Traditionally, landlords either had to manage their rental business manually, or hire a property manager or property management company to stay on top of the landlord tasks. With the first option, you’re spending a lot of time and energy, and with the second, you’re spending a lot of money.
Luckily, there’s a better option: property management software. With property management software, you can manage your properties yourself without having to do most of the time-consuming legwork. It simplifies everything, and best of all, it’s affordable.
Here are six reasons why you should be using property management software to help run your rental business:
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Rent Collection
Collecting rent the old-fashioned way via cash or paper checks means coordinating schedules with your tenants, making extra trips to the bank, and running the risk of misplacing physical money.
By collecting rent digitally with property management software, you eliminate the need for any of this. Your tenants can pay remotely via credit cards, debit cards, or ACH payments, and all you have to do is wait for the payment to come in. Furthermore, the option for autopay allows your tenants to set their payment method once and then forget about it, which reduces the likelihood of late payments.
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Lease Signing
Managing and signing leases manually can end up being one of the most time-consuming tasks a landlord has. Aligning schedules to sign the lease agreement in person or shipping the document back and forth through the mail can take days or weeks.
Electronic signatures make this process almost instantaneous. The moment your lease agreement is ready to sign, you simply send it to your tenant in-platform, and they can immediately start reviewing and signing it electronically. This increases your leasing velocity, filling vacancies faster and saving you money.
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Tenant Screening
Finding great tenants to fill your leases should be one of your biggest priorities. The last thing you want is a tenant who doesn’t pay rent on time or who damages your property.
Property management software provides you with the necessary tools to conduct thorough tenant screening, such as credit reports, criminal records, and eviction history records. Furthermore, property management software allows you to ask your tenants for information directly, such as proof of income, which they can send you in-platform.
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Late Fees
Enforcing late fees can be one of the most difficult parts of the job. Tracking down tenants when they miss a payment and asking them to pay the late fee can not only be taxing on your time, but it can create some awkward moments.
Property management software automates late fees, which means you don’t have to do anything at all after setting the initial late fee amount and grace period. If your tenant misses a payment, the software automatically charges them the additional late fee, which must be paid on their next statement.
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Maintenance Management
Although maintenance isn’t fun, it’s an inevitable part of owning properties. Property management software makes maintenance management as easy as possible for both you and your tenants.
If a tenant runs into a maintenance issue, they can submit a ticket on the platform with a description and photos of the problem. From there, you’ll receive a notification, and you can begin addressing the issue by contacting the necessary vendor for the job. If you have maintenance personnel in your employment, you can give them limited access to the property management platform so they can perform their necessary duties.
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Tenant Communication
For most tenants, good communication is one of the most valuable traits in a landlord. To maintain an excellent relationship with your tenants, you must prioritize communication.
Property management software offers plenty of features that improve tenant communication. First, there’s automated reminders and messages that go out when rent is past due, when a maintenance ticket has been resolved, and when a lease is coming to an end. Furthermore, many platforms offer a chat system that allows you and your tenants to message one another directly without sharing personal phone numbers.
Conclusion
With features such as online rent collection, electronic signatures, tenant screening tools, and remote maintenance management, property management software makes your life as a landlord so much easier. Streamline your business and save time and money by switching to property management software.
