Recent studies indicate that 67% of landlords are experiencing higher stress levels than they were a year ago. 

Managing properties and ensuring tenants are satisfied can be an overwhelming undertaking. You need all of the tools available to help you manage your properties efficiently and effectively.

So, you’ve purchased an investment property – what are the best hacks to make your life as a landlord easier?

Keep reading for a comprehensive guide to the best tools, technologies, and strategies you can implement to make your landlord and property management responsibilities easier.

4 Hacks for Property Managers and Landlords

Here are some of the best hacks for property managers and landlords to streamline their daily tasks and duties.

Property Management Software

Property management software can help you keep all of the information you need in one place. When you maintain records of payments, communications, and maintenance requests, you need to be organized. By housing these elements in one place, you know how to find information at any time. Here are some of the top features:

• Online payment portals – if you wish to keep better track of your tenants’ payments, you can implement an online payment portal using property management software. Making payments will be more convenient for your tenants, and the records of all transactions will be in one place.

• Built-in instant messaging – keeping track of all communications with your tenants is essential. Should there be a dispute down the line, you will have a record to refer to that will assist in resolving the incident. Your tenants will also have a direct way to contact you should they need anything.

• Automated reminders – to avoid rent arrears, which can cause you to waste your time tracking down payments and reminding tenants of overdue payments, property management software will send your tenants reminders when their rent is due.

• Tracking maintenance requests – to keep your tenants happy, it’s essential to handle maintenance requests quickly. Property management software allows you to maintain an awareness of your maintenance request status. Your tenants will also be able to check up on their maintenance requests to see if the request is in progress.

Property management software is instrumental in making your life easier as a property manager. Consider investing in this tool to get the best hack for landlord life.

Landlord Accounting Tools

Handling your accounting can be one of the most challenging aspects of running a landlord business. Consider using real estate accounting software if you need an easy way to consolidate your books regularly and track your income and expenses.

Rental accounting software uses paperless receipt records to make things simple. You can quickly generate reports, share them with your accountant, and streamline your accounting responsibilities. You can perform all of your landlord accounting using this mobile-friendly software so that you can use it from anywhere! 

Keeping Your Personal and Business Bank Accounts Separate

When considering how to keep things simple as a landlord, you should not forget to separate your personal and professional bank accounts.

Suppose records of tenant transactions and payments to contractors are muddled in with your daily personal transactions. In that case, consolidating your books at the end of each month will be highly challenging. 

For the sake of your convenience, it’s best to keep your personal and business bank accounts separate. It may even be helpful to keep different bank accounts for each property you manage.

Utilizing Cloud-Based Security

Cloud-based security can save you a lot of time in the long run. When your tenants lose their keys, you are their first port of call. Cloud-based security technology uses mobile devices instead of access keycards and pins and facilitates remote operation of door locks. 

If you house all of your security installations in a cloud-based system, such as your security cameras, all of your security information will be visible on a mobile application – which you can access from anywhere. This means you can receive mobile alerts when a security incident occurs. 

You can also let tenants and service people into the building remotely, so you will not have to travel to the site as frequently. Remote operation is a desirable feature for any landlord looking to reduce stress.

Summary

Life as a landlord is extremely taxing, but there are steps you can take to make your everyday tasks less of a burden. You can access software to make your accounting and property management tasks more straightforward to security installations that will increase your convenience. Consider implementing these  landlord hacks to make your life easier, reduce stress, and free up your time for a better work-life balance.