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Tenant Text emerges as the go-to platform for landlord-tenant communications
A system called "Charlie," is the AI assistant at the heart of Tenant Text.
Three months ago, Rob Monday and Josh Wright joined forces to solve a problem they both encountered repeatedly in their property management careers: constant text messages from tenants.
Monday has an extensive career including corporate experience and time spent managing apartment complexes with hundreds of units, and Wright has experience managing multiple rental homes as well as apartment buildings spread across town. Together, they have faced a fair number of challenges communicating with residents as they manage the flood of requests and inquiries that come with the territory.
Both Monday and Wright grew up in Knoxville, and both fled the city to pursue career paths in larger metropolitan areas. Monday went to Atlanta and later Dallas to pursue commercial real estate and a corporate career; meanwhile, Wright spent six years in Washington D.C. selling hotels and managing contracts.
Despite the distance, the two stayed in touch as their careers followed parallel paths. However, it was not until they both moved back to Knoxville that the idea for Tenant Text came about.
“The idea came from a problem we both faced: struggling to serve a large number of tenants who are constantly texting us,” Wright explained. He mentioned that he had a set of pre-written responses in his phone’s notes app, yet still spent hours each week replying to messages, filing maintenance requests, and communicating with tenants.
Monday experienced something similar. He would have renters in Atlanta that spoke other languages, making it hard to communicate maintenance issues, unless a bi-lingual person was present.
So, the two wondered – how artificial intelligence (AI) could be a tool in property management, and more specifically how large language models (LLM) could create an experience with AI that felt very natural and human.
Monday began developing an AI assistant that could mitigate tenant inquiries, solve maintenance issues, and enhance the lives of both residents and property managers.
He calls the system “Charlie,” and it is the AI assistant at the heart of Tenant Text. Like Siri for iPhones or Alexa for Amazon Echo, Charlie is the contact person for Tenant Text.
“Charlie has ingested all written materials, property policies, FAQs, lease agreements, and manuals for fixing common problems at my properties,” Wright said. This allows the AI to address a surprising amount of questions and guide tenants through tasks like replacing an air filter or unclogging a sink, sometimes without even needing to involve a maintenance professional.
Of course, this is a benefit to the property manager, but it is also a benefit to the resident. They get responses to their questions typically within seconds, with informed and detailed answers. When a maintenance request is reported, Charlie is trained to ask the right questions upfront to get to the heart of the problem quickly, making the entire maintenance process more efficient. The end result is tenants get their problems fixed more quickly.
Charlie is also equipped to manage emergencies, such as identifying “Fire, Flood, and Blood” situations, and notifying the appropriate parties immediately. The AI can even cater to tenants in their preferred language, making it a versatile tool for property managers in diverse communities.
“This is such a big deal because it allows property managers to provide the same level of service to every resident,” Monday said.
To bring their idea to life, Monday and Wright connected with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) law department. They wanted to work through the legalities of launching a start-up, and one of the professors pointed them toward the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC).
Around the same time, The WORKS, a business accelerator for technology-based start-ups was accepting applications. Monday and Wright applied – and the rest is history!
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Since joining The WORKS, the start-up has rebranded from “Applied AI” to “Tenant Text,” a name that better reflects its target market. They have also begun rolling out Tenant Text’s Charlie assistant with Wright’s local properties, using them as a test bed for the product.
“It’s been a great way to test our product,” Monday said, adding that the support from KEC has been invaluable. “The entrepreneurial community in Knoxville is incredibly connected, and the resources here have been a huge help in prioritizing our next steps.”
As they prepare to bring Tenant Text to market, the co-founders are looking for local property owners and managers who are willing to evaluate the product. They hope that Charlie will be implemented either independently, or in combination with existing property management software platforms.
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