Uncategorized – Propertyware

Bitcoin Use Is on the Rise. What Does That Mean for Property Managers?

Jake Belding — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:47:39 +0000

In April, 2021, California real estate billionaire Rick Caruso announced his company would begin accepting Bitcoin for rent payments. In March, Morgan Stanley announced it would provide access to Bitcoin funds for wealth management clients, making it the first U.S. bank to do so. What once seemed like a shady currency meant for the darker parts of the web is now going mainstream. In fact, 16 percent of Americans have invested in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, according to a Pew Research study, and even entire nations are giving it legitimacy. With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies growing in popularity, more real estate investors and property management companies may follow Caruso’s lead, allowing tenants to pay their rent in crypto. In fact, there are already rent apps that make it possible. It’s easy to feel the pressure to jump on the bandwagon and accept it as an option for rent payments. If your owners or investors are interested in cryptocurrency, or if you’re thinking about getting in on Bitcoin yourself, there are some questions to ask first. Let’s explore exactly what cryptocurrency is, how it’s used, and what property managers should consider before investing.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin is just one many different kinds of cryptocurrency (crypto) out there. Crypto refers to any digital currency that is secured by cryptography using blockchain. Basically, it’s virtual money held in a network of shared databases that are encrypted not only for security, but also to keep a record of each transaction in a digital timeline.

What Is Blockchain?

Blockchain encryption records data in “blocks” that you can imagine as buckets. When the bucket fills to the top, information flows into the next bucket, and the two buckets are linked in chronological order. For that reason, blockchain is mainly used to store financial information, such as ledgers and crypto transactions. It’s also used to execute smart contracts, where an action, such as the release of a security deposit, doesn’t take place until a condition is met, such as an apartment inspection. When someone invests in crypto, their shares, so to speak, are held in a crypto wallet until the owner converts them into currency such as the U.S. dollar. Wallets are secure digital storage devices that use both a public key, or address, to which people can send crypto to you, and a private key, or digital code held only by the wallet’s owner.

How Do Crypto Payments Work?

Although it’s referred to as a currency, crypto doesn’t work like dollars or euros at the moment. The only exception to that rule is El Salvador, which has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender. Crypto currencies such as Bitcoin are actually purchased through exchanges, much like stock. The value of crypto moves up and down like stock, as well.

So how does that work for rent payments?

If a tenant pays rent in crypto, they’re simply transferring some of their shares to you, usually via an app. Through the app, owners or property managers can then convert crypto to dollars.

The Pros of Crypto

There certainly are aspects of cryptocurrency that make it appealing. If an owner or investor is weighing their options, here are some pros you can offer them:

Security

At the moment, crypto is stored and distributed over a network of databases that are outside of the control of governments, banks, and other regulating institutions. While that makes investment in crypto somewhat risky, it also guarantees that the currency won’t collapse at a single point of failure, such as a bank going out of business (think Lehman Brothers). And while nothing is totally hack-proof, its blockchain storage system makes it pretty difficult to break into.

Convenience

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the demand for contactless, on-the-go transactions has gained incredible momentum. Crypto provides yet another convenient payment option property managers can offer their tenants. Because of its decentralized nature, there is no third party to go through for money transfers, making transactions from the tenant to the property manager or owner quicker. If you manage properties overseas, cryptocurrency makes international money transfers easier, as well.

Investment

Cryptocurrencies are more of an investment opportunity than a way to pay the bills. Because they function much like company stocks, with fluctuating value, they’re meant to be held onto until you can cash out when the price is high. If you’re a larger property management or investment firm looking to experiment with different investment opportunities, allowing rent payments in Bitcoin, for instance, can get you started in cryptocurrency.

The Cons of Crypto

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies get a lot of hype in the media, which may pique your owners’ interest. It’s worth informing them of the risks that are involved, however. And there are a few.

Risk

Of course, the fact that there are no regulating bodies and that cryptocurrency is, essentially, a virtual currency poses some risks. First, while it’s incredibly difficult to hack blockchain networks, it’s not impossible. According to an MIT report, hackers stole almost $2 billion in cryptocurrency between 2017 and 2019, mainly from exchanges. Should a hacker or scammer gain access to your wallet, you could be wiped out in seconds. Like the stock market, the volatility of cryptocurrency poses some risk, as well. If you don’t convert your Bitcoin at the right time, you could lose money.

Lack of Immediacy

As we mentioned earlier, cryptocurrency is not meant for daily transactions. In fact, it can take up to 10 days to convert Bitcoin into dollars. If you or your owners are collecting rent to pay the bills, Bitcoin isn’t going to help. Instead, look at Bitcoin as an investment opportunity. If an owner or investor is keen on offering it as a payment option, they should ensure they have enough money coming in through traditional rent payments to allow them to take on some payments as investment only.

Difficulty Tracking

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency users are anonymized using a numerical code and different public keys for each transaction. Transactions, therefore, can’t be traced back to the user. That’s bad for two reasons. First, if you have a dispute over payments for services rendered and your client paid with Bitcoin, there won’t be any public record of the transaction, making your case hard to prove. Second, if you are sent the wrong amount by mistake, the transaction is irreversible.

No Government Regulation

If you make a transaction using traditional U.S. dollars, you have the FDIC and other bank regulations to protect your money. Not so with cryptocurrency. Because there’s nothing regulating transactions, you have very few legal protections.

How Property Manager Can Approach Crypto for Rent Payments

In early 2020, almost no one in the property management space was thinking about cryptocurrency. Now, however, the idea of a virtual currency that allows for quick, contactless payment is more appealing to property managers, owners, and tenants alike. Even if you’re not ready to dabble in crypto payments, you may come across an owner or investor who is. Having a knowledge base that can help guide them will add value to your business. And if you have the flexibility to move into crypto payments for interested owners and investors, all the better. Property management companies with no investments of their own will have to figure out transfer rent money paid in crypto to owners and investors. While crypto transactions are quick, creating a new process may take time. If you’re in a position to experiment with cryptocurrency as an investment opportunity, keep an eye on the market and plan your entry carefully. As with all investments, weigh the risks against the benefits before you jump in.

Highlights from the First-Ever PM Nation Event

Jake Belding — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 23:46:06 +0000

On November 15 and 16, the property management community came together to share their expertise and explore how technology can solve some of the most pressing challenges facing individual businesses and the entire industry in Buildium’s first-ever PM Nation user conference. More than 350 attendees—including property managers, investors, HOA leaders, and sponsors from 46 states and internationally—converged in Boston to network face-to-face, get filled in on the latest industry research, and sharpen their strategies for succeeding in 2022. From investment opportunities and top renter priorities to Buildium and Propertyware’s latest product roadmaps, we covered a lot. And we wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of it. That’s why—in case you weren’t able to join us in person—we’ve put together some of the biggest takeaways from the event:

