Like most of us, you’ve likely been adapting to the digital age over the last couple of decades. Technology is constantly evolving and it’s ever-present in our lives. We’re shopping online, making reservations and plans online, and even keeping track of our banking and finances digitally.
There’s been a large impact on the property management industry, and the technology we’ve adopted over the years has made the leasing, management, and maintenance of properties far more efficient and cost-effective.
If you’ve been renting out homes for even a few years, you’re probably aware of what’s possible. We are collecting rent online and using accounting software to track your income and expenses. We’re managing digital keypads and automatic lockboxes to facilitate self-showings for long-term rentals and easy check-ins for short-term vacation rentals.
Automating what we do on a daily basis for your rental property and your tenants has allowed us to be better at our jobs. We’ve been able to invest more time and resources into providing outstanding customer experiences for both owners and residents.
If you’re not working with a Florida property management team and you’re managing properties on your own, you might find that access is your biggest challenge. There are plenty of apps and platforms available, but the technology that we use is often a lot more intuitive and advanced than what independent landlords can find for themselves. It comes down to economics, usually: we get more tech for less money, so when you partner with a professional property manager, you can leverage all those resources and tools without investing in expensive software yourself.
We’re taking a closer look at the impact of technology on property managers like us and rental property owners like you.
The Benefit and Impact of Online Portals
By now, any established property management company is likely to have an online owner portal and an online tenant portal. It’s hard to remember how we operated without them. All of us use similar software systems, and one of the main selling points of those systems is the online portal. They provide a lot of benefits – not only to us, but also to our owners and tenants.
The impact of portals has been pretty huge. It’s streamlined communication and helps us manage tasks that can be easily done online. Let’s take a look:
- Online Portals for Tenants
Residents use their portals to pay rent on time, schedule maintenance requests, and send us messages. Online rent collection has led to fewer late payments and no missed maintenance requests. It creates a streamlined system of accounting and repair correspondence. When tenants can log on through their phone, tablet, or laptop, and easily schedule a payment or make a rental payment, it’s easier for everyone. The technology is secure and convenient. It cuts down on their late fees and it saves us the time of having to chase down late payments.
Recurring payments are a large benefit to our residents. They can set the payment to process on the first of every month and not think about it again. They can set reminders for themselves and they can store their bank account information. Making online payments is the most popular rental payment method for our tenants, and it keeps the entire process simple and clear.
If you’re not in a place where you can afford an entire online portal for yourself as a landlord, you can still enable online payments and even written maintenance requests. There is technology in place for this. Download a payment app, and talk to your tenants about how they prefer to pay.
- Online Portals for Rental Property Owners in Florida
Our owner portals are just as beneficial as our tenant portals, and it’s our technology that enables them.
When you work with us, you get an immediate account, where you can login and see all of the accounting associated with your property, including those rental payments that your tenants are making. We make payments to you through ACH, so you get your rent faster. You can also access all the information you need to follow the progress of your investment property. View lease agreements and inspection reports. Ask us to run detailed statements or print off tax forms. You can review correspondence we send to tenants, including renewal offers and rental receipts.
This is some of the most important technology that the property management industry has embraced. Online portals for tenants and owners will continue making the entire rental process more pleasant and profitable.
Property Management Technology Improves the Leasing Process
The leasing process benefits from property management technology when we’re talking about:
- Proper property pricing
- Preparing the property for the rental market
- Marketing
- Showings
- Screening
- Move-in Inspections
- Security deposit collection
The process moves faster. Technology enables a more efficient leasing process, which means less vacancy and better tenants.
There’s also a benefit when it comes to screening tenants. Thanks to our platforms and screening services, the process of choosing a tenant is more thorough and objective. There’s less risk that a fair housing mistake will be made, and we can establish some qualifying rental criteria to apply consistently to every application.
Technology helps with pricing and screening as well as inspections and executing the lease agreement.
The rental market in Florida remains competitive and fast-moving. You need to get the attention of good tenants quickly, and you need to make sure you’re giving them a reason to choose your property over all of the others available on the market.
To do that, a strategic marketing plan must be in place. It should start with an outstanding property that’s easy to market. It needs the right price, too, which is an area in which good technology is critical. Without access to good data, you’ll have a hard time pricing your property accurately and in accordance with the market.
Technology allows us to gather better data for our owners. We collect insights and analytics that tell us what your property should be priced at based on its neighborhood and condition. Every rental property owner knows that the market will drive your rental price more than anything else, including location, size, and amenities. So, we use our own analytics to track what similar homes are renting for, how long they’re on the market, and who ultimately rents them. This helps us price your property more competitively and profitably, bringing in the best possible tenants and the highest possible rents. We wouldn’t be able to access this pricing without our up-to-date property management software.
Technological tools also help us take better photos, create more engaging listings, and syndicate your advertisement across the internet. It saves us time and frustration; there’s no need to post the listing to each individual rental site. We’re able to share your property widely and thoroughly. We also utilize our own website, the MLS, and social media.
The real benefit of technology, when we’re talking about marketing, is in the self-showing technology that’s now available. This has been a game changer in our ability to convert visitors to renters and in our ability to reduce the amount of time between listing and move-in.
The entire leasing process is more secure and efficient thanks to self-showing technology. This is something you don’t have to be a property manager to enjoy. Independent landlords can use lockboxes and smart locks, too. Here’s why it matters:
- Tenants don’t have to dance around our schedules in order to see the property. In our on-demand world, they can see the property whenever it’s convenient for them. This reduces the chances that showing appointments will be canceled or rescheduled.
- Tenants prefer the privacy and space that self-showings afford. They can wander around the property and take their time, without a leasing agent following them around.
- Statistics have shown that tenants who like the property are quicker to complete an application after seeing the home on their own.
This saves us time. It saves you money. Self-showings tech is an excellent example of how automated systems can work in your favor when it comes to renting out a home.
Building and Property Maintenance with Technology
Property management technology helps us keep maintenance work better-documented. There’s a lot of new technology coming onto the market around maintenance, too. You may have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). This will help you understand what your property needs and when those needs reach a critical point. It’s a trending property management technology, especially in the multifamily rental world. This type of tech can track usage, telling you what you need to know about electricity, water, and gas consumption. It can analyze when repairs and replacements will be necessary. Sensors will tell an owner when a property needs to be cooled or warmed or kept more secure.
This may lead you to consider smart home technology in your rental property, which is growing in popularity and very attractive to tenants. When they have smart thermostats, video doorbells, and other tools in their residence that makes their lives easier and more comfortable, attracting and retaining those residents is much easier.
Technology continues to evolve, and if you’re a smart investor, you’re working with a property management team that’s willing to invest in it. We can tell you more. Contact us at Anchor Down Real Estate & Rentals.
