by Alexey Shalimov, CEO of Eastern Peak
As an entrepreneur running a real estate business, you know that success depends on efficiency and organization. However, as your company grows, managing properties and staying on top of the details becomes backbreaking without the right tools. The use of technology in property management can free you from chaos and spark growth. Centralizing data and automating key processes are some PMS advantages that help mid-size companies scale and compete.
Once ruled by filing cabinets and Rolodexes, real estate and property management companies have entered a new era. Today, software reigns supreme. As technology advances, solutions are getting “smarter” and more connected. They shape the housing industry in exciting new ways. According to experts, innovations in real estate (PropTech) are expected to more than double in the next decade. The property sector will increasingly reap the benefits of innovations facilitating its management.
If you rely on spreadsheets to oversee your renters and accounting, it’s time to revolutionize your operations. Your business can function like clockwork with the right specialized property management mobile apps or desktop platforms. Your tenants receive superior service, and the staff is freed up to give attention to the most critical duties. Are you ready to refashion your company into an organized, profitable powerhouse? A property management system is the tool you need to get started.
In the blog post, we’ll shed light on challenges that can make your job as a real estate manager difficult and explore how innovations can solve many key pain points.
Growing demands on property management systems
If you’re still managing properties in a long-established manner, it’s time for a wake-up call. Manual processes and disorganized filing systems don’t cut it anymore.
We’ll further discuss issues you may encounter in your property management routine. But a suitable PMS can make your work easier and more efficient. You can rely on the system for
- performing administrative chores like sending reminders, creating work orders, and updating spreadsheets;
- setting up notifications and late fees to optimize rent collection;
- simplifying budgeting and reporting and many more.
If you’ve been struggling with an outdated PMS (or no system at all), the right software solution frees you from tedious jobs to let you work smarter, not harder.
Now, let’s look at hot spots property managers regularly face and explore how a PMS can help solve them.
Streamlined database for lack of organization
Managing multiple properties and tenants requires organization and efficiency. Real estate management systems are purpose-built to handle the complete range of your work. They centralize data like leases, rental charges, repair orders, and accounting in one place. This makes critical information instantly accessible to your whole team. You eliminate time wasted searching for files and minimize errors.
Enhancing customer service
Fielding calls from tenants, vendors, and owners while juggling maintenance requests can lead to important details falling through the cracks. In contrast, today, customers expect a seamless experience. Apartment management systems provide online portals for both residents and staff.
Resident portals offer a convenient way for residents to pay bills, submit requests for repair, and get up-to-date with community news or events. Staff sections provide remote access to the PMS from any location. This allows team members to look up information or complete tasks offsite or after hours.
Fixing inefficient accounting
Connecting your property management software to bookkeeping tools like QuickBooks or Xero means financial data flows automatically between the systems. It makes collecting rent, paying vendors, tracking expenses, and reconciling accounts a breeze. Transaction details are recorded instantly, and financial statements are always up-to-date. The probability of such errors as entering income or expenses twice is minimized.
Lack of insight
Understanding trends across your properties helps optimize business decisions, but manually assessing data from diversified sources is painful. Modern technologies in property management provide up-to-the-minute insights into performance indicators like occupancy rates, rental fee collection, and maintenance costs so you can practically apply the data in making decisions to improve your business.
The future of the property management industry: IoT, AI and more
Implementing new technology surely requires effort. Migrating from legacy systems and learning new platforms takes time and resources. But the future is filled with promise for those abreast with the times.
Let’s explore how technology has shaped property management so far. The two areas propelling today’s innovations in the sector are Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things.
AI for landlords
AI technologies, such as machine learning, allow landlords and estate managers to get a valuable picture from a vast array of information. By assessing back data on occupancy rates, lease terms, tenant profiles, and other metrics, AI systems can make predictions that help optimize critical business decisions.
How does it work in practice? Here are just some examples of what real estate companies can utilize machine intelligence for:
- Predictive analytics. AI can compare vacancy and renewal rates over time to predict the optimal rent increase for maximum retention and revenue. It can also analyze maintenance and repair data to anticipate when equipment will likely fail.
- Smart access control. AI-powered advancements in property management allow managers to control access to rental units remotely. They can lock and unlock doors, create virtual keys for tenants, and monitor access on screen. Smart locks reduce the need for physical keys, allowing entry using mobile apps, codes, and biometrics like fingerprints.
- Personalized service. The system can analyze tenants’ past payments, preferences, and maintenance requests to anticipate their needs better. Among others, it can remind tenants about their best-loved payment method or recommend energy-efficient upgrades based on their utility usage.
Leveraging IoT for smarter building operations
Today, 15.14 billion physical devices around the globe are connected to the Internet, gathering and interchanging data. In such a tech-savvy world, leveraging the IoT in property management is essential. The technology can monitor building systems, track energy usage, and significantly reduce costs.
Implementing an IoT solution in the real estate sector starts with auditing and identifying opportunities for improvement. The effortless ways to get started are
- Smart thermostats. They can be configured to calibrate the temperature depending on occupancy to save electricity.
- Connected lighting systems. They detect when rooms are vacant and power down automatically.
- Leak sensors. They alert you immediately if there are water issues to minimize the damage.
On a larger scale, IoT in building management can centralize data from all smart devices and enable more advanced automation. As an example, if carbon dioxide levels rise in a conference room, signaling a high concentration of people, the system can automatically increase ventilation as needed. If a smoke detector goes off, the system can unlock all access-controlled doors to provide for a safe exit. Such features allow property administrators to manage utilities and ensure resident security. Residents also benefit from the convenience of the innovative systems.
Furthermore, a growing focus has been on making properties more sustainable and energy efficient. PropTech is helping enable this transition. Solutions like smart meters, solar energy systems, electric vehicle charging stations, and greywater recycling systems are being adopted.
Additional property management technology solutions
If you used to think the virtual world was just for gaming, then think again. Now it’s transforming how owners are managing their properties. Virtual and augmented realities offer an immersive involvement for tenants and landlords alike.
Virtual tours
VR enables prospective tenants to tour available units distantly. They can explore the layout and dimensions of apartments or office spaces without visiting them in person. For landlords, this can reduce the time and resources required to show units. VR tours also allow tenants to pre-screen listings and only visit their top choices, improving the efficiency of the rental process for both parties.
Augmented maintenance
As one of the property management technology trends gaining popularity, AR applications help monitor building systems and diagnose issues. With AR smart glasses, property administrators can see virtual representations of the building’s HVAC, security, and other systems overlaid in the actual field of vision. Augmented reality can help identify anomalies, send alerts about malfunctions, and provide information to assist with repairs. This technology improves building operations and allows for faster response times.
To harness innovations, consider creating a property management app built specifically for your real estate properties. With one in place, you can forget about driving between properties to check on things in person or relying on tenants to report issues. You can have an omnipresent birds-eye view of all locations. You can also see which units need touch-up paint or new carpeting and check security cameras for suspicious activity or safety issues. And finally, you stay on top of maintenance requests, lease renewals, rent payments, and many other details that can go left out when managing multiple properties in a traditional approach.
With property management software development, the chaos you know can finally give way to streamlined, software-enabled order. You can make this the year you gain control over all operations and propel your company forward into a new era of productivity and growth.
As CEO at Eastern Peak, a professional software consulting and development company, Alexey Shalimov ensures top quality and cost-effective services to clients from all over the world. Alexey is also a founder and technology evangelist at several technology companies. Previously, as a CEO of the Gett (GetTaxi) technology company, Alexey was in charge of developing the revolutionary Gett service from ground up and deploying the operation across the globe from London to Moscow and Tel Aviv.