Today’s Challenges and Opportunities

Mike Mauseth, Senior Vice President of RealPage presents the findings from the 2022 Property Management Industry Report on Day 1 of PM Nation. (Photo credit: Austin Wilder, South End Digital) Mike’s outlook for the industry was both clear and optimistic, a sentiment shared by those gathered in the room and the wider community of property managers we surveyed. He revealed that 86% of respondents are forecasting revenue growth in 2022 and 73% plan to grow their portfolios, the highest percentage we’ve seen since 2017. Much of that growth will come from residential rentals, an area that investors see tremendous potential in. The keynote laid the groundwork for how smaller investors can compete with larger companies zeroing in on the residential market, sharing how personalized service, a hallmark of property management businesses, can give them an advantage. On that same note, Mike shared feedback from owners and renters on what they value most from property managers. Owners are increasingly looking to PMs for their expertise on local market conditions, regulatory changes, and investing advice. The technology they’re most often looking for is digital payment options, followed by lease signing tech and maintenance request and tracking capabilities. Residents have similar priorities. They now expect more digital-first interactions throughout their rental experience. The data reveal that, in many cases, PMs aren’t delivering these digital interactions to the degree that residents want. In fact, if residents had their way, the use of electronic payments would jump 23 percentage points higher than where they currently stand. All this led up to Mike’s biggest takeaway: changing habits and resident expectations, largely influenced by the pandemic, have made technology an essential part of the renting experience. In light of the pandemic, new technologies are now central to doing business. They’re helping property management companies of all sizes play to their strengths and exceed both residents’ and property owners’ expectations. “First you start off and you’re building your accounts. 25, 50 accounts. Then you realize you need help and you have to hire people and institute software and systems to do it. It takes a lot… [Technology] has been a big part of our growth being able to leverage and build the company up. It’s a great partnership.” – Jason Born, Born Property Management

The PM Nation Experience

And that’s what attendees pointed to as a defining benefit of coming to PM Nation. For many, it was a first-of-its-kind experience, one that combined the breadth of possibility that technology can bring to the industry with a deeper look at the personalized service and distinct value each property management offers; that special “X factor” that defines successful relationships with customers. We weren’t alone in championing the benefits of that combination. A dozen partners joined us at PM Nation, each with their own approach to improving the nuts and bolts of property management through technology. Attendees explore partner solutions and get their questions answered at the Discovery Lounge. (Photo credit: Austin Wilder, South End Digital) The Discovery Lounge quickly became a hub of activity at the event, serving as a space for attendees to have one-on-one conversations with partners, share their specific challenges, and build plans to help them integrate the right technology in the right way for their business. “[Our software] helps us look back and understand how and why we got here. Whether it be a first-time investor or a seasoned management company, it is the tools that will help build a young business and it’s the tools that will help a mature business perfect itself. [The technology] is invaluable.” -Aram Gosdanian, Abbeyhill Realty and Management At PM Labs, attendees were also able to speak directly with product experts from Propertyware and Buildium who helped them learn how to get the most out of new, relevant features and strengthen their skills with the tools they use every day. “The biggest and best improvement we made was using the e-lease feature…..When we we’re doing leases in Word, it probably took 20-30 minutes to get a lease done. Now, we can approve an applicant, start an e-lease, and email the e-lease out in 5 minutes. It’s such a time saver.” -Jeannie Connors, Realty Solutions NJ Breakout sessions during the first day served as an opportunity to dig into the details of some of those features. Speakers from Buildium, Propertyware, and third-party partners shared their experience on how to make the most of new processes, service offerings, and tech in every part of a business, from accounting efficiency to communicating with residents. Barbara Kaplan, Industry Principal, RealPage, David Do, Propertyware Consultant, APM Help, and Paul Rozelle, Senior Vice President, GOAL Property Services talk accounting efficiency during a Day 1 breakout session (Photo credit: Austin Wilder, South End Digital) Customers like Logical Property Management’s Drew Sygit and PRANDI Property Management’s Shirley Lopez-Cano joined in on the discussion to reveal how they put these features into practice to not only work more effectively, but also market new capabilities as a competitive advantage that attracts prospective clients. Attendees gather to learn about the latest Buildium and Propertyware partner solutions (Photo credit: Austin Wilder, South End Digital) The resident experience was another big focus during many discussions. Partners like Tenant Turner spoke to packed rooms about the opportunities for digital experiences that surfaced during the pandemic and how to cut through the noise to find technologies that truly matter to residents. Presenters highlighted solutions like automated lockboxes, maintenance and viewing scheduling, and tools that cut down on response times. All these conveniences simplify the everyday aspects of finding and renting properties, which, in the eyes of renters, ultimately adds value.

Looking Ahead

PM Nation wasn’t just about what works now. Attendees also got insight into how to prepare their businesses for 2022 and beyond. Attendees take their seats ahead of futurist Crystal Washington’s, Day 2 keynote (Photo credit: Austin Wilder, South End Digital) In her Day 2 keynote, futurist Crystal Washington, CSP, used the context of our always online, hyper-connected lifestyles to share advice for delivering distinctive experiences for customers. She walked attendees through how to focus on changing customer needs, find gaps where expectations outpace existing services, and then seize those opportunities so that they’re the first companies to offer what customers truly want. Her strategies set the stage for sessions on Propertyware and Buildium’s product roadmaps, where a variety of new features were announced to help property managers make the most of the digital-first interactions both residents and homeowners have come to expect. PM Nation was a first-of-its kind experience, but it won’t be the last. Stay tuned in 2022 for details on what’s coming up next. The event may be over, but it’s not too late to get the insight you need to be successful in the new year. Check out the 2022 Property Management Industry Report, featuring the voices and preferences from thousands of property managers, renters, and rental owners. Our partner on the Industry Report, NARPM, will also be hosting their annual convention and trade show on October 17-20 2022, where they’ll take a closer look at the major trends affecting property management. The response from this year’s attendees and sponsors showed that PM Nation is more than just a conference, it’s a community. By connecting and sharing experiences we are able to learn from each other, lift each other up through challenging times, and elevate the way business is done. We hope you join us at future events as we build the future of property management, together.

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5 Multi-Location Management Problems Solved by Property Management Software

Jake Belding — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 22:01:44 +0000

By: Laurie Mega Managing multiple locations can be a constant juggling act, particularly if you have locations that fall across city, county, or state lines. You may be using different marketing strategies to reach different audiences and there are more than likely to be tax, security deposit, eviction, and even waste disposal laws that are unique to each of your locations. Using the right software can solve many of the most common problems larger property management firms face. A purpose-built property management software solution can help multi-location property managers handle all locations at a high level within a single platform while letting individual offices to get granular with the details that matter in their locations. In this article, we’ve outlined five of the biggest problems multi-location property management firms face that can be solved with a customizable property management platform.

Problem 1: No Clear View of All Locations at the Corporate Level

Meeting with location managers on a regular basis can mean a huge time commitment. You lose time scheduling a monthly or quarterly meeting where you have to listen to every presentation from each manager. Your managers spend time putting those presentations together, too. But what’s the issue with that, you ask? You’re not getting a full picture of your locations’ performance, just the highlights your managers pass on to you — and you’re certainly not getting any of that information in real time.

Solution: A Corporate-Level Dashboard and Consolidated Reporting

Instead of regular meetings that cover only some of the aspects of each location, you can introduce software with a dashboard that pulls in everything you need to know for each location onto one screen. This feature lets you look up turnover rates, rent collected, maintenance issues, or anything else you need to drill down into. Instead of managers spending time putting together presentations, they can simply enter in the correct data and move on with more pressing tasks that better serve their owners and tenants. A flexible solution will also allow you to create customized reports that give you key data for all, as well as individual, properties. You can even use that information to compare properties in the same or similar areas to analyze KPIs such as rental rates.

