7 Reasons to Invest in Property Management Software for Landlords

You may think that you don’t need sophisticated software for your real estate business because you only have one property. You may feel that an investment in real estate software could possibly wait until you have purchased and rented a series of properties, and you think that you can keep track of everything with an old-school ledger and a checkbook. 

Of course, you could run your business using plodding old-school methods, and if you’re a good record-keeper you could probably get by but check out these seven solid reasons to invest in property management software today for landlords.

Data and Record-Keeping

When it’s time to talk security deposit reconciliation with a tenant that is moving out, you need to access all tenant records from the day they moved into the present time. Good real estate management software will allow you to enter events as they happen and access property photos that were taken before the original move-in. Any repairs you have made throughout the tenancy that could be charged to the renters will be easy to retrieve. You’ll have a record of rent payments and of any issues with returned bank items. In short, you’ll have all of the necessary data instantly.

Tenant Service

With great software, you’ll be able to log in tenant issues and also their eventual resolution. If there are service complaints, you will have an excellent record, and you can easily determine which companies do best at solving your problems.  We all know that providing great tenant service helps lower your turnover rate.

Mobile Access

Whether you’re renting a luxury unit in Chicago’s trendy West Loop area, or a suburban one-bedroom in the Seattle real estate market —  good up-to-date software will allow you to take action from your mobile device and stay on top of things from any location. If you’re at lunch and a tenant contacts you with an issue, for example, you’ll be able to act on it immediately. Some software will also allow tenants to view information on a private portal, and this can help them access repair status updates.

Learn More: How to Go Mobile as a Property Manager in 2020

Limit Liability and Risk

If you know what’s going on in your units, you can stop issues before they become big problems. A system that allows tenants to fill in a form to report a very slow leak can help you address the situation in real-time, rather than waiting to act until you have time to listen to a voicemail or answer a phone call. Good property management systems will time-stamp requests so tenants can’t claim that they contacted you earlier than they actually did.

Everything in One Place

This is called centralization. If your bank account is online and your security deposit records are in a filing cabinet drawer, you have to take extra time and extra steps to get all of your information together when you need it quickly. Landlord property management systems will keep everything on one platform that is easily accessible even on your smart device. 

It Looks Good

If you are in a soft rental market, you need to look and be technologically savvy. A prospective tenant is going to be more likely to rent from you if he or she knows that you are digitally organized and responsive.

It’s What’s Happening Now

We know that you can run your business with a pencil and a legal pad, but as soon as you add to your rental portfolio, that method will definitely slow you down. You don’t cut your grass with an old-timey push mower and you shouldn’t run your business without great software.

If you grew up with computers and smartphones, you’ll be naturally drawn to good real estate property management software for landlords. If you’re older, take action to acclimate yourself to the digital world, and your property management acumen will rapidly improve.

This article has been contributed by Abodo Apartments.