Business

Eight Ways Technology Can Help Improve Your Rental Property Business

When you are a landlord, there are a lot of tasks you must juggle to be successful. You must market your properties, approve rental applications, handle paperwork, as well as maintain your rentals. Plus, not to mention dealwith all your tenant requests and complaints.

With all your responsibilities, property management can oftenbecome more than a full-time job! Therefore, anything that you cando to helpstreamline your processes and duties to make your business more efficient is something you should consider. Existing and emerging technologies provide solutions that can help you do just that!

There is no question in anyone’s mind that technology has changed just about every industry in every way within the last decade, including real estate. Let’s take a closer look at the top eight ways you can utilize technology to help savetime, money,and ultimately improve your rental property business.

Incorporating Task Management Tools

Landlords are responsible for so much that it can quickly get overwhelming and frustrating.One of the best things you can do to organize and simplify your job is to use task management software. These types of tools can help you keep track of everything from your showings to your appointments. That way, there is no need to have tons of post-its scattered all over your office, allowing you to manage your ever-changing to-do list better.

Using the Internet for Marketing

Displaying a “For Rent” sign in your property’s window, relying on word of mouth, or taking out an advertisement in the local newspaper will only get you so far in advertising your rental. To get the most bang for your buck, consider posting your property on internet listing sites (complete with pictures and a list of amenities) and building a landlord website (with a contact form) so potential tenants can easily get a hold of you.

High-quality pictures and videos make a great first impression, so utilize photo and video editing applications to help ensure that your property looks its best. Also, don’t forget to advertise on social media to help generate additional interest.

Having a Reliable Accounting Software

As a landlord, it is necessary to track all your expenses (including security deposits, rent, maintenance expenses, etc.) related to your properties. Having reliable accounting software helps you stay ontrack all year long, so when tax time comes, you’ll be ready.

It also allows you to clearly see your income and expenses at any given timeso that you always know where you stand. Running a rental property business isn’t easy, but having the right accounting software program can sure help things run smoother from a financial perspective.

Supplying Chatbots to Answer Questions

Chatbots are a computer program that interprets human language and then responds with audio or text. When you have one on your website, your tenants can reach out to you outside of your regular business hours to get their questions answered.

Programmed chatbots can provide help with things like where to file maintenance requests, when their rent is due, and how to make a payment – all without you having to speak with them. It’s like having a virtual assistant that is always “on,” and it helps to foster a positive relationship from the start.

Moving Over to Cloud Storage

If you are like most landlords, you are continuously looking for ways to stay ahead of your competitors. Handling, managing, and organizing mounds of paperwork is daunting. Moving over to the cloud provides an efficient way to store your important documents and files and allows you access from anywhere.

Plus, it gives you peace of mind knowing that your information is safe if something were to happen to your physical copies. You can even take it a step further and store other things in the cloud, like tenant interactions, text messages, and more.

Providing Online Bill Pay

It’s no surprise that most tenants are familiar with paying bills online, so they will most likely prefer to make their rent payments that way too. Writing paper checks may appear like an outdated and slow process – especially to your younger tenants. On the other hand,online bill pay is secure,more accessible, more transparent, and it can even be automated.

Plus, it provides increased security and is less stress and confusion for everyone involved. It helps streamline your communications with your tenants regarding when and where they will make their payments, and it effectively reduces human error and potential excuses.

Allowing Tenants to Request Maintenance Service

From broken light switches to cracked windows and leaky water pipes, it seems there is always something that needs fixing when it comes to properties. When you can track your tenants’ maintenance requests online, you will have more control of what is happening within your rentals and be able to respond appropriately to urgent matters, helping facilitate a positive landlord-tenant relationship. Additionally, when you can view your property’s entire maintenance records online, you can better plan for investing in major repairs or improvements.

Installing Helpful Gadgets on Your Property

Technology is great for organizing and managing your rental business, but it is also beneficial for your properties themselves. Things like smart-home security systems provide additional security measures to help keep your tenants safe. They can include things like remote security cameras, and smoke and burglar alarms that notify both you and your tenant immediately if there is a problem.Smart locks and thermostats can also save you time and money. Investing in smart locks allow you to control access to your properties.

This technology is especially beneficial if you need to grant entry to contractors temporarily, or if you have a vacation rental with frequent turnovers. Smart thermostats are cost-effective, and they can be managed remotely to ensure energy efficiency.

Now that you know more about how technology can impact the rental property business, we hope you’ll want to incorporate some of these ideas within yours. Landlords that recognize the benefits of leveraging the advancements in technology enjoy greater efficiencies and hopefully will become more profitable as a result.

Atif Mallo

Atif Mallo is a freelance blogger with huge interest in technology, science, life hacks and health. He loves coffee, cheesecake and chess. Drop a line in comments to leave feedback for him.

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