Problem 2: Inconsistent Processes Across Locations

Even for properties in different towns, regions, or states, there are some processes that will look pretty much the same. For example, listings and other marketing tools, as well as the rental application process will most likely follow a fairly similar format. Because those processes are so similar, there’s little point in having every location come up with their own documentation for each action. You want a consistent process that’s in line with your brand. And you want all of your locations reporting the same KPIs back to you so you can compare their performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

Solution: Templated Processes

Create templates you can share with all of your locations to keep rental applications, marketing, maintenance ticketing, and other redundant processes in line with your company’s goals. By implementing a software solution with those capabilities, you save your location managers time and money. When it comes time to check up on a location or handle a specific issue, you’ll be able to work effectively together because you’re all using the same templates.

Problem 3: Cookie-Cutter Processes Don’t Meet the Needs of Unique Locations

We know what you’re thinking. Templates don’t take into account unique situations at certain locations, forcing property managers to look for work-arounds. And that’s true. There’s no point in using templates to save time if you’re just going to have to spend that time finding a work-around.

Solution: Customization

A good property management software solution will still allow individual locations to make tweaks to templates to account for location-specific differences in some processes. If, for example, one location has a different time limit on sending back security deposits, property managers can adjust for that in their move-out templates.

Problem 4: Employees Have Too Much or Too Little Access

Okay, now you’re thinking, “What’s the point of templates if employees can go in and change them?” In any software solution, you don’t want certain employees to move carte blanche through the system. Deleted files, rearranged templates, and revised reports can cause a huge headache for you and your team.

Solution: User Profiles

That’s where user profiles come in. Your property management software solution should let you set up user profiles that allow you to restrict access to certain functions. It will also let you lock down certain aspects of your templated processes and documents. Property managers can set up user profiles for vendors, as well. Cleaning and maintenance crews with restricted access can log in to check for new work orders and update existing ones. They can even use it to submit invoices for completed work.

Problem 5: Reinventing the Wheel Every Time a New Location Opens

When you open an office in a new location, do you find yourself starting from scratch? You know what needs setting up and how to do it, but does your team rebuild all the processes and docs from the ground up? Even if you’re revising from your existing model, that’s a lot of time hunting down every tool, doc, spreadsheet, and app you need, then copying and revising them for the new location.

The Solution: Business Model Cloning

What if you could clone your business model and all that goes with it every time you open a new location? Think of the time and effort saved setting up your new office. Instead of focusing on processes and documentation, your team could focus on bringing in more doors and delivering the best possible service to existing ones. As the owner of a multi-location property management firm, you have to stay high level and focus on the health and trajectory of the business. While it’s important to keep your eye on your locations, you can’t get bogged down in minutia. That’s why it’s important to set up documentation and processes that allow you to manage individual locations quickly and effectively. Best-in-class property management software can help you cut down on time, money, and staff by automating and customizing every part of your property management business—no matter where your portfolio takes you. Explore the benefits of an all-in-one, open-platform property management solution, built specifically for multi-location property management companies.

The post 5 Multi-Location Management Problems Solved by Property Management Software appeared first on Propertyware.

5 Steps to Bring Your Lead-to-Lease Process Online and Boost Your Competitive Advantage

Murphy McNutt — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 13:00:40 +0000

There are so many benefits to improving and streamlining your lead-to-lease experience. By doing so, you can expand your tenant pool, shorten vacancy times, and provide a better experience for your residents and owners. And when you provide excellent customer service through your lead-to-lease process, you build your own reputation as a reliable property management company. One big way to get the most out of your lead-to-lease process is to move as much of it online as possible. In fact, with the right tech stack, you can move the entire process online, making it quicker, more convenient, and safer for your owners and tenants. There is another reason to move to digital: the demand for contactless transactions. Even when the pandemic wanes the sheer convenience and efficiency of moving online will remain. According to the Buildium/NARPM 2021 State of the Industry Report: The renters we surveyed told us that they’ve appreciated their property managers’ efforts to allow them to communicate, pay rent, sign documents, and take care of other rental processes from their homes. At the same time, property managers have unlocked new efficiencies and found ways to offer the same level of service as they did in person, convincing many of the benefits of leasing technologies even in a post-COVID-19 world. In this post, we’ll discuss the steps you can take to boost your lead-to-lease process by adding digital solutions to every step of your plan.

Step 1: Expand Your Lead Generation Methods

To generate leads, you typically list a property, put up signage in the yard or outside the building, and then set up open houses and showings for prospective tenants. Of course, some of those practices have changed drastically in the last year, namely open houses and showings. But with the onset of digital tools such as listing widgets and social media management systems, the entire concept of lead generation has been turned on its head.

Listing Widgets

According to Buildium’s industry report, 77 percent of property managers surveyed were already using online listings. Imagine if you could streamline the process of posting online. Instead of logging into separate online listing sites, consider using https://propertyware1.wpengine.com/rental-property-listings/ to distribute branded listings across multiple sites. Pro Tip: A good listing widget will allow you to edit and use filters for your listings to get them in front of your target audience. It will also create responsive listings that automatically format for mobile and desktop.

Virtual and Self Showings

Showing properties in person aren’t impossible at the moment, but it’s pretty difficult to do while following safety protocols and maintaining social distance. The solution for many property management companies has been to provide virtual and self-showings through businesses such as Tenant Turner and Showing Hero. By allowing tenants to tour properties on their own and at their convenience or view them online, you increase the number of leads, which could lower your vacancy rates.

Social Media Marketing

The first step to creating a great marketing strategy to generate leads is to know your target audience. Who are your tenants, typically, and who are you targeting to fill your vacancies? Are they older? Younger? Professionals? Families? Once you know that, you know where to focus your social media marketing efforts. Moms tend to gather on Pinterest, while younger tenants are more likely to use Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. And they’re more likely to view all their social on mobile. There are software tools out there that can help you set up, schedule, and track the engagement on your posts across your channels. Take a look at Hootesuite or Hubspot to help you organize your social media content. Pro Tip: You could simply post your listings on social, but there’s so much more you can do to draw in your audience. Consider sharing local events, tips for renters, or even fun, shareable memes. Your audience will be more likely to follow and engage with you.

Tracking Leads

When the leads start coming in, it can be tough to keep track of them, particularly for multiple properties at once. An online lead tracking system will follow each lead from the first moment they get on your radar all the way through to lease signing.

Step 2: Improving the Tenant Application Experience

According to Buildium’s 2021 industry report, 63 percent of the property managers they surveyed were already using online applications, a valuable service to tenants. Of the tenants Buildium talked to, 32 percent want to be able to search for and apply to units online. The ability to apply via mobile is particularly valuable. They can apply from anywhere, anytime, reducing the risk of losing a prospective tenant who has to wait until they’re sitting at a computer. And once they submit their application, they can check their status online. An online application is valuable for property managers, too, who can check applications and start the screening process on the go. And online status updates reduce the number of phone calls they have to field. You can also retain leads you would have normally lost if they didn’t fit a particular property. Instead of passing it up, keep that lead and reach out when something that does meet their needs comes up.

