The future’s looking good for property managers and landlords. Rental property management software companies are creating new and innovative ways to solve the problems plaguing property management companies and even small owners, landlords, and investors.
We caught up with David Bitton, Co-Founder & CMO of DoorLoop, a rental property management software, to find out what the future holds, especially after COVID. His answers may surprise you.
Co-Founder & CMO at DoorLoop
What problems are property managers & landlords having today?
Anyone managing any rental portfolio will likely have many similarities and issues on a daily basis. Whether it’s filling vacancies, dealing with tenants, or handling maintenance requests, there is always something that needs fixing.
Here are the most common issues we see when dealing with tenants:
- Failure to pay rent on time.
- Failure to pay rent in full.
- Do not follow the rules of the community.
- Do not give adequate notice of vacating the unit.
- Submit maintenance requests incorrectly.
How can a rental property management software solve these issues?
It always surprises us how many people and companies do not have adequate systems and processes to handle their growing businesses. Most use QuickBooks for accounting or Dropbox for saving files. However, many still have not adopted a rental property management software to manage all aspects of their portfolio.
Here are some easy wins that solve the most common problems:
- Automate rent collection – When you don’t offer any other option besides an automated credit card or ACH payment, you will start getting paid on the same day each month and in full. And if someone doesn’t pay in full or on time? You can add automated late fees as well.
- Lease renewal alerts – Instead of relying on tenants to give you notice, you can set up automatic alerts (and even emails) to alert both you and the tenant when their renewal is coming up. This way, there is no miscommunication and allows you enough time to market the vacant unit and find new qualified tenants.
- Tenant portal for maintenance requests – Instead of accepting maintenance requests by phone, text, email, or in-person, you can require all tenants to submit the request online through their tenant portal. This way, there is never any miscommunication if something wasn’t completed.
Are you starting to notice the primary trend and keyword here? It’s miscommunication. This is one of the main reasons for unhappy tenants and low renewal rates.
Luckily, all this can be solved with the right tools, systems, and software in place.
What portfolios are supported?
In today’s world, there are hundreds of options available that can manage any type of property or mixed-use portfolio. SourceForge even has an entire directory full of great options.
If you manage any of these rental properties, you can greatly benefit:
- Residential properties from multi-family, condominiums, apartments, and more
- Commercial properties from retail shopping centers, industrial or office spaces, and more
- University housing for students
- Mobile homes
- Affordable housing, including Section 8
- Homeowner associations that need to manage their residents and dues
Can anyone use it?
If you manage 1 or 100,000 properties or units, you can use software to help you get more organized and efficient.
The best use cases are:
- Landlords, owners, or real estate investors that own and manage their rental properties.
- Property managers that manage properties for other owners.
- Property management companies that have numerous clients and portfolios.
What does the future of property management look like?
Ah yes, for the million-dollar question! No one has a crystal ball and truly knows what’s to come, but we can predict what’s coming based on the dollars flowing from VCs and private equity firms into these software companies and technologies.
I’ve personally seen the market moving towards two huge buzzwords we’ve all heard before: AI and Automation.
If you’re not familiar with AI, it stands for Artificial Intelligence, also known as machine learning. What the heck does that mean, though? It means that computers and programs will be able to predict certain things based on historical data.
AI can help you find out in advance:
- Which tenants are likely to cancel their lease?
- Which prospects are likely to be a good fit?
- What price should you charge for rent?
The computer knows, for example, that there are specific data points that led a tenant to cancel their lease. For example: if a tenant has more than ten maintenance requests in the last six months, and 2 of them are still unresolved for more than 30 days, they are 80% more likely not to renew their lease.
The next major trend we’re seeing is in automation. Everyone wants to get more done in less time today. We all wish there were more hours in the day. Or maybe we could clone ourselves one day to get twice the work done! In all reality, though, automation can significantly help anyone scale their business, reduce their workload, and save them time and money.
Some examples of automation are:
- Automating maintenance requests – Sending the request automatically to 3 approved vendors, and the first one to accept it for the lowest bid will get the job.
- Automating the entire rental process from start to finish – Imagine having tenants apply online, fill out an electronic application, go through screening and background checks, get an automated approval to see the unit, get a code and instructions to view the unit, get a rental agreement if they like it, sign and approve the contract, pay the security deposits and first and last month of rent, collect rent payments automatically, and even sign the renewal offer!
Whoa, that was a lot! But it’s also inspiring to know that our industry is heading in that direction. And the truth is, almost everything I mentioned in this article already exists in one way or another; you just need to find and implement it.
What is DoorLoop, and how does it help property managers and landlords?
DoorLoop is the easiest rental property management software – I guess you can say I’m biased, however, since I’m one of the co-founders.
We’ve spent A LOT of time making the software as user-friendly and intuitive as possible so that you can get set up within hours instead of weeks.
Almost everything I’ve mentioned in this article is already built into the software, including most of the automation features, maintenance requests, and more.
As one of the highest-rated and fastest growing companies today, we invite you to contact us or request a demo if any of this is getting you excited and curious to learn more.
And if you speak to one of our teammates (or Loopers as we call them), feel free to mention this article for a special promotion.
Either way, know that regardless of the problem you’re facing, there’s always an app to fix it. Feel free to reach out for any questions on how to grow, optimize, and automate your rental business – we love helping!
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