For many rental residents, summer break is the perfect time to move. Children are off from school, it’s warmer, and there are more daylight hours. Last year alone, almost two-thirds of Americans moved home – this number is only expected to rise now that restrictions have fully eased.
It’s an exciting opportunity for property managers to increase their occupancy by appealing to new residents. But, we must also address how existing residents may take this opportunity to move on from their current multifamily rental.
Empty rentals are like a hole in your pocket, you invest time and money into its upkeep and gain nothing in return. This is why it’s so important for property managers to optimize the turnover process, in order to avoid prolonging the period in which the rental is vacant. The aim is simple: reduce the time your rentals sit empty.
The shorter the turnover process, the quicker the rental can go back on the market, get booked for viewings (such as Self-Guided Tours), and become a new home to paying residents.
How to streamline the move-out process with PointCentral
With the support of cutting-edge home automation technology, you can avoid unnecessary delays in the turnover process. Let’s break down the move-out timeline so you can see exactly how it streamlines the process…
Step one: Resident moves out
As soon as a resident moves out of a smart apartment it will automatically switch into vacant mode. This tells the thermostat to go into energy-saving mode, it turns off the lights and locks the doors.
What’s more PointCentral’s fully connected platform of smart tech will instantly inform and update property managers. So, whether you need to monitor the security of your multifamily building, check energy usage, or track the progress of a resident vacating a rental, you’ll be able to do all of this from an app. This means you’ll have complete control of your assets regardless of whether you’re at the property!
Being able to monitor the progress of a resident moving out means property managers can start creating work orders in preparation for when the rental is vacant. This is an essential time-saver as personnel such as maintenance, contractors, and cleaners, who are all needed to help get a rental back into top shape, may require advance bookings.
So, no matter how long your rental checklist is, whether the walls need painting, the carpet needs cleaning, or furniture needs fixing, you can guarantee that it will only take as long as it needs to and not a moment longer.
Step two: Track work orders
PointCentral’s IoT-connected tech solution, Community Access, is powered by keyless smart locks, which enable property managers to provide each team or personnel with a unique temporary passcode to access the building and rental.
As soon as these access codes are used, management will be informed via a message: “Painting team accessed Unit 101 at 13:20 pm”, so you know who is in your rental at all times and can monitor the progress of the turnover process. Gone are the days of later finding out that a contractor never turned up to the job.
And, what’s more, if a job is finished earlier than expected, you can notify the next team and push the whole schedule forward. Efficiency is vital for cutting down on wasted time.
Step three: Save time and costs
Eliminate the need for physical keys. With PointCentral’s scalable access solution, there’s no need to exchange keys with those who require access to the rental. Simply have a code automatically sent via text.
Property managers don’t need to worry about residents losing keys (or covering the cost of replacements) since they won’t exist. And the cherry on top is that property managers don’t even need to be at the property during the move-out process, meaning your precious time can be reinvested into bettering your business.
Direct entry solutions drastically increase the security of your properties, too. For example, unique passcodes can be given to granted personnel, and these passcodes can be time-limited around their job, plus access can be revoked at any time from the app. So, you have absolute control over who is in your building at all times.
With this tech-forward approach to property management, you’ll receive a notification every time someone accesses your property, which means you’ll not only control who is in your building, but you’ll know exactly when people are entering and leaving.
Step four: Fill the vacancy
The support of PointCentral’s fully connected platform doesn’t stop there. Now your rental is like new; the automated technology can support you in attracting prospective residents to your property with prolonged viewing hours while keeping it safe during viewings with smart lock powered Self-Guided Tours.
Key takeaways
Cost-cutting, operational efficiency, time-saving – what’s not to love? Take the move-out process to the next level with tech-advanced property management solutions, and turn a previously tedious process into a hassle-free, beneficial one.
Watch PointCentral’s video on how our tech can streamline your entire operation here.
