand up straight. If you lack either of these qualities, you will be stamped upon in the landlording business. Tenants will take advantage of you and treat you with no respect if they see that you are a coward. If you are a coward, then fake it.

Your tenants will like and respect you if you appear to know what you are doing. Having everything under control, or at least, appearing to have everything under control, is one of your most valuable assets. Also, remember to smile!

When you go to ask them for their information, it is easy. Just ask them. There is nothing more to it. Occasionally, you will get a suspicious tenant, who thinks you have some elaborate plan which you just need his information to accomplish. Explain gently the reasons why you need his information to him, and you should get it without problem.

You can ask them if they would like to be told about a creep outside their window or a fire when asking for their cell phone numbers or work numbers.

Tell them that you need their social security numbers so that you can tell the credit agencies about their on-time payments. This helps you, too, because you will wan to check their credit. You must check their reliability. Be sure to smile, too.

If you encounter any resistance, let them know that it is for their own benefit. If they do not want to give out their phone numbers for fear of receiving harassing or telemarketing phone calls, assure them that you will take every precaution you can to keep their number from getting out. And, be sure to smile.

Some things in this world are just not worth a fight. If your tenant will not give you his or her information, then stop trying. This is not a time when you want to be pushy.

Instead, ask the previous landlord, check with the city, etc. It is better to find your information from elsewhere, and this should not be a difficult task.

After you have their information, be sure you store it in a safe place. That was easy, right?

Cody Scholberg, an expert on property management, has articles at Commercial Property Management Guide, an excellent source of landlording information. Check out this checklist for commercial property management.