Technology has revolutionized nearly every sector of the economy. Property management is no different. As scattered as rental properties tend to be, and as property managers look for ways to be more efficient while still providing exceptional customer service, managers are turning to property automation.
Lowering costs and optimizing returns while maintaining a personable customer experience is difficult until managers discover the ways property automation can revolutionize and transform property management.
Benefits Of Property Automation
Proptech isn’t just for large property managers and big real estate holding companies. It’s for landlords, investors, and every variety of property owners. Not everyone realizes just how useful proptech can be, so here are a few of the top reasons managers and owners leverage property automation for better returns.
Property Managers Can Focus On Higher Level Tasks
When you choose the right integrated automation, property management comes with an easy to use dashboard that lets managers and owners quickly check on properties. In today’s COVID-19 climate, managing as much as possible from a distance is crucial.
Dashboards and proptech options not only give at-a-glance access to every facet of each property; it also means managers can focus on the higher-level tasks that are in their wheelhouse.
Not every task is every manager’s specialty, but property automation means they can let technology handle mundane tasks, streamlining their work, and keeping them at optimal productivity.
This includes rent collecting and tenant management, using and storing smart documents, scheduling and monitoring vendors, scheduling self showing tours and property monitoring.
Property Monitoring And Managing
While there are numerous ways to monitor and manage smart properties, the big categories are temperature, access, and safety.
Temperature monitoring significantly extends the life of any HVAC system. By installing a smart thermostat, monthly utility bills can be decreased by as much between 15% – 20%.
This form of monitoring is available for property management, whether for a single rental home or a commercial rental property. And this feature is especially useful for managing HVAC during tenancy gaps.
Access to the property helps owners to manage vendor and tenant access. Plus, it gives tenants a better overall sense of security, given the ease with which keys can be duplicated.
Provide tenants with their unique code. Vendors and contractors can get an access code that will expire when the window for their work is completed. Landlords can always maintain a master code for access.
By using separate codes, managers always know who is coming and going, and when.
Safety is everyone’s primary concern. By building a suite of sensors specific to the property and risks of that area, managers can detect potential problems long before they create a bigger problem.
Detecting fire and flood, of course, are the obvious go-to sensors. Know when there is a problem, dispatch emergency services whether tenants are there to realize there is a problem or not, and even effortlessly provide an access code to EMS for entry.
Smart managers also consider smart management of lights and appliances. Turn off the lights that a plumber or electrician left on when they left. Turn off the water flow that was left at a drip. Reset light timers to coincide with daylight savings to avoid unnecessary usage. Even get low battery alerts when smoke detectors and image sensors need to be changed or charged – changing out failing bulbs help you avoid that “we’ll leave the light on” roadside motel feel and provide a better first impression.
Improve Service And Communication
Figuring out what residents want can be complicated. Automated surveys and other smart documents can be offered at predetermined intervals or as a real-time communication tool to get useful feedback and insights.
Create a feedback form for move-in experiences, move-out property quality checklists, and even provide a contact form. When tenants always have a reliable way to reach out, such as with contact forms, managers will always be alerted without sifting through emails and text messages. They can efficiently track tenant requests and communications.
Final Thoughts
While every property is different and every manager faces a unique mix of strengths, needs, and tenant preferences, property automation is the best way to ensure tenants’ safety, efficiency and cost reduction of any property, and hands-off property access and tracking.
Managers can focus more of their time on higher-level tasks, service and communication will delight tenants and differentiate an owner’s property experience, as well as ensure the safety of all tenants and visitors.
