What do you think of yourself as a landlord? Are you an aspiring rookie? Are you an independent landlord or a small landlord? Are you a property manager who has managed a few rental properties?
Your perception of yourself and your views on the real estate industry will depend on how you view others. This can be anything from a small-scale landlord to a multi-family corporation. The digital landlord is a new breed of the landlord that has emerged with the advent of modern technology.
Being a landlord or real estate investor used to require a lot of manual labor. It was tedious and time-consuming to do things like collect rent, sort through papers, and navigate maintenance issues. Technological advances in real estate have made it possible for the rental process to become seamless, digital, and simple.
What is a Digital Landlord?
Digital landlords are those who use technology to manage their property. This could include everything from remote security measures to remote keyless tech, property management software, and keyless tech.
Although you may not consider yourself a digital landlord you can be more tech-savvy than you realize.
To track and organize various aspects of managing rental properties, many of us use spreadsheets. This could include tracking who has paid rent, for which property, when leases end, who filled out an application, and accounting.
Even a simple spreadsheet can show that you are more of a digital landlord than you may initially believe. Even checking a text message from a tenant on your phone can create this picture of a digital landlord and help you to define your business.
What is the role of tech in creating digital landlords?
Tech is creating digital landlords, with a wide variety of offerings (everything from automated rent collection to accounting programs to tenants electronically submitting rent payments) that landlords and real estate investors can adopt.
Digital technology is so widespread that it’s nearly impossible to not be a digital landlord at some point. Even using a spreadsheet or your phone to calculate can have technological benefits, as we’ve already mentioned. With the technology they provide, these mechanisms make it easier to calculate, communicate, and manage. This would have been a completely different story if it had been 10-15 years ago. Most communication was not done via a cellphone, and it is possible that you still used paper and pen for tracking rent payments.
The rise in technology almost has inadvertently made a digital landlord. It’s much easier to find a tenant or a teammate via email and text messages than to try to find them or schedule a meeting. A quick text message can quickly resolve any issues regarding meeting times or communicate a message.
TikTok allows you to research and get ideas about the technology that other investors in real estate use. Yes, that’s right. Social media apps that offer content from investors can be great tools in your tech toolbox and help you get one step closer to becoming a digital landlord.
Property management software is becoming a more popular way for digital landlords of properties to manage them.
What are the key features to look for in digital real estate?
Property management software has many features that will make managing investment properties feel effortless. To determine which areas of your business can be improved using digital tech, look at where you are currently doing manual tasks, what pain points you have that prevent you from having a rewarding experience in real estate, and what tasks would you like to simplify.
We’ve listed below some common problems in real estate that can easily be solved or strengthened by technology:
- Rent collection
- Tenant payments
- Tenant screening
- Late fees
- Tenant communication
- Maintenance requests
You can use property management software to solve all your problems. Rent collection can be automated by using customized charges that are automatically generated for tenants and automatically scheduled.
This sounds a lot simpler than picking up checks or crunching numbers.
Digital technology can also help improve tenant communication. Property management software can send tenants push notifications and emails to remind them of their rent payments, maintenance repairs, trash pickup, or any other information they need.
Benefits Of Being A Digital Landlord
Being a digital landlord has many benefits. The first is the ability to manage your rental properties from anywhere. Digital tech is mobile and flexible enough that you can manage all aspects of your business from your smartphone.
You can manage your rentals digitally, which will free you up to do more with less time. You can spend your time doing the things you love with more of your time back.
Renters can increase their rental value by giving them options such as credit boosting, which allows them to send on-time rent payments through bureaus like TransUnion. Tenants cannot build credit by paying rent if they are paid in cash or check.
The main benefits of becoming a digital landlord include:
- You can manage your rental properties from anywhere
- Spend more time doing the things you love.
- Rents can be increased in value
I'm a Digital Marketer, Market Researcher, and Content Writer, Who Loves to Help Others Understand the World of Marketing.