Step 3: Streamline the Tenant Screening Process

We don’t have to tell you how time-consuming tenant screening is. Running background and credit checks and calling references sucks up a lot of your time, resources, and money. What if we told you there’s a way to screen a tenant using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning? Can you imagine how much time and money that would save you? An AI screening tool will handle credit and background screenings, but it doesn’t stop there. It will actually analyze a prospective tenant’s debt-to-income ratio and predict their ability to pay in the future based on previous payment habits. It allows you to base your leasing decision on more than just a credit score, which doesn’t always give you the whole picture.

Step 4: The Lease-Signing Experience

Just over half of surveyed property managers were using online lease signing. And tenants voiced their appreciation. One tenant told Buildium, “When I renewed my lease, she just emailed me the electronic lease to sign and we talked on the phone. It was a much better way to stay in contact.” Pro Tip: Save lease templates via your property management software solution, so all you have to fill in is the owner and tenant information. Then, send it off to be signed electronically by all parties. It never has to be printed, emailed, or faxed.

Step 5: Enable Online Payment

According to Buildium’s report, 57 percent of residents said that the ability to pay rent online is important. By giving tenants an online payment system, they can pay their rent and fees via mobile, reducing the risk of late payments (and late fees). You can also pay owners more quickly, as the rent comes in. And think of all the money you’ll save on check-processing fees, savings you can pass on to your tenants and owners. Moving your lead-to-lease process online has so many benefits. It saves you time, resources, and money. It helps you provide a higher level of customer service to your tenants and owners, and gives you an edge over your competitors. And while you can choose a number of single-use apps to meet your digital needs, you might want to consider a full-service property software solution that includes tools for lead generation, online applications, tenant screening, lease signing, and online payment. It may also include document storage. You can even take it to the next level with a tool that provides an open API, so if you’re already working with other digital solutions, you can integrate them into one workflow via your property management software solution. Whatever you choose for your lead-to-lease needs, make sure it gives you that competitive advantage and helps you provide the kind of service your owners and prospective tenants are looking for.

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The State of the Single-Family Rental Industry: Three Experts Weigh In

Murphy McNutt — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 13:00:38 +0000

Photo by Sieuwert Otterloo on Unsplash By: Laurie Mega We don’t need to tell you what a rollercoaster year 2020 was—not only for property managers but also for their owners and tenants. As 2020 draws to a close, you may be looking back on the sea of changes experienced by the single-family rental market and wondering where it leaves you as a property manager, now and in 2021. We sat down with the heads of three industry-leading executive single-family property managers to talk about the state of the single-family industry, how their properties fared amid the pandemic and the resulting exodus of tenants from major cities, as well as the California wildfires and the presidential election.

The Current State of the Single-Family Market

Some surprising developments have come out of the COVID-19 crisis. Landlords expected to see high delinquency and vacancy rates, as they panicked about eviction bans enforced at both the federal and state levels. What happened instead was surprising. As investors reassessed their portfolios, manufacturing and construction came to a halt, and people left cities in droves, property managers faced a very different market than they had anticipated.

Low Vacancy and High Occupancy

Since the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020, 22 million Americans have lost their jobs, and in the ensuing months only 12 million found new ones. The property managers we spoke to expected to have real vacancy issues. But to their relief, the opposite was true. Adam Haleck is President and CFO of Northpoint Asset Management in Salt Lake City, Utah. His company has 25 offices in 12 different states. “We expected people to lose their homes or downsize into other places,” he says. “And we have not seen that. We’ve seen, actually, a lower vacancy rate and higher demand for at least our single-family product.” Duke Dodson is the owner of Dodson Property Management in Richmond, Virginia. They manage over 7,000 units in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and South Carolina. He has seen the same trend in his markets and credits it partially to the rent relief programs put in place by cities and states. In fact, The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the record-high occupancy, as well as low vacancy and delinquency rates at single-family properties. They noted that some owners are even raising rents. Dodson has seen increases of 2%-3% in his area, though some owners are still keeping rents flat.

Limited Inventory Drives Up Rent Prices

The higher demand along with a slowdown in construction and a large number of investors selling off their properties, as well as a number of other factors, have resulted in very limited inventory across the country. Andy Propst, based in Boise, Idaho, is CEO of the HomeRiver Group. They are in 22 markets and manage about 23,500 doors. He says he’s seen 10% rent growth since March and credits some of that with the constrained inventory he and other property managers are seeing across the country. Part of it was caused by investors selling their properties. “A lot of investors were scared off and sold off their single-family homes. We lost inventory. That’s where we’re hurting.” They were also taking advantage of record-high home prices.

The Tenant Exodus

A Pew Research study conducted in June 2020 found that 3% of Americans had moved either temporarily or permanently during the pandemic. And while hard numbers on the people who moved from large cities are still being collected, anecdotal evidence abounds. “In my hometown in Boise, Idaho, there’s a train constantly dropping off folks from California or Oregon,” says Propst. Other factors, he says, have also contributed to moves to his area, including the California wildfires and the Oregon laws decriminalizing hard drugs. “So, if you want to buy a house or rent something in Boise, right now it’s almost impossible to do.” Investors are also dumping their properties on the coasts and looking into other markets, driving up costs.

Investors Cashing Out

The movement of tenants out of cities has triggered another type of exodus: investors in single-family rentals. But that isn’t the only reason investors are selling off part or all of their portfolios. Some are taking advantage of the high home prices and selling to residents, who then continue to occupy the homes. Others are anticipating a reinstatement of capital gains taxes with a Biden administration and are selling before January 2021 to get ahead of it. Some also wonder if opportunity zones created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will continue: “They came out with opportunity zones, where people could sell other assets besides investment property and then roll those into an opportunity zone fund or an exchange and not have to pay those capital gains,” explains Propst. “That was huge for our business. That was a game changer.”

The Lifting Eviction Bans

When the pandemic struck and huge regions of the country went into lockdown, cities, states and the federal government initiated eviction bans that sent property managers and owners into a panic. How would they maintain their operations and pay their bills if they weren’t collecting rent? But for many, it became a non-issue. “The CDC ban initially looked like bad news for us, but we’re not seeing that across a lot of markets,” says Propst. “With the number of properties we manage, there’s only a handful of people filling out the forms.” Haleck agrees. He found that most of his tenants wanted to do the right thing and pay their rent. And those who couldn’t were proactive in finding a solution with their landlords. Landlords, on the other hand, were willing to work with their tenants. “Everyone agrees that being evicted is a bad thing. Owners don’t like it. Managers don’t like it. The tenants don’t like it. It’s not good for them.” He says his company works with lawyers that have refocused their business from processing evictions to helping tenants take advantage of rent relief programs. Meanwhile, Dodson represented his firm on an eviction task force in his city of Richmond, Virginia, since evictions were already high there pre-COVID-19. “We were actually able to help shape what the process looks like.” Overall, they agree that very few tenants were taking advantage of the system. Propst points out that some were simply unaware of the CDC ban but most, they say, just wanted to do the right thing. “It’s encouraging, and it gives me more faith in humanity,” says Haleck. “The delinquencies resulting from the eviction bans only really hurt the very vulnerable owners, where the rent is their mortgage. But we’ve turned them into sales opportunities.”

