We asked our panel of experts how the property management industry has shifted in the past year and what new challenges they face.
Jenny Lytle
General Manager, Access Controls and Community Services, The Chamberlain Group
What is the biggest trend you have seen in the rental industry during the pandemic?
People spend more time at home than they ever have before. This creates a substantial increase in delivery of all of the staple items they need to make that possible. The traffic of delivery providers has increased significantly.
What is the one amenity that every property manager should be investing in this year?
During the pandemic, three things are critical:
- Working remotely whenever possible.
- Tracking people’s comings and goings to keep spaces safe.
- Providing touchless solutions whenever possible.
A quality cloud-based access control solution addresses all of these things. It lets property managers control who enters and exits their buildings and see the corresponding building activity of residents and visitors, remotely, from anywhere. It also gives residents more visibility and control over who they let into their homes, with features like video calling, digital visitor passes, and controlling doors remotely.
How has technology helped empower the modern-day property manager to most effectively find, validate, and keep long-term tenants?
Technology has undoubtedly made finding and vetting prospective tenants easier through search, self-guided touring, online applications, and background check services. Using the right technology partners can also enhance the resident’s experience and retain them over time. Good technology partners will think about the property manager and resident needs and create solutions that enhance the experience over time. This translates to satisfied tenants and less turnover.
What is the most common risk property owners face from tenants when renting out their property, and how can this be avoided?
Property damage is one of the biggest and most expensive risks, especially outside the unit, where a security deposit might not cover the full cost. Protecting your front door with the proper access control system — complete with live video and video storage — can help protect your property and provide proof for insurance claims if events do occur.
Ray Hespen
CEO & Co-Founder, Property Meld
What is the biggest trend you have seen in the rental industry during the pandemic?
We’re also seeing a massive shift in how people work. With a greater percentage of the population working remotely, the idea of a home has become multi-purposed. Consequently, this leads to a more frequent need for repairs. We are seeing a slight uptick in service issues per unit that validates this statement. Secondly, property management firms are having to learn how to operate remotely as well. For staffing to be on the same page, companies require different tooling than would be necessary being across the hall from each other. Technology is helping bridge that gap for these firms, but it’s a process.
What is the one amenity that every property manager should be investing in this year?
Communication and transparency are hands-down the amenities that every property manager should be investing in. With the decrease in personal interactions, communication and transparency have become the absolute foundation for the way people work.
How has technology helped empower the modern-day property manager to most effectively find, validate, and keep long-term tenants?
Maintenance is the key driver, behind only rent price, that keeps a renter renewing (or not, for that matter) — which is critical for the bottom line. Technology can now surface systematic issues in the process. For example, having the ability to better identify those repairs falling through the cracks or even improve average repair speed, both of which are critical to resident satisfaction. A transition is now occurring where these oversights are readily available to people, and those that don’t utilize them are quickly becoming the minority. This shift is having a fantastic impact on the renewal rate of renters and their leases.
What is the most common risk property owners face from tenants when renting out their property, and how can this be avoided?
The most significant risk to property owners is a leasing non-renewal. When someone doesn’t renew, the turnover process can become quite costly and eat at the property’s profitability. In maintenance, there are two things you can watch. Firstly, there’s the volume of service issues within the first 60 days. Think of it like when you bought a product, and your first experience was calling to have it replaced. Secondly, there’s resident satisfaction on service issues. Keep a lockdown on these metrics, and you will eliminate one of the biggest reasons a lease will churn.