Living in a digital age and not reaping the benefits is unwise. The internet has taken the technology to the next level in a very short span of time. And people who will not adapt to this technological shift will stay way behind their competitors.
This shift has a multitude of solutions for landlords as well. You can use digital apps to collect rent, get repair requests and process applications. However, landlords are still using the old school methods for their day to day tasks. This costs them time and resources. And on top of that there are tenants who still pay rent with a cheque. Though every business has gone digital, there are many rental businesses that are using those old school methods.
Landlords with entrepreneurial DNA have gone digital a long time ago. And here are the nine reasons you should too.
Rent Application and Leases
Using good rental applications, you can complete the application process. It saves you a ton of time and resources. It removes all the meetings and collecting documents from the process and makes it even more convenient.
It is a lot easier to complete this process digitally for both tenants and landlords. There are less chances of mistakes in the legal document. You can include the screening request in the documents and save more time. You can include all the information in the lease very easily doing it digitally. Digital documents are as legal as a legal paper document.
Listing Vacancies
Digital rental apps also help in filling the vacant properties. It saves you the time that you may be spending on listing your property on different websites. You can do it directly via the rental app you are using. This also speeds up the process of filling up the vacancy which saves you from losing the revenue.
Rent Collection
Rent collection couldn’t be easier with the help of technology. Your tenants can easily pay rent and even set automatic payment. Good rental apps also calculate late fees. And tenants have an option to pay using different payment methods.
The benefit is, it almost eliminates the option of late rent payment and never misses paying rent. And because of digital transactions, the money goes straight to your bank account and you won’t have to wait for check to cash.
Flexible Rent Payments
One of the most tenant-friendly uses of these apps is flexible payment plans. Flexible payments allow tenants to pay during the month in installments. For instance tenants can pay on 10th 20th or you can set up different dates for different tenants.
Now you may be thinking it's tricky but hey the app is going to take care of the payments for you. You don’t have to maintain spreadsheets and do the math yourself.
Maintenance and Repair Requests
You can get repair requests via your app. You can keep track of these requests on the same app. Getting direct calls from a single home isn’t a problem but if you have many many units, you won’t be able to handle those calls. But getting requests via an app can make it easier. You can check maintenance requests daily at a fixed hour and handle the requests right away.
This can streamline your maintenance work and save you a ton of time that you can spend on something more important.
E-Signing the Documents
A digitally signed document has the same credibility as a paper signed with an ink pen have. That is the reason E-sign is being adapted very quickly. E-sign saves you money, time by removing the many visits you have to pay.
The process can be done inside a single property managed app and since the document is not a physical document, you can't misplace it and neither lose it.
Chat Option
Rental apps also have built in instant chat option. This can make your life easier. Using chat option you can keep track of all your tenants in one place. From maintenance requests to conversation about rent, everything will be stored in one place.
Tenants can leave you a message on the app instead of calling you and you can get to it when you have time. You can also assign handling inbox to an employee of yours.
Virtual Property Tour
There are digital rental apps that video walkthroughs of your property units. This allows you to showcase your property without you visiting to the property.
This saves you dozens of visits to the property with potential tenants. You can also arrange a live tour so that they can tour your the property virtually before they decide to occupy the unit.
Direct Credit Bureaus
Savvy landlords report rent payments to credit bureaus which not only helps in developing a credit history but also is a service to the landlord community. Landlords can check for late rent payments during their screening process to get a better tenant for their property.
Using digital rental apps is not limited to online rent collection anymore. Using rental apps can help you run a successful multifamily property rental business. It can help streamline your day to day tasks and improve your customer service which helps improve your business with even happier tenants.