Daniel Berlind
CEOIn this article
New technology continues to emerge throughout the property management industry, enabling the rental market to conduct business in new ways in the digital age. Adopting new tech into your organization is not just an option for the more sophisticated property management groups; it’s a requirement to remain competitive for all players in the housing industry. So don’t get left behind — read about how multifamily technology can give you a competitive edge!
The Tenant Experience
Prospective tenants seek a digital experience when it comes to finding a rental. Software like forrent.com, apartments.com, and apartmentsguide.com make it easy for prospective tenants to find your properties online. Not only do these platforms offer robust interfaces to perform the basics of searching and applying for a new place to live, but they also employ advanced features like 3D tours and neighborhood insights that allow prospects to learn about your property in fun, engaging ways.
They also enable property managers to reach millions of in-market renters, quickly screen prospects, and offer lease signing and rent collection capabilities. The bottom line? Don’t just list online; list on the right platforms.
Tenant Screening
In this day and age, there are plenty of tenant screening platforms to choose from that make the process quick and thorough. Because everything is online, you can store applicant information in one location and find what you need in a pinch. Notable features include:
- Customizable applications, integrated credit scores, and background checks: these are now standard features of modern tenant screening
- You can see an applicant’s employment status, income, rental history, and references from past landlords. Some will also compare their income to the rent amount
- Digital signatures, secure data and credit card processing, online rental booking, and integration with your accounting software are also widely available
- Automated rent payment reminders, online maintenance portals, and convenient rent collection apps are built-in to improve the landlord-tenant relationships
These tenant screening tools seem to provide everything property managers need to protect their investments and select the right tenant, right? Well, not exactly. As technology becomes more sophisticated, so do the users of said technology. With this increase in accessibility and convenience comes risk — which property management companies are not always prepared for.
In one study, Confronting the Costs of Rental Fraud, we found that 66% of property managers reported being victims of fraudulent rental applications. Property managers also noted that 10% of fraudulent applications go unnoticed during screening.
What exactly does this mean? Well, applicants have learned how to manipulate documents – typically bank statements and paystubs – to make it look like they are earning more than they actually are. The result? You approve their application, and now you have a higher-risk tenant in your unit.
Application fraud is rampant in the credit card industry, but its emergence in the real estate industry is a new development. The deceptions can vary: some applicants inflate income; others hide it or disguise its source to cover criminal activity. With the prevalence of image manipulation technology combined with affordable advanced personal scanning equipment, it is easier than ever to alter a document and pass it off as legitimate. Property managers tend to love having everything online, but if they neglect the rise in rental application fraud, they are setting themselves up to lose financially.
So what can you do? Your tenant screening software is only as good as the data that goes into it. Snappt’s proprietary software is a critical first step in the modern tenant screening process. It integrates seamlessly into your existing tenant screening process, regardless of which tenant screening tools you use. Snappt’s technology analyzes a wide range of properties looking for evidence of fraudulent alterations. Ultimately, we certify whether the documentation is authentic or fraudulent.
Snappt’s tenant screening software provides:
- Image analysis which scans image properties to determine if the document has been manipulated
- State-of-the-art detection algorithms to help detect whether or not a document has been tampered with, and
- A historical analysis that reviews the submitted documents against a historical database to identify additional micro anomalies
Try our ROI calculator to see how much you could save annually, or request a demo to learn more!
Artificial Intelligence
By now you’ve probably been made aware of the rise of artificial intelligence, or AI, in multiple industries. Maybe you’ve heard of chat GPT, an AI engine that can answer questions and assist you with tasks, such as composing emails, blogs, and social media captions.
In the property management industry, AI can be utilized in a number of ways. You can use it on your website by installing a chatbot to help tenants and customers. Chatbots can be used to answer common questions about rental rates or current availability. They can guide potential renters through the application process so they know how your company works before becoming a tenant.
Your team can use these AI programs to help craft newsletter blasts, email responses, and social media captions. Say a tenant emails a leasing agent about a maintenance issue. They can utilize chatGPT or Jasper.ai to craft a response that has the right tone, information, and instructions for the situation!
Big Data
If you haven’t heard of this term before, big data is essentially larger, more complex data sets, particularly from new data sources. For multifamily property managers, this means you’re able to make better decisions for your building, team, and tenants.
Many studies show that big data will become increasingly powerful in the coming years, giving real estate agents and property managers the ability to provide accurate insights, pricing, and risk assessments based on detailed historical and real-time data sets. They’ll be able to easily review things like customer behavior patterns, pricing over time, property occupancy and vacancy rates, and overall property performance metrics.
Automate Your Processes
Listen, we get it: property maintenance can be a real timesuck. Luckily, with the advent of clever online maintenance software, property managers can now rest easy knowing that any issues are taken care of. Plus, with these tools, you can keep an eagle eye on tenants and units alike, so nothing flies under the radar. Say goodbye to endless maintenance frustrations and hello to a more streamlined, headache-free rental management experience.
Most property maintenance tools allow maintenance request portals, reporting features, vendor management, and in-app messaging in one cohesive, efficient package. Make it easy for your tenants to report a problem before it becomes a disaster by providing them with convenient portals. The benefits outweigh the software cost when it comes to losing tenants, property damage, or worse!
Maintaining a first-rate operating level while also being efficient with resources can be a demanding task for property managers, especially during a downturned economy. Keep your operations running efficiently by maximizing the contribution of your staff by optimizing and automating workflows. In addition to using Snappt to identify fraudulent applications, both YARDI and Rent Café are excellent options for improved operational efficiency.
To Sum Up…
Staying on top of tech trends in property management is critical in today’s fast-paced, technologically advanced world. Embracing the latest developments in property management software, communication tools, and AI automation can help streamline everything from tenant screening to rent collection while providing a better overall experience for owners and renters alike. Keeping up with these technological advancements can help you stay ahead of competitors, optimize profits, and future-proof your business.
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