Forecasting for 2021

As Dodson put it very succinctly: “Single-family rentals will be fine.” Despite the lack of inventory, the overall market for single-family rentals looks promising for 2021.

Inventory

Dodson, Haleck and Propst all agree that inventory levels will continue to be low in 2021. “We’re not going to see massive expansions of single-family homes to buy or for rent,” says Propst. He cites the high cost of construction as well as a shortage of materials caused by the shutdown of lumber mills during the pandemic and the destruction of others from fires. Turnover is also low, he says. “People normally move out between 18 and 24 months. People aren’t moving out because of limited inventory and the pandemic.”

Delinquency

Already low delinquency levels should continue to drop, says Haleck. He points out that as unemployment continues to fall, so will rent delinquencies.

Rent Growth

“And I would assume that we will still see 3-6% or 7% rent growth nationally over the next 12 months,” says Haleck. “But, what do I know? Twelve months ago, if you asked me this question, I probably gave you the wrong answer given what has happened since.”

The Mood Among Investors

Propst points out that the appetite for single-family rentals is higher than it’s ever been, but the lack of inventory is driving investors into greater risk. “They’re buying in these areas that are higher-risk. It’s really hard to find a good value, even though the appetites there.” Dodson agrees: “It’s hard. You know that there are only so many houses that make sense.” And so does Haleck: “Gosh, if I had $1 for every client that wants to buy another rental property… They’re really scarce. I’ll say that maybe 5 years ago, when a client property would flip, it would be sold to an owner that occupied it. Nowadays, it’s almost always sold to another investor and most of the time, we’re able to retain management, which is kind of a nice thing.” But there is hope for those looking to expand their portfolios as other investors, particularly those looking to retire, are trying to offload their portfolios.

Planning for 2021: Increasing Revenue per Door

While it may be difficult to increase revenue by expanding your clientele, Dodson, Haleck and Propst all agree you can create other revenue streams by adding fees for additional services. Haleck explains that when they were a new company, they couldn’t see beyond their management and leasing fees. “And it wasn’t until we smartened up that we realized there are other ways we can extract revenue out of these properties—through maintenance, through documentation fees, through different programs that we roll out to the owners and the tenants.” He says it’s more important to offer lower management fees and then add on other fees instead of offering one all-inclusive fee. For instance, his company charges $15-$20 per door for maintenance to the owner. Then, they charge the tenants for filters. Maintenance, specifically, is a big revenue stream. Dodson says that his team can do the job faster, better and cheaper than a third-party vendor. Propst explains that maintenance fees account for about 50% of his revenue: “It surprised me that a lot of property management groups don’t take advantage of it.” He adds that benefit packages are a great way to increase revenue per door. One of his favorite fees is the tenant holiday gift, a program in which his company purchases gifts in bulk at a discount and then makes about 40% in margin.

Conclusion

This year has certainly kept property managers on their toes. But overall, the fears at the beginning of the year that the single-family market would suffer major losses have mostly been unrealized. The market remains strong. And there is still opportunity for raising rents and adding revenue streams in 2021. The one caution for investors: Stay aware of the limited inventory that could continue to drive up housing prices.

The post The State of the Single-Family Rental Industry: Three Experts Weigh In appeared first on Propertyware.

Utilities 101: Taking the Hassle Out of Payments

Jessica Rivera — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 13:44:41 +0000

By: Laurie Mega Paying utility bills can be tricky for everyone involved: property owners, tenants, and property managers. Handling utility payments yourself can take up precious time billing tenants, collecting payments, tracking down missing payments, and getting money out to utility companies. If tenants pay their own utilities, you may not have to worry about tracking the money, but there’s still some risk to your owners if residents miss payments. But you can help your tenants, your owners, and your own business by putting together a process for handling utilities in a way that’s efficient and repeatable.

Understand How to Handle Utilities

Before you decide how to handle utilities, it’s important to understand the different payment situations an owner might set up.

Utilities Included in the Rent

Including utilities, such as water, in the rent can be attractive to prospective tenants because it takes the guesswork out of monthly payments. Tenants will be able to count on one rent payment to you every month and know that utilities are covered, too. The trick is to raise the rent enough to cover utilities every month without overcharging your residents. On the flip side, if you get a tenant who cranks up the heat or uses a lot of electricity, you could end up paying more than you budgeted for. There is also a risk of over-pricing properties when including utilities and losing good prospects who may not be aware that your rent includes utilities. Your lease language should spell out exactly which utilities are covered in the rent and how much of the rent goes toward paying them.

Utility Fees

Some owners charge a base fee for all utilities and then handle all the bills themselves. Fees have to follow local and state laws, which could get you into a situation where you’re not charging enough to cover utilities. If you choose to charge a fee, your lease should explain exactly how much that fee is and what it covers.

Utilities Paid by the Tenant

Letting tenants handle the utilities can help you keep rents competitive, which is also attractive to tenants. It also frees up your staff from having to deal with utility bills, calculating costs, and keeping all payments up to date. But there is a risk with this option, too. If a tenant moves out without paying a bill, the responsibility could fall to the owner. If the unpaid bill is for water or sewage — something controlled by the city — a lien could be placed on the owner’s property. This setup can also delay the tenant from moving in because they will need, on average, two days to transition utilities into their name before moving in, creating a longer vacancy period.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Utility Payments

Before COVID-19, many aspects of property management were already heading online. The push for more mobility coupled with the of the millennial and Gen Z generations drove the demand for online property management software, such as Propertyware, which puts everything from payments to document signing and storage to work order tracking onto one portal. That demand has only increased with the need for social distancing and contact-free transactions. Paying utilities is much the same. Utility companies usually provide their own portals for payment, billing history, and usage tracking. But that still means logging into several portals to cover gas, electric, sewage, water, and other utilities. You could always try to keep track of every utility payment yourself, but the best approach is to use a utility management platform to simplify the process completely.

Using a Utility Management Platform

A good utility management service, such as the one provided by SimpleBills, will act as a third party, collecting all utility bills from providers and invoicing the tenants directly. This service effectively takes utilities off of the property manager’s plate and allows them to focus on more revenue-generating operations like lease-up and renewals. For managers or owners who already bill utilities back to their tenants, a utility management service should be able to manage this for you, reducing the time your staff spends on it. The service should also keep track of issues like missing bills or spikes in utility costs. Tenants have access to all their utility usage in one place, allowing them to pay and track their utilities month to month. It can even apportion bills between tenant and owner. Finally, a good utility payment service will allow you to turn over units without turning utilities on and off, saving both you and your tenants time and money. Owners and prospective owners may need your help choosing the right option for utility payments and setting up a process. By showing them their options and having a process already in place, you provide value to them and to your tenants.

The post Utilities 101: Taking the Hassle Out of Payments appeared first on Propertyware.

