Apps have a charming way of simplifying processes that would otherwise be more complex than usual. They provide a great deal of utility in various scenarios, whether it’s in starting life as a college student, or more entertainment-oriented purposes. One area that apps shine is that of property management. With so much information to handle, managing properties can easily become a daunting task. Fortunately, there are several apps for this. Here are four apps that every property manager must have.
Buildium
There are many aspects of property management, but the main tasks are general ledger accounting, tenant and lease tracking, rent and late fee tracking. Other things that property managers need to account for are vacancy and the maintenance cycle of properties. Buildium is a property management app that helps monitor and control all of these aspects. It’s even possible to automate rent collection by allowing tenants to make payments through the app’s tenant portal. What makes Buildium a great addition to your toolset is that it’s very easy to use.
AppFolio Property Manager
While the Buildium app specializes in tasks that are directly involved in property management, AppFolio Property Manager is specialized for the business-related tasks of property management. The app helps with tasks such as marketing accounting, applicant screening, online rent payments and lease agreements, and other important tasks. The app also has a professionally-formatted vacancy-posting package that allows users to list their properties on platforms such as Craigslist.
Thumbtack
Thumbtack is a handy app to have because it gives users access to a great number of contractors in their area. While it’s true that you’d be better off by working with just one contractor that you trust, this app makes sure that on the days that your contractor of choice is unavailable, you’d have plenty of options to select a substitute from. This helps ensure that you’re able to adhere to the maintenance schedule of your properties and it also improves your ability to respond to emergency repairs.
RentSpree
RentSpree is best known for providing property managers with an accurate, data-based rent estimate to help them price their rental properties correctly. It’s important to price your rentals correctly to keep vacancy rates low while also still earning enough of a profit to reach ROI goals.
This app also provides property managers with information such as historical rent trends, unemployment rates, crime levels and school rankings that enable property owners to determine the profitability of a particular property.
Homestyler
Lastly, property managers need an app that allows them to visualize a space accurately. This helps them plan renovation projects by letting them add or change a space virtually. This helps them make better decisions on which textures, colors, and furniture pieces to pair.
This can also be used to help contractors visualize what results you expect from them, and they can even be used to market your property in the same way that businesses use photo editing to make their products look better. Just be sure not to overdo it, or to at least include disclaimers that the additions to your space are for demonstrative purposes only.
These are only some of the apps that could significantly increase the productivity of property managers. There are plenty of other apps that you can use, but these are some of the most essential ones because they are not only the most functional, but also because they can help property managers familiarize themselves with other more complex apps through these simpler tools.
