The advent of technology has brought a radical transformation in every sector, and the property management field is no exception. As a California city landlord, you must change with time and adopt more technologically enhanced features. It can help you significantly reduce vacancy rates, increase your return on investment (ROI), streamline your business operations, and allow you to manage multiple properties simultaneously.
There are several upsides to using property management technology, and it can also help you completely transform your business. Here are a few ways in which you can use property management technology to increase the efficiency of your rental business and develop a strong revenue-generating portfolio.
Set Accurate Prices for Your California City Rental Property
The occupancy rate of your rental depends directly on the rent you decide to charge for the house. Nobody likes to rent a house that is overpriced, even taking into account its area and its offerings. It is therefore advisable to set an affordable cost for the house that aligns with the amenities and utilities you are offering.
Additionally, properties similar to yours in the area also influence the current local market rates. You can use different software and online tools to analyze the current rates and market trends for rentals in your area. Software like
AppFolio and TurboTenant can help you do the following essential things:
Conducting thorough market research and analysis is a crucial step in deciding the price of your rental. It entails a thorough evaluation of your neighborhood and requires the identification of comparable properties in the area. A market analysis can help you determine the estimated cost of your rental. Software like
TurboTenant can help you conduct comprehensive market research, starting from the current rates of different areas.
- Identify a Competitive Rent Price
Another vital aspect you need to remember is to rely on competitive prices based on the location of your properties and the amenities you offer. Your property will be more appealing to tenants if you offer rates based on the condition of your property and its contributions to the tenants that set it apart from the competition.
Develop a Digital Tenant Screening and Application Process
The tenant screening process is perhaps one of the most complicated processes you have to deal with as a landlord. You always have to abide by the tenant screening laws for your state. Integrating technology while selecting tenants leads to complete digitalization of the screening and application process and can save a lot of time, effort, and money on your and your applicants’ parts. A digital screening process includes:
Interested people can apply digitally, instead of filling out reams of forms. Digital tenant screening platforms streamline the process of collecting standard information and providing secure portals for applicants.
- Criminal Background and Rental History Checks
Software and platforms like
First Advantage reduce the hassle of conducting a background check on each applicant. They help analyze credit profiles, criminal background, rental histories, and income to rent rations to shortlist qualified candidates.
Tenant Portals for Easy and Effective Communication
Communication between the landlord and the tenant is essential for any property management business to thrive. It can be enhanced by using tenant portals that allow renters to convey their problems directly to the landlord. Here's how portals like
Active
Building help.
- Improved Landlord-tenant Relationship
Having an online landlord-tenant portal helps
maintain transparent communication between you and your renters. All the information is clearly available in one place, and is easily accessible by both parties, in case of any issues. Greater the transparency, the more likely that tenants will rely on you and choose to renew their leases. You can also use this software to keep track of your duties as a landlord and carry them out without any delays.
- Convenient Submission of Maintenance Requests
Your tenant can send you a maintenance request whenever they want. A request in a written form or personally delivered is outdated. Most California landlords and tenants prefer to use tenant portals to submit their requests. As all of this is online, you can check them from anywhere and ensure that the problem is resolved to the tenant’s satisfaction.
Better Marketing Techniques for Your California City Rental Property
Technology also plays a vital role in transforming the marketing process of your property. The marketing of your California property cannot be just limited to methods like word of mouth, referrals, and recommendations. You can also use online marketing tools for landlords to widen their reach and get newer and better tenants. For this, you can use platforms like,
Social media platforms are a boon for a property manager as they help your property advertisements reach a wider base. The younger renter pool primarily uses platforms like Facebook and Instagram to look for rentals. As a landlord, you can include hashtags, detailed descriptions, and aesthetic images of the property in your social media posts, so people can easily find you.
The most popular way of searching for a rental in a given neighborhood is by using online listing sites. Sites like
Craigslist and
Zillow have been around for some time now and are known to provide reliable recommendations. These listing sites filter properties by user demand criteria according to the information that you include in your listing. It can also help you find the right tenant for your house.
Integration of Smart Technologies in Your California Rental
Tenants nowadays prefer to rent smart homes, equipped with modern conveniences. They are also willing to pay more for smart gadgets as they offer a sense of security and peace within the new rental. Here are some examples of what can be included in your rental –
- Security Cameras with Remote Sync
Several rentals have CCTV cameras that only record the events around the area where they are installed. However, installing remote security cameras helps you get live footage of your property on your mobile, regardless of where you are.
The lack of ample lighting in and around your rental is an important security issue. Lately, renters prefer to use smart lighting systems that allow tenants to save energy and money by enabling them to control lights remotely via mobile devices.
You can also consider integrating burglar alarms within your California City rental to ensure the proper protection against events like theft and burglary by making a loud noise and alerting the required authorities.
Efficient Financial Management With Advanced Property Management Technology
As a landlord, you have to wear many hats – marketer, contractor, accountant, and more. It can be incredibly challenging if you are the only person tasked with keeping your property's detailed income and expense records. Therefore, it is advisable to use accounting and bookkeeping software to make your job easy.
Cloud accounting software like
Freshbooks and
Quickbooks are gaining popularity among landlords and other business owners. If you aren't a tech-savvy person and need something simpler, you can even use an Excel spreadsheet to record all the details of your business finances. Property management companies usually have the software they use for their clients and systematically keep track of each person's accounts.
- Detailed Financial Reports
Financial tracking software helps in streamlining your operations and responsibilities as a landlord. The best part is that accounts for different tenants are accessible to you at your fingertips in a well-organized manner. It optimizes your financial operations as you do not have to search for reports manually.
Seamless Rent Collection with Online Portals
As a landlord with multiple properties and tenants in California City, collecting rent from each can be a hassle. Therefore, it is advisable to use software like
DoorLoop,
Avail, and
Buildium that enables you to collect rent from your tenant conveniently. It also offers other additional benefits like,
It allows your renters to set an auto-pay feature where the software automatically deducts money from their bank account. It increases convenience for the landlord and the tenant as it eliminates the need for physical interaction. The autopay features also promote timely rent payments, and you can offer incentives to renters who use autopay while paying their rent digitally.
Online rent collection portals help your tenant quickly transfer amounts to your bank account. Your tenants can pay their rent from anywhere by multiple transfers like a credit card, debit card, etc. These platforms also send automatic reminders to your tenants of payments and notifications if their rent is overdue, making the rent collection process much more manageable.
Using Technology for Property Management with Professional Help