The Benefits of AI Tenant Screening

Jessica Rivera — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 17:27:36 +0000

By Laurie Mega

Tenant screening is a big part of what you do as a property manager. You want to fill your units quickly to avoid losing money, but you need to find the right tenants to move in. That’s where tenant screenings come in. Checking the financial, criminal, and rental history of prospective tenants helps ensure you get a tenant who will pay rent on time, who is not likely to break their lease, and who could even stay for the long-term. But of course, a screening can be time-consuming. And if you’re managing multiple properties, screening alone could take up the better part of your day. So how do you get the most accurate assessment of every prospective tenant who applies to your units without holding up the rental process? An AI tenant screening solution just might do the trick. While tenant screening offerings have been around for a while, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is still fairly new. Companies like RealPage are pioneering the use of AI to make the tenant screening process more streamlined.

What Is AI and Machine Learning?

You’ve probably heard the terms artificial intelligence, AI, and machine learning batted around, especially if you have Alexa or some other smart home device. The same technology that allows Alexa to respond to your questions and predict your preferences is now used to help property managers screen prospective tenants. Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the ability of an application, such as Google search, to predict an outcome based on a large amount of data, also called big data. Every time you begin to type in a query into Google, a list of possible queries pops up, right? That’s because the algorithms powering the search engine are trying to predict what you’re searching for based other searches using the same keywords. Apps like Google also use machine learning to deliver the best results to users. Machine learning is exactly what it sounds like. The app is refining its results based on your previous searches and the results you clicked on. Tenant screening solutions that use AI and machine learning are doing essentially the same thing. For instance, the RealPage proprietary rental payment history database contains more than 30 million lease outcome records, the largest and most comprehensive in the industry. Those records are analyzed by their AI tenant screening algorithm to predict tenant behavior.

How is AI Used for Tenant Screening?

You know how the traditional tenant screening works. When a prospective tenant applies to one of your homes or units, you take their information and run a credit check, a rental history, a criminal background check, and you may call their references. AI tenant screening automates at much of the process by analyzing the information from each tenant to come up with a score, much like a credit score, that property managers can use to determine whether or not they will be a good fit for their properties. It also gives the opportunity for populations who were previously disqualified a chance to qualify. Here’s how: Finally, the scoring algorithm analyzes debt-to-income differently. Instead of looking at all debt equally, it takes into account low-interest “good” debt, such as student loans and car payments versus “bad” debt such as that from credit cards.

The Benefits of AI Screening Tools

Because AI tenant screening tools take a much more robust approach to tenant screening from a financial perspective, it reduces the risk of financial loss from unpaid rent and eviction processes. According to RealPage, it can amount to a cost savings of more than $400 million for U.S. property owners. Aside from the financial benefits, a tenant screening solution with AI can also help level the playing field for tenants. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits property managers and owners from refusing to rent based on sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, gender, religion, color, familial status, or national origin. Try as we might, there is still room for inherent bias when looking at tenant applications. An automated process helps reduce Finally, a tenant’s score result is transferable. This has a number of advantages, including the ability to track the lifetime value score of residents currently living in a property. From year to year, their score will change, and you can track that change to assess their viability as a tenant. The use of AI and machine learning in tenant screening are changing the game for property management. Those who are pioneering the technology, such as RealPage, are making great strides to help property managers choose the best tenants for their properties while opening up the market for an even larger tenant pool.

The post The Benefits of AI Tenant Screening appeared first on Propertyware.

The Future of Single-Family Property Management: Four Digital Tactics to Stay on the Cutting Edge

Jessica Rivera — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 19:39:32 +0000

By Laurie Mega

Leading up to the beginning of 2020, there was already a push for property management to go digital. Apps and digital management tools made lead generation, listing syndication, and even website management easy. All of it was fueled by the generational shift toward all things digital. Both millennials and Gen-Z expect to complete their day-to-day business online. In the midst of a global pandemic, the need to offer digital services and adapt to changing tenant needs has become paramount. More and more people are jumping online to shop, order services, and even pay rent. Now more than ever, going digital and providing topnotch service online is key to remaining on the cutting edge of property management. Here are just four examples of how property managers can stay competitive in this ever-changing market.

1. Smarter Tenant Screening with AI

Every time you search on Google, ask your smart home device a question, or use the autofill function in your Gmail, you’re reaping the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Simply put, your apps learn how to give you the best search results or finish a sentence for you by analyzing large sets of data and learning from past behavior. For property managers, there are apps that can use AI to screen potential tenants. An AI tenant screening tool pulls in information such as rental history, credit scores, and debt-to-income ratios on a prospective tenant. It then compares the analysis to a large pool of tenant information to come up with a tenant score, much like a credit score. Using an AI tenant screening tool can make what was once a time-consuming process more efficient and less labor intensive.

2. A Mobile-Responsive, UX-Friendly Interface

When a website is responsive, the layout adapts to the type of device someone is using to access it. The images, text, navigation, and other elements will move and change to fit a laptop screen, tablet, or smartphone. UX is short for user experience, which simply means that anyone coming to your site will find it easy to use and get to what they’re looking for. Have you ever gone to a website and found it hard to navigate or find what you’re looking for? Perhaps you came across one with a layout that looks 10 or 20 years old? Did you trust that site? Did you stick around to figure out its complicated navigation? Probably not. To stay in the game, your website should be well-designed and easy to navigate, especially on mobile devices. Both mobile responsiveness and good UX are so important that search engines like Google reward sites that incorporate them. In fact, Google uses the mobile version of a site to index it in search. That’s because more than half of all global internet traffic now comes from mobile. And beginning this year, Google now favors sites with good UX. The good news is, you don’t have to be a web designer to get a well-designed, mobile-friendly site. There are templates out there that can help you build the kind of site you need to get noticed.

3. Lead Generation

While syndicated listings and advertisements are still important ways to generate leads, there are other strategies you can build into your marketing plan to maximize your lead generation efforts. First, make sure that website is optimized and that it’s easy for prospective tenants to apply right from your site. Second, don’t underestimate the power of social media. Did you know that 30 percent of millennials engage with a brand via social at least once a month? Use your social media channels to build an audience, list your properties, and link to your site where people can apply. Step three is to make sure you’re engaging with your audience on review sites and actively working to collect good reviews. Place a link in your bio that takes people right to your listings.

4. Automation

Finally, one of the best things you can do to stay competitive is to minimize the time and resources you spend on everyday tasks. By doing so, you can reallocate your time to providing great service and keep costs low for your owners. There are a number of ways you can automate the time-consuming parts of your business. Here are a few:

Lead Tracking: By using an automated lead-tracking system, property managers can move someone from prospect to tenant without a lot of paperwork. The tool can help them analyze successes and challenges, as well.
Application Portals: An application portal will allow prospective tenants to apply on their own time and see the status of their application without having to call your office.
Email Automation: There are all kinds of emails you can automate, from lead generation to regular newsletters to tenants and owners. For example, property managers can set up automatic emails that are triggered when a lead doesn’t finish filling out an application.
Online Payments: Online payments make it easy for tenants to pay from anywhere and for property managers to keep track of rent. It’s also contactless, so there’s no risk of breaking social distancing guidelines.
Work Order Management: Work orders are a lot easier to track with a management tool. And you can pull in more than one vendor at the same time. Finally, this tool allows you to track time to improve efficiency and response time.

All of these tools do more than just reduce time and effort. They collect valuable data you can then analyze to look things that are working and need improvement. They also help you reallocate funds to other business initiatives like adding services or expanding clientele. The future of single-family property management is most certainly a digital one. But it’s not just about looking good online. It’s about leveraging the right tools to streamline your business, reduce costs, and provide top-of-the-line service to owners and tenants.

