At Innovate Realty, we’re known for our willingness to invest in top-notch property management technology. We are an industry leader when it comes to innovative platforms and software systems. Our technology is designed to keep the leasing, management, and maintenance of your investment properties efficient and transparent.
Here’s a look at how technology can benefit rental property landlords in Philadelphia and the surrounding metro area.
Establishing Accurate Rental Values With Better Data
Pricing your rental property isn’t magic. It requires real data and a sound knowledge of the local market. Each neighborhood will have its own pricing averages, and what we charge in rent will depend on other factors, such as the condition and size of your property and of course its age and amenities.
With the technology we leverage, there’s less guesswork when it comes to accurately establishing a rental value for your property. Our property management software gathers local data and analyzes the competing properties similar to yours on the market.
There’s a lot of value in pricing your property correctly before it even hits the market. When you start off with the right rental price, you’ll reduce vacancy time. It also ensures you’re not underpricing your rental property.
Conducting comparable market analyses is easier than ever, and the information is more accessible. We can use our tech to provide a free rental analysis before you invest and before you list your property on the rental market.
Technology and the Philadelphia Leasing Process
Once the rental value is established, we use technology during the leasing process. It’s especially beneficial in the effective marketing of your home. A property manager can share your listing on dozens or even hundreds of rental sites thanks to our property management software. It saves time and money, and it helps us cast a wider net when we’re looking to attract high quality tenants.
We can track the results of your listing, including how many people view it, contact us, schedule a showing, and fill out an application.
Here are other ways you benefit from our leasing technology:
- Vacancies are filled faster
- We’re able to screen more carefully. By running credit and eviction reports online, we can have all the data we need in hours rather than days.
- Self-showings have become a critical component in marketing and leasing your rental property. Tenants want to see potential homes on their own time, and without anyone else present. Lockbox technology and smart locks allow you to safely give access to your property when prospects want to get inside.
Technology can also help us document the condition of your home before a tenant moves in. Photos, videos, and notes are loaded into your file and can be easily accessed when the tenant moves out and it’s time to do a move-out inspection.
Online Tenant and Owner Portals Facilitate Rent Payment and Accounting Statements
A few tenants still insist on paying rent with a paper check, but this is mostly a relic of the past. We prefer online payments, and so do most of our tenants. With electronic rent payments, we avoid delinquency, and there are fewer late payments.
Tenants find the portals we provide secure and convenient. They can log on at any time of the day or night and pay the rent from their laptop, phone, or tablet. They can schedule payments in advance and even set up recurring payments every month. Tenants are looking for ease and convenience, and we provide it.
Online rental payments help you as well. This technology allows us to pay owners earlier and in the month and to provide a detailed and accurate statement of income and expenses associated with the property.
Good technology allows us to automate all of our accounting, providing the type of transparency you need when you’re tracking income and expenses or filing taxes.
Documenting Philadelphia Rental Property Repairs
The tenant portal also works when it comes to repairs and maintenance.
Tenants can report routine maintenance issues and make repair requests electronically. This is a major benefit to owners, residents, and our own team because it creates a written record of all the work that’s been done on your rental home. You’ll have a written file that reflects exactly when your roof was replaced, your plumbing was updated, and your gutters were cleaned out. You’ll know that your appliances are breaking down every few months and may need to be replaced.
Seeing a maintenance history like this can save you money on unnecessary repairs or help you make better decisions about when to replace something rather than repair it again. It also works to keep your tenants happy; they’d much rather request maintenance online at their own convenience.
Our technology allows us to track the necessary repairs, collect invoices, and provide you with as much information as you need when we’re completing work on your investment.
Improving Communication With Tenants and Owners
There’s also the matter of communication, which we know is essential when it comes to relationships with our tenants and our owners. Technology streamlines our communication. Why wait to have a phone call returned? Send us a quick text with a question or an email that explains something you’d like help with.
Our investment in technology allows for different methods of communication, and we welcome owners and investors who have their own preferred ways of communicating. We’re comfortable with social media, online chats, and video calls. Many of our tenants prefer texts and emails to phone calls or in-person meetings. We use our online system to track and document all correspondence, keeping us organized and compliant with all state, local, and federal laws.
We embrace technology, and we encourage our owners to make it a priority. If you’d like to talk more about how our investment in good software and automated systems allows us to manage your property better, please contact us at Innovate Realty. This is a passion of ours, and we’d love to tell you more about how we leverage the best property management tech.
At Innovate Realty, we work with investors of all experience levels in the greater Philadelphia metro area as well as surrounding suburban areas in Montgomery, Chester, Burlington, and Delaware County, to the Delaware River.
