Investing in property can be a very complicated business. If you’re letting that property out, then keeping track of all the moving parts, and minimising your costs at the same time, can be an ongoing administrative challenge.
Thankfully, the modern era provides us with a number of digital tools, which make the job easier. Known collectively as ‘proptech’, these tools promise to revolutionise the way that landlords and property managers operate. But which are worth thinking about?
Digitising Documentation: From Filing Cabinets to the Cloud
Paper-based records are being steadily replaced by digital ones, for several good reasons.
Digital records can be found, read, and replaced instantly. That means less wasted time. They’re also less likely to be destroyed or lost, especially if you have redundant backups on a remote site. This is where specialised business cloud storage becomes extremely useful.
Cloud storage also tends to be more secure, which will in turn improve privacy, and reduce legal risk. Finally, digital storage takes up much less physical space – which can often be critical.
Centralised Maintenance and Tenant Portals
Communication between the tenant and the landlord is often critical. Tenants want to feel that they are being listened to, and track the progress of any complaint they might have. The right proptech might allow them to log complaints online, so that managers can get those complaints seen to quickly.
For example, a boiler might break down in the morning. The tenant might then log the issue. The system might then pass the message on to an available engineer, so that the work can be carried out by the afternoon.
AI-Driven Insights & Automated Reporting
Sometimes, running a property isn’t just about reacting quickly to the needs of the tenant. It’s also about anticipating them. Predictive analytics, based on machine learning, can identify trends, and point managers in the right direction. You might get an idea of how much rent you’re going to be owed in a given month, and how much maintenance a given collection of properties might require, based on an analysis of properties with the same characteristics.
Smart Building Tech & IoT Integration
The buildings themselves might also report valuable information to you, which can work together with the predictive data being given to you by AI. A given property might be equipped with smart sensors, meters, and other ‘Internet of Things’ devices. These devices might be used to keep your property on the right side of environmental law, and of your ESG obligations.
Regulatory Transparency & Professionalisation in Management
In July, the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, told the Guardian that the government was looking to clamp down on bad behaviour by certain property managers. This came at the launch of a consultation into a number of measures designed to do exactly that. These include requirements that managers provide more transparent information when it comes to fees, and that those managers be formally qualified.
The right technology might help to ease some of the new administrative burden created by these new rules. When you can see what’s required, and keep a digital log of what needs to be done to meet those requirements, and what progress is being made, you’ll find it much easier to stay on the right side of the law.