The post The Future of Single-Family Property Management: Four Digital Tactics to Stay on the Cutting Edge appeared first on Propertyware.

COVID-19: Getting Back to Work After the Quarantine Lifts

Jessica Rivera — Tue, 19 May 2020 15:44:26 +0000

By Laurie Mega

In many states, the talk about COVID-19 has turned from how to shelter in place to how to get people back to work. But as the threat of the virus continues, companies across industries understand that the term business as usual is going to take on a whole new meaning. The workplace has changed, possibly forever. Employers, including property managers, now walk a delicate balance between fighting the virus and keeping their businesses open. The CDC, Department of Labor, and OSHA, as well as IREM and other property management resources, have put together guidance and information for businesses, particularly property managers, returning to work.

When and How Do You Bring Your Employees Back?

Since property managers are considered essential workers under CISA guidelines, you’re not dealing with opening up after a complete shutdown like other industries. Instead, your challenge will be when and how to bring employees who have been working remotely back to the office (if you decide to do that at all). People will come back to offices in waves, and the timing will depend on where you live. CNBC notes that employees in more rural areas, where a lack of population density has meant fewer cases, will probably be more willing to go back sooner. The best way to determine when to bring your employees back is to stay up-to-date on the recommendations and guidelines of your community and state officials. Of course, you may find telecommuting works well for your team. And there are property management firms that have gone completely mobile with the help of property management software. But if and when you do bring your employees back to the office, it’s important to remember that the pandemic is not over. Current projections put the end of the pandemic two years out, after a vaccine is available and 70 percent of the U.S. population is immune. So even if your state or local government gives the okay to bring workers back, offices and other workplaces won’t look the same as they did before the pandemic. And stay-at-home orders may be issued intermittently until the virus is under control. Fortunately, there are a host of resources by different government departments that provide guidance that property managers can use to create and maintain a safe work environment.

Maintain Social Distancing

A big part of the discussion around opening businesses once again is how to maintain social distancing. Workers will still have to maintain the recommended six feet of distance between each other, but how do you do that in an office? Here are some suggestions from the CDC:

Allow some (if not all) employees to continue to work from home.
Stagger shifts so not all employees are in the office at once.
Create a greater distance between employees and customers.

For that last point, property managers who were once allowing walk-ins may want to discontinue that practice. Instead of letting tenants and owners come in to make payments, set up a drop box outside the office. Or better yet, set up online payments. Restrict in-person meetings, as well. Use video conferencing software to meet with owners or prospective owners. If you haven’t already, consider an online tool like Propertyware, which provides owner and tenant portals, online payments, and electronic signatures. IREM also recommends barring employees from using conference rooms and restricting occupancy in common areas such as kitchens and copy rooms. Property managers can designate personal workspaces using tape on the floor, as well.

Establish Prevention Practices

OSHA recommends making hand sanitizer, wipes, and tissues, as well as plenty of trash cans, available throughout the office, especially in high-touch areas. In addition, property managers should encourage the following behaviors in the office:

Frequent handwashing
Covering sneezes and coughs
Avoiding using other employees’ desks, phones, and supplies
Staying home when sick

OSHA also recommends regular housekeeping, and the CDC provides guidance on proper sanitation procedures for offices that have been exposed to COVID-19. Finally, put work-from-home guidelines in place for employees who have been traveling. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which enforces anti-discrimination laws, says if an employee returns from a place with a high infection rate, you can’t require a medical exam to return to work. But you can encourage them to work from home until the accepted two-week incubation period has passed. You may be considering taking temperatures of employees as a preventative measure. The EEOC has determined taking temperatures of employees is okay during the current crisis. But employers have to remember that taking a temperature is considered a medical examination, and subject to all the confidentiality rules of an exam. It’s also important to note that not everyone with the coronavirus has a temperature, so it may not be worth the trouble.

Provide Protective Equipment

OSHA has put together guidelines on how to determine what level of risk workers are at and what procedures they should follow at each risk level. According to those guidelines, property managers would be classified at a medium-exposure risk because they are in frequent contact with the general public. OSHA points out that the kinds of protective gear you provide for staff will depend on the job and the level of exposure. You might offer face masks and protective gloves to maintenance staff, for example, when they need to perform maintenance or landscaping work. Note that you are allowed to require protective equipment in the office as well as on job sites.

Limit Interactions With Tenants and Owners

To minimize exposure, OSHA suggests limiting contact with customers, in this case tenants. Property managers may want to limit the amount of maintenance being done at this time, and triage work orders in order of most to least important. For maintenance that has to be done, workers and tenants should keep away from each other. Maintenance staff should carry wipes and disinfecting agents to sanitize spaces before and after their work. There are two options for showing properties that can minimize contact. First, you can set up virtual tours where prospective tenants can view properties online. Or prospective tenants can go on a self-guided tour by accessing a key in a lock box with a pass code. After they have left, property managers should go in and wipe down high-touch areas such as doorknobs, cabinet handles, and counters.

If an Employee Gets Sick

As employees return to work, make sure they’re aware of the symptoms of coronavirus and stress the importance of alerting you and staying home if they get any of them. You are restricted in the kinds of questions you can ask if they do stay home because of an illness. Make other employees aware that they have possibly been exposed to the virus without disclosing the sick employee’s medical details. Then, implement the sanitation procedures recommended by the CDC, including closing exposed areas, or the entire office if need be, until it is clean. If an employee shows symptoms at work, it’s important to isolate them right away. Offer them a mask and send them home as soon as possible. Employees should stay out of the office until they are cleared by a medical professional. It’s important to let employees know that they may be eligible for paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Should an employee get sick, or have to care for a loved one who is sick, make sure your office is prepared, too. Train all employees on the fundamental tasks of each other’s jobs. Workers who get the coronavirus could be out for a long time. In the meantime, another employee can cover for them while they or their loved one recovers.

Returning to Stay-at-Home Orders

The risk of a second wave of the pandemic is a possibility, so property managers should be prepared. Assess what you did during the first wave to determine what worked and what didn’t. IREM has put together a document to help property managers create a plan for future pandemics. One of your considerations should be a contingency plan for supply or service interruptions. If you contract out your maintenance, for example, and your vendor closes, what do you do? How do you manage if certain cleaning supplies are hard to find? Plan it out and write it down. Unfortunately, returning to work isn’t as simple as opening the doors. There’s a lot of thought and preparation that has to happen first. Fortunately, authorities have provided plenty of guidance. Read it all carefully and create a solid plan that will keep you employees, tenants, and owners as safe as possible.

The post COVID-19: Getting Back to Work After the Quarantine Lifts appeared first on Propertyware.

Tools to Help Property Managers Maintain Social Distancing and Keep Their Business Running

Jessica Rivera — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 14:00:01 +0000

By Laurie Mega

As most of the nation remains on lockdown to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, businesses across industries have had to rethink how they stay afloat while protecting employees and customers. Property managers, in particular, are in a unique situation. Not only are they responsible for the safety of their staff. They play a key role in the health and safety of their residents, their property owners, and their vendors. Nationwide, property managers are grappling with maintaining social distancing while keeping essential services available for their residents and their owners. There are a number of ways they can do that, and every day more resources become available to help them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) have all published guidelines to help property managers establish social distancing protocols. Here are some of the actions you can take and the tools to help you do it.

