According to our upcoming State of the Property Management Industry Report, 72% of surveyed renters said it was important their property manager be easy to contact and that they resolve issues quickly. That means the more mobile-enabled you are as a property manager, the better equipped you are to meet renter demands.
But there’s one snag. Technology makes it possible to access information from anywhere at any time, but how does a property manager strike a balance and make sure the apps they invest in work for them (and not the other way around)?
Well, we asked property managers just like you what their preferred apps and technologies were—and put it all together here.
This playbook provides an ideal suite of mobile apps to help property managers become and stay mobile-empowered. It covers four main on-the-go categories: Leasing, Communication, Reputation Management, and Overall Efficiency & Team Organization.
Stop for a moment to think about the time involved in leasing just one unit. Then multiply that number by the total number of vacancies and it is easy to see how just one part of a property manager’s day can quickly monopolize their time.
So, naturally, the questions arise: Which parts of the leasing process can be automated? Which parts can be moved online and made on-the-go? And the good news is nearly all of them can. The even better news is that most renters want just that.
Our 2019 Industry Report revealed that 65% of renters deemed “applying for rentals online” as one of the top 5 online experiences they want. That is more than half of all renters, and a 15 point increase just since last year.
Which mobile apps do you use to help you with property management operations? Click To Tweet
HappyCo (iOS / Android): The leading real-time operations platform for inspecting, managing and monitoring residential properties and commercial facilities. As a Buildium partner, HappyCo can be accessed directly from within Buildium.
Tenant Turner: Another Buildium partner, Tenant Turner provides a showing scheduling software with an optional call center service and electronic lockboxes, which can be accessed from within Buildium.
When used in tandem, both of these apps can reduce the amount of time you spend on the leasing process and satisfy your renters’ very real desire for online communication.
Renters and property owners alike also wish to communicate with their property managers online.
So it is no surprise that improving communications is also a top goal of property managers—up 6 points from our 2018 Industry Report—and thanks to mobile-enabled technology, now more than ever it’s easier to communicate with renters and owners in a way that works for everyone.
Additionally, 49% of renters stated they preferred a resident portal to communicate with their property manager, and the same percentage stated they wished they could file maintenance requests online.
To deliver the consumer-grade experience renters and owners expect, your communications should be mobile-optimized (ideally through portals and software); however, no one wants to receive a million text notifications every day.
So what’s to be done? Buckets and priorities. Mobile communication between renters and property managers, as well as between owners and property managers, must be bucketed and prioritized. Two apps that do just that are the Buildium Resident Center and Amenify.
Which mobile apps do you use to help with organization, collaboration, or communication? Click To TweetBuildium App (iOS/Android): The Buildium App centralizes communication. It fields mobile requests, mobile payments, and maintenance requests, as well as logs communication between residents and their property manager in one central location.
Resident Center App (iOS/Android): This Buildium exclusive app focuses on the resident experience and provides property managers with the ability to deliver a best-in-class mobile experience to their residents.
Amenify (iOS): This app is a concierge platform that brings best-in-class services to residents and properties to create a world-class resident experience.
Article: Resident communication preferences are changing—here’s what you need to know
Maintaining a positive online reputation is critical for any business owner, and the key word there is maintaining. Having a positive online reputation is one thing but keeping it up-to-date is another.
Our 2019 Industry Report reveals that working with property managers is a consistent source of stress for property owners.
Maintaining your reputation requires being active on social media, sharing your stories, and keeping an eye on 3rd party review sites. When a positive review comes in, a personalized thank you is in order, and if negative feedback comes through, a personal response may be critical.
Social media is a great channel for building your online reputation and marketing to the type of owners and residents you want to attract.
Hootsuite (iOS / Android) and Buffer (iOS /Android): Both of these apps are social media management platforms that allow you to integrate and access all your social channels from one centralized dashboard. By centralizing your social platforms, it’s easy to see what’s going on with your online reputation and post, share, and respond as needed.
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn:Begin to build your online reputation by creating a social presence on each one of these leading social sites.
Google Local and Yelp: Maintain your online reputation by creating a presence on and responding to reviews on these two leading online customer review platforms
Article: Take charge of your online reputation with 8 tools for small businesses
The final piece of the on-the-go puzzle is your business’s overall efficiency and team organization. From large to small, teams of all sizes thrive when efficient systems are in place. According to findings in our 2019 Industry Report, 45% of all property managers listed efficiency as one of their top 5 goals, and interestingly, efficiency ranked as one of the top challenges property managers said they face.
Fortunately, implementing efficient systems is where technology thrives. There are many apps to turn to for on-the-go support and on-the-go management. From everything from managing pool maintenance to tracking neighborhood crime, these are the apps worth checking out. Find the combo that works for you and let the apps take it from there.
Which mobile apps do you use to help you with accounting or financials? Click To TweetTodoist (iOS /Android): From everyday errands to large scale projects, Todoist creates on-the-go “to do” lists that your whole team can access.
Asana (iOS / Android) and Trello (iOS / Android): Both of these apps focus on project management. They help keep your property management team on the same page and make it easier for your team to manage their individual day-to-day.
Expensify (iOS / Android): This is the world’s leading app for expense management, receipt scanning, and business travel.
Zapier: Although Zapier isn’t a mobile app itself, it is like the mothership of all apps. It connects the apps you and your team use everyday to automate your workflows and be more productive.
A mobile-enabled property manager is an empowered property manager. With the right tools at your fingertips you can access information from anywhere at any time and do so at a pace that’s right for you and your business.
Try out Buildium’s Mobile-Empowering Technology to see how easily the above apps integrate into Buildium’s software, as well as how expertly Builidium’s own Property Manager and Resident Center apps simplify property management.
