Whether you’re renting out personal property or getting into the property management business, managing multiple properties can be time-consuming. You have to field maintenance requests, perform regular building checks and collect rent from your tenants. When you have multiple buildings around town, these simple tasks might take up all your free time.
Rental management software is a better way to manage your properties. It makes things easy for you as the landlord and for your tenants. Let’s look at five benefits, in particular, that come with using this type of software in your business.
1.) Overview of Properties
Perhaps the best part of having a rental management system is access to rental inventory software. You can create a full picture of your rental business in one easy-to-read dashboard. When you log in, it will show you a list of all your properties, and custom information you need to see at a glance.
Maybe you need to see which properties have rent due or where you need to send contractors for maintenance requests that day. You inventory software can help you organize your properties and work orders quickly so you always know who needs what.
2.) Collect Rent
The most important part of being a landlord is collecting rent. That’s how you make money on your property investments. It can also be the most difficult part of being a landlord if you don’t have a reliable system in place.
Instead of hearing “my check is in the mail” every month or having to personally collect rent money, you can automate the entire process. Rental management systems allow you to give renters the option to pay you online. They can even set up automatic payments so they never forget their rent and you always get your money on time.
3.) Manage Maintenance
It’s important for renters to have a method of reporting maintenance needs. Not only does this ensure they’re always living in a clean, functional environment, it also helps you upkeep your property.
Texts and calls can be missed, plus it helps to have a record of maintenance performed on your property. That’s where your rental software comes in. These systems include portals where renters can submit maintenance requests directly to you. Then, you can use the same portal to contact your subcontractors and track the progress of the job.
4.) Collect Online Applications
It’s incredibly time-consuming to show your property to everyone who contacts you. Not to mention that some of these people might not even meet your renter qualifications. That leaves you wasting time and resources.
With a rental management system, you can collect applications online before you show your property. This way, you can pick from a pool of qualified candidates and only spend time showing your property to people who are truly interested and capable of affording it.
This also speeds up the process if they decide to rent from you because you’ve already verified their qualifications. They can move right in!
5.) Makes Marketing Easier
When you have a vacant property, you have to spend lots of resources marketing it online and in print. You might purchase ad space in local publications, yard signs to put out front and online space on websites like Zillow or Trulia. However, then you have to manage all these ads too.
Your rental management software can help you with marketing your property. You can automate the process by telling your system to detect near or recent vacancies and immediately start advertising the properties on your chosen platforms. It should integrate with certain websites, plus be capable of email blasts and social media posts to get the most out of its marketing capabilities.
Managing rental properties is a great way to make extra cash. However, if you’re doing it the old-fashioned way, it could take more time than you’re willing to give. Use rental management software to help streamline your operations and ensure you make a profit on your properties.
