You know how people say it’s easy to rent out a house and make passive income from it? Well you know there are literally hundreds of things you’ve got to do if you want your apartment rental business to run smoothly: advertise vacancies, vet millions of applicant submissions, drive up rent payment and almost make it, coordinate free online property management software requests, and throw away a mountain of paperwork? But that’s actually really cool, right? But what if you could automate the bulk of the work and actually have some time to grow your business, take care of your family, or simply enjoy life as a whole? It’s all in the technology of the free and easily accessible world of property management software. During this guide you’ll step-by-step learn how to get your rental business automated from start to finish using free digital tools, then from there, learn how to take a chaotic, manual process and make it an automated and seamless one.
Understanding the Power of Automation in Property Management
Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand exactly what automation means to this industry. Not to say that automation will replace you entirely; it’s about reducing the repetitive and time-consuming administrative tasks that drain your energy and focus. Automation cuts out the predictable, letting you focus on the exceptional building better tenant relationships, making strategic changes to your properties, and building your portfolio. The right free online property management software acts as your Baselane digital assistant, working to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. It creates a single point of connection for all your activities so you and your tenants have a seamless, professional experience. For individual landlords and small to mid-sized portfolios, these free tools can be a game-changer everywhere it’s possible without enterprise-level costs.
Automating the Tenant Acquisition Funnel
From the initial tenant screening process, to finding qualified residents, automation can make finding and renting a resident incredibly fast and easy. Like most free online property management software, most can include listing syndication. If you create your listing once inside the tool, the software will syndicate your listing to a network of major rental websites. This process will save you hours, but it will also open up your property’s door to more potential tenants and help you find a property faster. The old days of sending PDF applications back and forth to potential tenants no longer apply to renters. With an automated system, you can email applicants a customized, customized application link. They can fill it out on any device, and the software will automatically collect all that information into a nicely arranged digital file. Another added benefit is that you can integrate automatic tenant screening. You can request a credit, criminal, and eviction history report at any point through the tool. The system automatically invites the prospective tenants and the report gets sent to you often with a recommendation so the screening process is objective and efficient. It’s one of the first steps in finding reliable long-term tenants while staying in compliance with fair housing laws.
Simplifying Maintenance and Communication
The management of ongoing tenants and tenant maintenance is often where frustration comes from day-to-day. If a routine maintenance process becomes chaotic, angry tenants turn to emergency calls at inconvenient times. When you set up a dedicated portal for tenants to submit maintenance requests, they can describe the issue, upload photos and submit the ticket without delay. The software will notify you automatically and can even be set to notify your preferred vendor. You can see what all of your maintenance requests are doing at any specific time, from submission to completion, no matter if anything is missed. This makes for an easy paper trail, eliminates late fees, and drastically increases tenant satisfaction. It is not likely that you will be able to safely create and renew leases manually. Free property management software often includes state specific lease template libraries. You can make a legally sound lease agreement in minutes, send it for electronic signature, and store it securely in the cloud. The software can also notify you when a lease comes up for renewal so that you are ready to start the process early enough to avoid vacancy. Stop rummaging through old text messages and emails. Use the software’s own messaging system to communicate with tenants and vendors.
Ensuring Compliance and Secure Document Storage
Find out the best free online property management software to stay on the straight and narrow. Automated systems provide automatic delivery of the legally required notices 24 hour entry notices or offer for lease renewal and with an audit trail displaying when they were sent and delivered. At the same time, your important documents leases, applications, screening reports, invoices, and logs for correspondence are stored in a single, cloud-based repository which allows you to easily access your entire rental business from anywhere, anytime and don’t have to worry about losing any important document due to flood, fire, or hard drive failure.
Implementing Your Automated System: A Step by Step Guide
Steps to Implement an Automated Process without Disturbing Your Business Audit your current process: list all of the information you are doing for your rentals, from advertising to move-out. Note which tasks are the most cumbersome and repetitive. Installation of Software You should look for the best free online property management software that offers an extensive set of features ranging from listing, screening, payments, maintenance, and accounting. Plus, it should be easy for both you and your tenants to use. A rental property data management platform such as Baselane is also designed specifically for managing the financial aspect of rental properties, so it’s a great potential for your core business. Onboarding your Properties your first step should be to enter your data for a single property. Input all the details you need to enter. Upload current leases and list current tenant’s information. Advertisement Tenants Installation of the System Tell all of your tenants about the change. Explain the benefits they can expect as a result, including easier rent payment and maintenance requests. Consider setting up a gradual rollout. Go Fully Digital Solve a manual process. Make it official and mandate that all new applicants and tenants use the new system. This way you can enjoy the full benefits of automation.
Conclusion
Choosing free property management software is nothing compared to changing the way you run your rental property? With an automated tenant screening process, complete financial control, and maintenance management coordination, you can become an effective real estate investor. You’ll save hours of your time while managing your own properties, increasing your Baselane levels, and improving your tenant relations. You’ll get clearer insight into how your portfolio is performing. You’ll make faster, better decisions. And it doesn’t have to be costly to expand further.
By Chris Bates
