Real estate has been one of the most competitive markets and challenging businesses to run over the years. However, thanks to recent technological innovations, property managers and tenants both have benefited from using technology to make their job easier.
According to a survey by ApartmentFinder.com, 4 out of 10 renters used a mobile device in their apartment search and nearly half of the respondents considered using mobile as essential to property hunting.
While renters use modern technology to find the best properties in their preferred locations, property managers use software and cutting-edge tools to deliver better services and value to their customers. Let’s take a look at how technology has helped property managers and renters in achieving their respective goals.
Screening Prospective Tenants
Tenant screening is one of the toughest jobs property managers have at hand. It’s not only time-consuming but fraught with accountability and legal consequences as well. Every apartment owner or manager wants to choose tenant who has clean history – timely payment, a good tenancy track record and no criminal profile. In short, as a rental property owner or manager, you want to ensure peace of mind. Well, the good news is there is slew of tenant screening services up for grabs to make your job less daunting.
Rental Management Software
Gone are the days when property owners and real estate managers would turn to spreadsheets and Word files for accounting and bookkeeping. Today, there are quite a few software applications available in the market, designed to cater to a wide range of real estate managers.
Here are some more rental software products to help you automate your rental management job, boost productivity and improve service quality.
Pro Tip: 5 Productivity Apps For HOA & Condo Managers
Communicating with Tenants
While one might think finding the right tenant is a tough job, the job gets more challenging after the lease is signed. From communicating with tenants about apartment maintenance to reminding them of the late bills and other emergencies, there’s a host of tasks property owners must manage to keep the process seamless and achieve peace of mind.
With tools such as TentantLoop, apartment property managers can now securely store their lease documents, create a to-do priority list, conduct surveys to gauge tenant satisfaction, and allow tenants to send time-stamped photos and videos of issues in the apartment building.
Website Creation and Management
When it comes to managing properties, creating and managing a website for your properties is one of the most important tasks. Why is this important? 72 percent of the respondents in this survey said they viewed photos and videos of the apartments. When you building a website, it becomes a key touchpoint for your potential tenants, helping them view your properties easily and generate interest. You can either build your website or use popular tools such as Zillow and Buildium if you have a shoestring budget. If you want to build a self-hosted website for your property, be sure to create good user experiences for your visitors and follow the best practices.
Property Promotion
With a large number of renters using online search to find their preferred apartments and condos, the online space for real estate managers has become more competitive than ever. According to the historic membership report of National Association of Realtors, the total number of members, as of today, stands at 1,233,704. With such a staggering number of realtors, even the best property can go unnoticed unless your searchers are able to find it online.
Such a scenario demands that realtors promote their properties to potential renters who use a wide range of technology platforms including social media and mobile apps. According to WordStream, realtors have a number of options to promote their properties which can range from building social media presence to creating Pinterest boards and hosting a webinar. Regardless of your choice of promotional platforms, focus on building trust and value for your customers, which is the single-most effective marketing tool you will ever need for a thriving business.
Final Thoughts
With property owners using drones to showcase the aerial view of their properties, there’s no limit to how far you can go to promote your real estate business. The invasion of technology has helped tech-savvy real estate managers to manage their business more efficiently, delivering better services, value, and experience to their tenants. In short, technology has offered incredible benefits to both property owners as well as renters and it’s poised to grow even bigger and better.
How do you use technology to grow and manage your real estate business?
About Bento for Business
Bento for Business offers a new generation of technology-driven SMART employee expense cards for SMBs, nonprofits, organizations and associations in the form of a business prepaid MasterCard. You can set monthly spend limits and allow only certain purchase categories (e.g. Bob the project manager can only spend $500/week and the card only works to purchase gas, hotels and at the hardware store). Turn cards on/off in real-time and receive SMS text message or email alerts for every purchase or decline. Enjoy unmatched visibility into cash flow, eliminate expense reports, and save time & money. Use this link to learn more and start your FREE 60-day trial of Bento’s business prepaid cards.
