Messages

Who this is for

Landlords and property managers who want to write to a tenant or an owner and keep the conversation in one place. Anyone on your team can send messages. Each person reads only the conversations they are in.

Before you start

• Messages is near the top of the menu, not under a section.
• The person reads your message in their portal, so invite them first. See Invite tenants, owners and vendors.
• Messages are not sent by email. The person sees them when they sign in.

Steps

Start a conversation

1. Open Messages and click New message.
2. Under Recipient, type part of the person's name or email and pick them. Each name says Tenant or Owner.
3. Type a Subject, for example "Lease renewal", and your message.
4. Click Send message. The conversation is listed in your Inbox.

You can also start one from a tenant: click Message on their row in Tenants, or Send Message on their page. See Tenants.

Read and reply

1. Open Messages. Your Inbox lists each conversation you started or were sent, with its subject.
2. Click a conversation to open it. Every message in it is shown, oldest first.
3. Type in Write a reply… and click Send, or press ⌘ and Enter (Ctrl and Enter on Windows).

Example

Lena Brooks wants to tell her tenant Carlos Rivera that a plumber is coming on Friday.

• She opens Messages, clicks New message, types "Carl" under Recipient and picks Carlos Rivera, marked Tenant.
• She types the subject "Plumber on Friday" and the message "A plumber from Ace Plumbing will check the kitchen sink on Friday between 9 and 11." and clicks Send message.
• Carlos sees it under Messages in his tenant portal, with a notification. He replies "Thanks, I'll be home." Lena opens the conversation and reads his reply.

What happens next

• The person gets a notification inside eSamaHomes and reads the message in their portal, where they can reply in the same conversation.
• When they reply, you get a notification inside eSamaHomes (the bell beside the "?").
• A conversation is between you and that person. Someone else on your team doesn't see it in their Inbox.
• Conversations are kept. There is no button to delete one.

If something looks wrong

• "Please select a recipient, enter a subject, and write a message." All three are needed. Pick the person from the list; typing a name is not enough.
• "No recipients match". Check the spelling. Only tenants and owners already added to eSamaHomes are listed. Add the person first.
• A teammate's conversation isn't in your Inbox. Each person sees only their own. Ask your teammate, or start a new conversation with the tenant or owner.
• They didn't get an email. Messages are not emailed. Ask them to sign in to their portal.
• They can't read it. They need portal access. Send them an invite, or resend it. See Invite tenants, owners and vendors.