Let’s be real- property management is antiquated. Between the back-and-forth phone calls, emails, and texts, communication gets lost in translation. Before you know it, someone is waiting for you at your rental because you forgot you had a dentist appointment and now you look bad for having to cancel last minute. Or you flat out forget to text someone the link to your online application and lose out on a great prospective tenant.
These three amazing pieces of tech have enhanced our processes and given us more time to spend with existing and prospective tenants and thus providing a higher level of service to our clients. Because what’s most important is that people are happy in their homes.
1. We use scheduling software to satisfy our possible tenants.
I cannot stress this enough. Using online scheduling software has been a game changer for my husband and I as we continue to make our management processes better.
How to Use Software for Property Management
1. We Configure your House listing account to fit our agents lifestyle. Make sure to set up the dates and times that you want to be available. Our online calendars will sync with our agents other calendars so that appointments never overlap! 2. We Insert a URL into your listings to increase interest. When you need to schedule showings (or other appointments) for your property, copy and paste your Calendly’s URL in your listing. If people are interested, they will make an appointment through the link. We like to set aside a single day for showings so we aren’t driving all over. Do this to schedule tenant meetings too! From home repairs to initial inspection walkthroughs, Calendly eliminates the back-and-forth that’s involved with scheduling meetings.
3. Customize your response fields to add value. Another one of Calendly’s awesome features is the ability to add and customize fields. We like to leverage this feature for property showings, because it helps us prepare for each meeting before people arrive. If you’re managing showings for multiple units on the same day, add a few check boxes for the different types of properties that are available. The prospective tenant will then select the different units they are interested in seeing. We also like to add a text box for comments, a field for a contact email and phone number, and a field for them to enter their name. The best part? Everything syncs to your calendar so you can pull up all their information in a second!
Calendly leaves the scheduling and canceling in the hands of the prospective or existing tenants. They can choose times on your schedule and don’t get frustrated trying to work around yours. Note: If you can, opt in to send a reminder email a day before the appointments. We’ve had a few people forget about their appointments (because who really has the mental capacity to remember everything these days?) Calendly’s option to send a reminder email is great.
2. Hello QR Codes!
After COVID, I assumed the QR code thing would die a slow death- I was definitely wrong. The QR code is here to stay, and rightfully so. It’s way easier to scan a QR code than it is to type a long URL into your phone.
Where do we use QR codes? When people are done seeing a property for the first time, they usually ask to fill out an application. We started handing out QR codes instead of texting the link out and people actually thanked us for making the process so easy.
How do you create a QR code? There are all kinds of free online resources to generate a new QR code. Chrome released an update where all you have to do is right-click and select "create QR code for this page". Follow these steps if you're interested! Chrome also has an extension that is easy to add to your browser.
3. We Leverage a rental management software.
Property management wouldn't be complete without a great software platform to manage your rentals. We integrated our website to help us streamline tasks like verifying applications and managing maintenance requests. Here are a list of tasks that helps us prioritize:
Automated Rent Payments
We used to remind people when it was time to pay rent. Now tenants can set up automatic payments through our website. They only have to set it up once and never have to worry about missing a payment!
Screening Tenants As property managers, we want to make everyone’s life easier. These two new systems have decreased frustration for prospective tenants, existing tenants, property managers, and owners. Property management shouldn’t continue to be only for big businesses. Let’s get rid of the old processes and get back to treating people with respect and appreciation. We all want to fill our communities with people who are happy to be there. Upping our tech game gives us all more room for positive communication and happy renters.
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