Being a landlord is a great way to make money. You get to invest in real estate (which will hopefully appreciate in value), and you get to provide housing for the citizen of a city that you love. But being a landlord can be hard work. After all, you’ve got to manage multiple properties if you’re going to make good money, making it easy for your workload to grow exponentially.
Thankfully, the digital age has brought new technology that will make your landlord duties easier than ever. Here are 3 simple ways to get your landlord tasks done faster and more efficiently.
1.   Automatic Rent Payments
Your first order of business is to simplify your rent collection method. Your tenants are sure to appreciate this just as much as you will. Rent is how you make money, and you should aim to reduce any obstructions that slow down that cash from entering your bank account.
If you haven’t done so already, bid farewell to the days of mailed-in cash and check. Mailing money has plenty of inconveniences:
- Tenants must go to the bank if they don’t have cash or have run out of checks
- Tenants must take the envelope to the post office
- You must wait for the envelope to arrive
- The money could get lost in the mail
- You’ll have to make your own trip to the bank to cash or deposit the rent
Mailing should always be an acceptable option for tenants, but most folks nowadays have Internet access. Use software like Cozy to let tenants pay their rent online. Rent collection software will save everyone time and inconvenience, and you’ll get your money faster.
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2.   Digitally Manage Contractors
One of the toughest things about being a landlord is having to manage all the maintenances requests at each of your properties. If a drain gets clogged, you’re the one who must call a plumber. If a property’s HVAC stops working, you’re the one who must hire someone to fix it. If you want to be productive in the contracting department, you’ll want to:
- Keep digital lists of reliable contractors that can service your properties
- Digitally record contractors’ contact information
Keeping a set list of contractors will shorten the amount of time it takes for you to respond to a maintenance emergency at one of your properties, and you’ll be able to familiarize yourself with each contractor’s pricing so that you can budget more efficiently.
If possible, find contactors who are able to do invoicing through certified software. For example, Housecall Pro plumbing software sends invoices and maintenance updates to the property owner and tenants automatically. High-tech contractors are more communicative and prompt, and that’s important because you always want to know that maintenance tasks are being performed efficiently. After all, happy tenants make a happy landlord.
3.   Hands-Off Tenant Screening
One of the most important responsibilities you have as a landlord is to find good tenants. You probably want to avoid tenants that have:
- A lengthy criminal record
- History of evictions
- Poor financial history
Tenants with any of these characteristics could wreak havoc upon your property and finances. Not to mention, a tenant who engages in criminal activity may very well draw criminal activity onto your property. A tenant with a poor financial history is less likely to pay his or her rent on time. And a tenant who has been evicted numerous times could have a number of issues, such as causing property damage or consistently breaking the rules of the lease.
Suffice to say, you don’t want these kinds of tenants. And you can easily avoid them with proper tenant screening. Although tenant screenings are important, they’re also very tedious to perform on your own. Thankfully, a middle-man exists! Tenant screening companies, like MyRental, shoulder most of the workload for you. Many of these companies perform both background checks and credit checks, and some even take on the task of collecting personal information from the prospective tenant. This is the safe, reliable, and easy way to find the best tenants for your properties.
There you have it! With these 3 steps, you’ll automate and simplify your most important landlord tasks so that you can be more productive in managing each of your properties. Like they say, time is money. By reducing your workload, you’ll be able to boost your amount of free time and maximize your profits.