Protecting Current and Prospective Residents

So much of your business is about meeting and interacting with people. But maintaining social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t provide vital services. Putting the Lead-to-Lease Cycle Online: The right online portal can put the entire lead acquisition and nurturing process online so nothing is done in person. From ad syndication to an application portal to tenant screening, everything can be done online without breaking social distancing guidelines. When an applicant is ready to sign, use an eSignature tool to eliminate the need for an in-person signing. Rethinking Property Showings: Even before governors and mayors restricted their residents’ movement, property managers had to rethink showings by making only vacant properties available, limiting visitors, and sanitizing between visits. Now, with 90 percent of Americans under stay-at-home orders in 42 states, property managers have even fewer options. Many are turning to virtual showings, using 360-degree images of rooms. The NAR gives specific guidelines for brokerage firms in states that consider them essential, as well as for firms in states where they are not essential. Property managers may find them helpful, as well. Transitioning Payments and Fees to a Portal: In-person payments are pretty much out of the question these days. And although experts have no evidence COVID-19 can be contracted from mail, residents still put themselves at risk going to the post office or nearest mailbox. The best way to eliminate all risk is to move payments online. An online resident portal can help you do that. Knowing Residents and Keeping in Contact: Some of your residents may be at higher risk of contracting or developing complications from coronavirus. Use email, texts, or good old fashioned phone calls to check up on them from time to time. Make sure they have the resources they need. Setting Up a Rapid Communications System: For regular updates on the situation, leverage your social media and send regular emails. Should the need arise for more urgent communications, set up a text messaging system. A good portal will have integrated text messaging This system will also help residents and owners stay in touch with you and allow you to answer them in real-time.

Protecting Owners

The major challenge with owners is keeping them updated on the status of their properties and the health of their residents. Payments, work approvals, and maintenance issues have to keep moving, as well. Moving Meetings Online: Video conferencing apps such as Zoom have allowed businesses to keep running, while Google Meet is allowing teachers to connect with their students. Implementing one of these apps for your property management business will allow you to meet with your property owners without putting yourself or your owners at risk. Setting Up Frequent Updates: Set up email updates, just as you would for your residents. Keep them informed of new regulations and developments that affect rental properties and how you are responding. For more urgent updates and communications, use text messaging. Moving Payments and Other Transactions Online: If they haven’t already, property managers are moving all transactions online. Just as with their residents, allowing online payments keeps everyone from having to leave their homes to drop off or mail payments.

Protecting Staff

If workers are considered non-essential by your state, they’re working at home. But there are tools and tactics property managers can use to make sure their business stays open and they can meet the needs of the people counting on them. Move Non-Essential Staff Online: Businesses are taking advantage of communication apps, such as Slack and Zoom, and cloud apps, such as Google Drive, to keep work going. This is where a good portal tailored to property managers can really help. It will log and track work orders, keep documents organized, handle accounting tasks, and keep track of tenant screenings and lease signings. Plan for Employees Being Out: At this point, it would be difficult to fully cross-train staff should one of them fall sick. But you can keep all staff in the loop on current projects and find people who can fill in on basic tasks to keep the business afloat until sick staff members can return to work. Triage Work Orders: Using their portal, residents can enter and property managers can keep track of work orders coming in and determine which are urgent and which can wait. By doing so, managers limit contact between residents and maintenance staff, so that everyone stays healthy. Prepare Maintenance Staff: When maintenance staff must go on-site to fix an issue, they should be prepared with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Property managers should make sure everyone has masks and gloves as well as clothing and shoe coverings. Provide sanitizing products for equipment, as well. The CDC has provided guidelines on how to keep from contracting and spreading the virus, as well as how to sanitize frequently touched surfaces properly. The world hasn’t seen anything like the coronavirus pandemic for decades. The situation evolves daily and so does the response of governments, businesses, and individuals. The best way to keep yourself, your staff, your owners, and your resident safe is to stay informed, take swift action to follow government recommendations, and keep everyone updated as the situation changes.

The post Tools to Help Property Managers Maintain Social Distancing and Keep Their Business Running appeared first on Propertyware.

Uncategorized – Propertyware

Bitcoin Use Is on the Rise. What Does That Mean for Property Managers?

What is Cryptocurrency?

What Is Blockchain?

How Do Crypto Payments Work?

So how does that work for rent payments?

The Pros of Crypto

Security

Convenience

Investment

The Cons of Crypto

Risk

Lack of Immediacy

Difficulty Tracking

No Government Regulation

How Property Manager Can Approach Crypto for Rent Payments

Further Reading on Cryptocurrency

Highlights from the First-Ever PM Nation Event

Today’s Challenges and Opportunities

The PM Nation Experience

Looking Ahead

5 Multi-Location Management Problems Solved by Property Management Software

Problem 1: No Clear View of All Locations at the Corporate Level

Solution: A Corporate-Level Dashboard and Consolidated Reporting

Problem 2: Inconsistent Processes Across Locations

Solution: Templated Processes

Problem 3: Cookie-Cutter Processes Don’t Meet the Needs of Unique Locations

Solution: Customization

Problem 4: Employees Have Too Much or Too Little Access

Solution: User Profiles

Problem 5: Reinventing the Wheel Every Time a New Location Opens

The Solution: Business Model Cloning

5 Steps to Bring Your Lead-to-Lease Process Online and Boost Your Competitive Advantage

Step 1: Expand Your Lead Generation Methods

Listing Widgets

Virtual and Self Showings

Social Media Marketing

Tracking Leads

Step 2: Improving the Tenant Application Experience

Step 3: Streamline the Tenant Screening Process

Step 4: The Lease-Signing Experience

Step 5: Enable Online Payment

The State of the Single-Family Rental Industry: Three Experts Weigh In

The Current State of the Single-Family Market

Low Vacancy and High Occupancy

Limited Inventory Drives Up Rent Prices

The Tenant Exodus

Investors Cashing Out

The Lifting Eviction Bans

Forecasting for 2021

Inventory

Delinquency

Rent Growth

The Mood Among Investors

Planning for 2021: Increasing Revenue per Door

Conclusion

Utilities 101: Taking the Hassle Out of Payments

Understand How to Handle Utilities

Utilities Included in the Rent

Utility Fees

Utilities Paid by the Tenant

Taking the Guesswork Out of Utility Payments

Using a Utility Management Platform

The Benefits of AI Tenant Screening

By Laurie Mega

What Is AI and Machine Learning?

How is AI Used for Tenant Screening?

The Benefits of AI Screening Tools

The Future of Single-Family Property Management: Four Digital Tactics to Stay on the Cutting Edge

By Laurie Mega

1. Smarter Tenant Screening with AI

2. A Mobile-Responsive, UX-Friendly Interface

3. Lead Generation

4. Automation

COVID-19: Getting Back to Work After the Quarantine Lifts

By Laurie Mega

When and How Do You Bring Your Employees Back?

Maintain Social Distancing

Establish Prevention Practices

Provide Protective Equipment