In 2021, we’re lucky to have access to the internet and all that it offers when it comes to technology and resources. But, there is so much out that that it can become overwhelming. Today, we’re going to share 4 ways that we have integrated technology into our property management systems to make life that much easier for us (and for our tenants!) Keep reading to discover some tips on how you can adapt them to your own property management company and make being a landlord a bit easier.
1. A Property Management Website
After doing a lot of research through books and looking up posts on BiggerPockets.com, we found that there are a lot of property management websites that you can select to use for your business. What do these websites do? They are a website that you and your tenants can use to pay and collect rent, run applications, and upload any bills. We decided to use Cozy.co (which will be transitioning to apartments.com) after loving is easy to use platform and integration between applicants and tenants when we accept an application. Having a ‘home base’ for our rental transactions makes it easy and simple to keep track of our monthly rent payments and applications that come through. For the applications, Cozy will even run the background and credit checks for us which makes the applicants more comfortable sharing their private information. We definitely recommend finding a website like this that works for you and your tenants to streamline your payment processes!
2. A Tenant Specific Phone Number
Did you know that if you have a Gmail account, that you can create a whole new phone number?! The Google Voice app links to your gmail account and provides you with a unique phone number that rings straight to your personal phone! We have utilized this app for a multitude of reasons including safety, continuity, organization. But today, we want to share our tip for creating a Google Voice phone number that is ONLY given to your tenants. Yes, it is another phone number, but it is a direct line that, when it rings, you know that it is a tenant and you must pick up! We use this feature so that if it were to ring in the middle of the night, we know that it is an emergency. We also have the settings manipulated so that both Brady and I’s phone will ring and receive the text messages. That way, we are both in the loop on tenant issues and concerns. This also helps our tenants feel more connected to us by knowing that they have a direct line when needed.
3. Trello
Brady and I are always looking for a new way to organize our thoughts and our to do lists, but once we found Trello, we stopped our search. Trello is a website and app that utilizes ‘boards’ and ‘cards’ to organize your projects and thoughts. We use it for absolutely everything – daily to do’s, project management, tenant maintenance calls, property information – you name it, it’s on our Trello! It is a great tool to keep everything in line for what is going on at each property. Need to know what electric company is on a certain property? Check our “Properties” Trello board. Need to see the status of a previous tenant concern? Check our “Maintenance” Trello board. The limit truly doesn’t exist when it comes to Trello. Both Brady and I downloaded the app on our phones so we can add to do’s for eachother and keep eachother updated on different projects. We definitely recommend using Trello to organize your project and property management.
4. Google Calendar
We all know that keeping an organized calendar is important, but things can fall through the cracks! We love using Google Calendar to keep track of our daily lives, but also our property management tasks. When we move in a new tenant, we use our calendar to update and set recurring events for the tenant’s birthdays, 6 month check ins, and lease renewals. This helps us set it and forget it so we can move onto the next project knowing that it is all documented properly. We even have a specific color on the calendar to organize the property management items. Once again, having Google Calendar as an app also helps so that Brady and I can each keep it on our phones to cross check schedules when planning any tenant maintenance.