How to Take Advantage of Technology For Property Management

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world had to adjust and learn how to make services virtual. Even as the effects of the pandemic fade, the tools that became commonplace over the past two years have proven their utility. Many of these tools continue to be useful for providing services online, even in terms of property management.

Using online property management tools to modernize your business will not only provide your current tenants with a sense of comfort and stability, but it will also attract new tenants, owners, and investors. Here are some tools you may want to consider using in your business:

Use Website Chat Bots

As a landlord, it's essential that you make your tenants feel heard by providing feedback to them as soon as possible. However, it's impossible to address every tenant’s inquiries at once. For this reason, it can be incredibly useful to use a chatbot on your website. With these, you can automate feedback gathering and give your tenants instance responses to frequently asked questions.

With a chat bot, common inquiries will be automatically processed and the data will be sent directly to you. Chat bots will help eliminate the need to constantly email back and forth with tenants or potential renters about common inquiries. This means there will be no more accidentally ignored emails.

Take Advantage of Online Tour Scheduling

When it comes to renting a vacant unit, scheduling tours with prospective tenants is both one of the most important and time consuming parts. Not only can prospective tenants become easily confused about how they should contact you to schedule a tour, your schedule could quickly become bloated with tours if you handle it manually.

By implementing a scheduling tool like Calendly, you can allow prospective tenants to pick a time slot you have chosen in advance. This can help you concentrate tours at certain times or days, while also avoiding cross scheduling.

Offer Digital Floor Plans in Your Listings

In today’s rental market, you want to be able to grab your prospective tenant’s attention in any way possible. One effective way of doing this is by providing your tenants with high-quality 3D renderings of the unit.

There are countless listings online that prospective tenants can choose to view, but offering them the ability to view a realistic model of the unit on their screen will attract their attention as they are able to better envision their lives in the apartment.

Give Virtual Apartment Tours

While a prospective tenant may be interested in your listing, it might not be reasonable for them to view your unit in person. For example, if a potential tenant is relocating to New York for work, they may not be able to arrange a trip just to view the apartment. However, when trying to fill a vacancy, it's important to try and accommodate these needs. Virtual walkthroughs are a great way to bridge this gap.

Virtual walkthroughs can be done through a number of platforms. You can schedule a video meeting with the client and walk them through the property, or simply record a video of the unit and share it with potential tenants. Not only will this help you to show your listing to more clients, but it will also help build your reputation as a kind, approachable landlord.

Use Electronic Forms and Signatures

To make the lease-signing process easier for both you and your tenant, you may want to consider sending and signing those agreements online. This allows both parties to sign the contract, and it also ensures that the document is securely stored and readily available to you. You’ll no longer have to be worried about misplacing or losing a paper document, finding and scheduling a time for them to come in and sign, or wait for the mail.

Find Out What’s Wrong Using Feedback Forms and Surveys

Collecting feedback from your tenants through surveys can be incredibly helpful in improving your business and making your tenants happier. This is especially useful if you're dealing with a high turnover of tenants. Collecting this feedback can help you identify issues and resolve them promptly, leading to happier and lower churn rates.

Additionally, allowing tenants to leave feedback and reviews on online platforms will make it easier for you to find new tenants in the future. If there are good reviews about you and your property online, prospective tenants will be able to view this and be more likely to rent from you. However, be sure that you're receiving positive reviews, as negative reviews can do the exact opposite and end up being detrimental to your business.

Outerbridge Law Can Help Protect Your Business

Property management isn’t an easy industry, especially in an area as competitive as New York City. However, leveraging online tools and new technology can benefit your business, improve your efficiency, and leave more time for higher ROI activities.

However, taking advantage of the 21st century’s technology won’t always protect you from damage to your units or non-paying tenants. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re all alone. Outerbridge Law P.C. will fight for your rights as a landlord. If you think you may have a case, contact Outerbridge Law today.