It’s 2020, and a tenant somewhere in the United States is trying to contact their property manager about a sudden ceiling leak. The renter looks at his lease, and it tells him to call an 800 number for repairs. The tenant makes the call and gets a busy signal.
He calls again and gets a garbled out-of-the-office message. He tries again an hour later and is connected to the voicemail of a construction company but is unable to leave a message because of a full mailbox. Sounds like a nightmare, right? In order to avoid this ugly scenario when your tenants need help, think about utilizing the following property management tech tools that will also make renting, marketing, inspections and general workflow automation a breeze.
Text
You don’t have to give tenants your personal phone number in order to receive a text. According to Wordstream, “When users sign up for Google Voice, (for example) they are given one phone number that is connected to them across devices and locations, working with mobile phones, desk phones, work phones, and VoIP lines. This enables users to manage all of their phones with one number, letting users customize what phone will ring based on specific callers.” There are other phone platforms available of course, and the point here is that you can maintain personal and network security while giving tenants a way to text you.
Leasing
Many new property owners have made the mistake of happily making multiple appointments with prospective tenants only to find out that some were unqualified, some didn’t show, and others were just browsing with no intent to rent. This is why tenant referencing and credit checks are so important; tenant lead scheduling software like Tenant Turner can also help pre-qualify and ensure that you don’t waste time with unnecessary showing.
Inspections
You’ve finally found a great tenant, and now you both want to inspect the property to ensure that you’ll have no problems at move-in or move out. An app like Rent Check can make this happen, and it allows for remote inspections during times when social distancing may be necessary. Instead of filling out a tedious printed form, tenants can quickly check through each room of the property and make the appropriate notes.
Workflow automation
Getting all property management aspects to work together nicely can be a challenge, but if you use an app like Rent Bridge, you can make it happen easily. Our friends at Rent Bridge explain it best: “The Rent Bridge Property Management Operating System brings together your administrative, marketing, operating, maintenance, and service tools into one easy-to-manage system that automates your day to day business.”
Smart locks
The lock box is an antiquated property management tool, and someone with a hacksaw can easily defeat the limited security it offers. Instead, consider installing a smart lock that allows you to enter multiple entry codes. For example, you can use one code for real estate agents, another for individual apartment hunters and another for contractors. And, you can change these codes directly from your smart device.
Tenant portal
Doctors’ offices have been successfully using patient portals for years and law firms are not far behind. Property owners should follow as a dedicated tenant portal can put all necessary information in your tenant’s hand. Leases, move-in and move-out forms along with rules and regulations can all be accessed 24/7 by your tenant if you employ a good tenant portal like Schedule My Rent.
Whether you consider these times unprecedented, trying, hard or just annoying, you can make your job as property manager a lot easier by employing the management tech tools, we have described above. Put these apps and platforms in place now, and your real estate property management business will be set to grow rapidly when things do improve.
