The Role of AI and Automation in Streamlining Property Management
Property management is a demanding career. From collecting rent to maintaining communication with tenants, there’s a lot you need to check off your list each day. Fortunately, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools are designed to streamline the monotonous aspects of your role. Through these innovations, you can turn your attention to more pressing concerns, and potentially free up time to accommodate more clients.
In this article, we delve into the advantages of AI and automation for property management, focusing on the processes that are best suited for them. By embracing these modern solutions, you can set your property management service on the path to real estate success.
Why automate property management processes?
Property management is a multifaceted field that demands attention to detail and efficiency across all areas. Here are three reasons why adopting AI and automation is not only beneficial to business but, in many cases, indispensable:
Reduce time spent on manual tasks
Property management often involves routine tasks, where a significant portion of your team’s time is devoted to manual processes like rent collection and data entry. These tasks tend to pile up, pulling you away from more business-critical matters, such as expanding your property management portfolio. Through the use of AI and automation tools, you can significantly reduce your manual workload, resulting in time and cost savings.
Reduce the risk of errors
You’re only human. Mistakes can happen, whether it’s a miscalculation in a financial report or a mismatch of tenant data. By embracing AI and automation, you can eliminate the need for manual data entry, reducing the risk of mistakes. Remember, even the most “minor” errors can have huge consequences, especially when it comes to compliance!
Increase client satisfaction
Tenants appreciate it when you can tend to their needs ASAP, and when their experience goes smoothly in general. AI and automation tools allow you to manage most renter-related tasks, such as processing repair and maintenance requests, in a more timely manner. By catering to their needs in the most convenient way possible, you can boost client satisfaction, resulting in improved tenant retention rates.
What property management tasks can you automate?
Regardless of the type of property management service you provide, AI and automation tools can help streamline your workflow while setting you up for success. Work more efficiently and excel at your role by automating these processes today:
Rent collection
Collecting monthly rent is one of the most tedious tasks in real estate management. Fortunately, automation tools excel in this area. For example, you can set automated rent reminders so that tenants never miss a deadline. Additionally, some platforms come with portals that offer property managers, owners, and tenants a detailed view of their payment records, promoting transparency.
What’s more, automated rent collection goes hand-in-hand with digital payment options, providing your tenants with a convenient way to pay. Through this, you encourage tenants to pay on time while improving tenant satisfaction.
Property tours
Showing properties to prospective tenants, especially when you’re overseeing multiple vacant units, can be a near-impossible task. To streamline this property management process, consider offering self-guided tours.
Through these tours, applicants can set their showing’s time and date themselves. Once a tour request is received on the tool, your property management team can then generate a virtual key, allowing tenants to gain access to the unit independently. This not only eliminates the need for you to be present at the property but also ensures that your time is dedicated to tenants who are a better fit for your properties.
Financial reporting
Painstakingly preparing your financial reports each month isn’t the most efficient or stress-free approach. To streamline this meticulous aspect of property management, it’s a good idea to use automation tools.
By automating your money-related processes, you not only save valuable time but also make sure your financial data is mistake-free. With various apps available for recording each property’s transactions with accuracy, your financial data will always be up-to-date. No more cross-referencing reports with actual receipts, checks, etc. to check if they match up!
Moreover, many AI tools can generate real-time financial reports, providing you with insights into each property’s performance. Armed with in-depth data, you can consistently make well-founded decisions to maximize your clients’ ROI, ultimately increasing your revenue. And if your clients wish to review their property’s finances, you can promptly provide them with the data, courtesy of your trusty automation tools.
Maintenance and repair requests
Are you still relying on phone calls and emails to receive maintenance requests from tenants? Handling these requests might be manageable with one tenant, but what if you have hundreds of them?
With the use of automation tools, you offer tenants a portal where they can submit repair requests directly. Your team is then notified, allowing them to coordinate with service providers and send them to your tenant’s location. Once a request is fulfilled, it’s immediately marked as completed in the portal. This process makes sure that no maintenance ticket is overlooked, and that tenants stay updated with the status of their request.
Prediction of maintenance and repair needs
In addition, AI can help predict when a property may need attention. AI systems can go through data (e.g. past maintenance and problems), allowing it to determine when its components will likely need upkeep. By anticipating when repairs are needed, you can plan maintenance activities more effectively, while lowering operational costs.
When you proactively tend to the property’s needs, your property will have fewer issues. Your tenants may not even need to initiate a maintenance or repair request!
Tenant screening and selection
Screening tenants takes time, as it’s crucial to carefully go through each application. In that way, you can choose the most qualified tenant. Unfortunately, it can also divert your attention from more immediate concerns.
AI tools are a valuable solution, with the ability to scan each applicant’s information, cross-referencing it with your predefined criteria. Furthermore, these tools can simultaneously scan multiple databases, perform credit checks, verify employment, and more. This not only saves time but also narrows down your candidate pool. While AI can’t make the final choice for you, pre-screening tenants is a great way to simplify your selection process.
Streamline your property management services
Property management can be an overwhelming undertaking. But with the use of AI and automation, you’ll be able to streamline your daily operations. Think of it as your trusty assistant that takes care of manual tasks, allowing you to do more with your time. And when you focus your efforts on the matters that need them most, you can position yourself for success.
To learn more about how AI and automation tools can help you be more efficient, check out our other articles.
