Fortunately, the right technology can help streamline your business and save you valuable time and money. Below are a few ways you can use technology to boost your rental property business.
How Technology Can Transform Your Rental Property Business
Virtual property tours
The pandemic has changed how people do business. For instance, people now meet virtually instead of in person. This is also true for rental properties. Therefore, you don’t have to waste your time showing your property to potential tenants. By using 360 virtual tours, you will be able to show prospective tenants the full view of your property without having to tour in person.
Smart home technology
You should add smart home technology to all your units to attract more high-quality tenants. Here are some of the top smart home upgrades for your rental property:
Smart locks: For most renters, security is their main concern. With smart locks, renters can track who enters the house and provide access remotely. In addition, smart locks will allow you or your property manager to provide access to prospects for property showings remotely. Smart burglar alarms: You’ll receive a notification immediately if burglars break into the property when you install these smart alarms. Smart bulbs: These are LED bulbs with additional software that enable them to connect via apps or through a home automation system, which means tenants can control them remotely. Moreover, these bulbs offer other conveniences like motion sensors, dimmable functions, and additional energy savings.
Keeping good income and expense records
Let’s face it – tax season is often challenging to most business owners. It becomes an even bigger issue if you don’t keep your income and expense records well. To prevent such a scenario, you should consider using accounting software. There are many accounting software options for rental property owners that can enable you to see your income and expenses at a glance. There are also free options like Excel spreadsheets. Choosing the right accounting software will mainly depend on your business finances and how much you want to pay. However, you can choose to work with a property management company. Your property manager will send financial reports directly and also help you keep track of expenses for each property.
Online tenant payments
Most tenants would prefer to make their rental payments online; offering them this opportunity can be a huge selling point. This is because it will save them a lot of time, as they won’t have to fill in checks and visit your office to deposit them. In addition, this will benefit you as a landlord because you will be able to manage all payments. This makes it easy to settle any disputes or discrepancies because everything is logged online.
Online marketing tools
Although using newspapers to advertise vacant units may land you a few tenants, if this is the only marketing method you’re using, then you’ll miss out on opportunities to get more high-quality tenants. To get more tenants and fill those vacant units, use the following online marketing tips:
Post your properties on online listings: Zillow and craigslist are some of the popular online listing platforms. When posting your property, ensure that you include lots of photos and descriptions of all the amenities of each property. Build a business website: If you want to grow your rental property business, then you should highly consider building a website for your business. You can use a platform like WordPress to create your website and post your properties. Be active on social media: Share your website on social media platforms along with clear photos of your properties. You may want to also use hashtags for prospects to find you easily.
Bottom Line
There is no shortage of things to do as a landlord – from staying up to date with leases to handling tenant repair requests. This is why you should take advantage of the technological advancements highlighted above to improve how you run your business.
