If you operate a real estate business, then you will understand how important it is for you to scale with time. If you are not actively growing your portfolio, then you will know how difficult it can be to try to get ahead of your competition. If you want to make a change here, then take a look below.
Streamline your Operation
In an increasingly competitive market, you do need to make sure that you are prioritising operational efficiency. This will help you to cope with surges in demand, and it will also help you to maintain the high standards you are known for. If you have a manual process, or if you know that your process is very fragmented, then this will introduce slow errors, and it will also put a lot of strain on your employees as well. Automation offers a very good solution here, as it helps to reduce friction at every stage of the lifecycle, and it will also allow businesses to operate with both speed and efficiency. A very simple way for you to do this is to document the journey your renters are going on. They should be able to find a flat online, click a button, and then automatically be sent to upload any documentation that they may have. Frictionless experiences like this are very common in other sectors, but now businesses need to find ways to ensure that they are offering this same level of experience. Not only is automation the best way for you to improve resilience, but it’s also a good way for you to scale during peak periods, so you can make sure that you are not continually having to scale your headcount when you simply don’t need to.
Faster and Smarter Decisions
Speed is so important when you work within the property market. If you want to try to minimize income, then you have to try to acquire buildings or even apartments. You then need to find ways to try to prepare them for rental. If you have delays here, then this will result in you having missed opportunities as well as higher costs. This is the last thing you need, but if you can take the time to eliminate issues like this, then you will benefit quite significantly. Tech has a big role to play here, especially when it comes to removing uncertainty. It can also help to accelerate the process. If you have a tool that helps you to input key info that may relate to your purchase, which could include location, acquisition cost, and even your budget for refurbishment, you can then pinpoint properties that could be good for you. You can also feel good knowing that you are able to accelerate things, which will help you a lot.
Another good thing to do would be for you to try to standardise things. You need to standardise fittings, sofa bed styles, and even kitchen appliances. If you can do this, then you can increase your consistency across different properties, and you can also reinforce brand quality. This, in combination with simplifying procurement, will help your team to know what good looks like, and it will also help you to move faster and with much more confidence than you would have normally. If you have a lot of properties to deal with, then you can also buy the same products for every property, using tech to monitor and maintain strict maintenance schedules.
Tenant Screening
If you can, you should also try to look into tenant screening. Using tech to handle things like tenant screening is a good way for you to track who is renting your properties, whether or not they are a good fit, and what paperwork is needed. If you can do this, then you will soon find that it is easier than ever for you to document the process and to make sure that you are not making mistakes by simply not allowing the right tenants to stay in your properties.
Collecting Rent
You can also use software to collect rent online. When you do, you will find that it is easier for you to document the money you have coming into your business, as well as the steps you need to take to make sure your tenants are paying on time. If you are unsure as to who is paying on time and who is not, then using rent collection software is again a solid solution. Rent collection software is very easy to use, and when you adopt it for your business, you will find that you can not only scale your business, but that you can also make sure that you are not falling behind your competitors when it comes to your property journey. Remember that adopting software like this may cost you money, but when you consider the long-term benefits of doing so, it’;s easy to recoup it back in profit later down the line.
Client Relationships
While tech is often used to reduce costs and increase efficiency, the true value lies in enabling better relationships. Property is a people business at the end of the day, and it’s driven by customer communication, long-term partnerships, and even trust. If you can, you need to make sure that you are helping your tenants by focusing on higher-value interactions. Instead of trying to chase paperwork all the time, you need to make sure that you are spending time resolving complex issues as well as delivering more personalised experiences. If you can do this, then you will find it easier to not only get the result you need, but also make sure that you are not compromising your business. Things like this will not only help you now, as they will help you in the long-run, especially if you are able to build relationships that benefit your clients to the point where they recommend other people to your business. If you need help with client relationships, hiring a property manager can be a good way for you to work around this.
