The future of property management depends a lot on technology. With automated systems, artificial intelligence, and virtual assistants taking care of much of the busywork, property managers and leasing agents can focus on connecting with tenants and owners, and ensuring that they have an outstanding rental experience.
This is good news, even if you’re somewhat suspicious of technology and its growing powers.
At Short South Realty Group, we are never shy about investing in the most innovative technology that’s available. It allows us to serve you better. So, today we’re taking a look at what we can expect over the next decade when it comes to Grand Rapids property management and how it can help you earn more money, grow your portfolio, and provide the service and value that your residents are looking for.
Let’s Talk about A.I.
It’s kind of the elephant in the room; will artificial intelligence (AI) save us or destroy us?
When it comes to property management, A.I. has improved systems and saved time. This is still a developing technology, but over the next 10 years, we expect it to get smarter and more capable. Will the human property manager be replaced by a machine? No. People still want that human connection, especially when we’re talking about their homes.
A.I. can help with customer service by responding to easy questions online. Those little chat boxes that you see on the bottom of most websites are driven by A.I. If there’s a question it cannot answer, a human will be summoned.
The artificial intelligence we use in property management can quickly process large amounts of data, and it can do so accurately and with precision. This helps us when it comes to:
- Pricing your property accurately.
- Marketing your rental home across multiple platforms.
- Gather data on maintenance needs.
Costs are often minimized with A.I. while efficiency is increased, and this adds to more satisfaction among our owners and our team members. Rent collection, tenant screening, and other easily delegated tasks will leave our property managers more time to fulfill their more professional endeavors.
We’re excited about where A.I. will take us, especially when it comes to rent collection, accounting, inspections, and reporting.
Smart Home Technology
Rental homes will adopt more smart home technology over the next decade. In fact, property managers in Grand Rapids and throughout the country will need to be prepared for a high demand from tenants.
Residents are currently using video doorbells, smart thermostats, and apps that allow them to set timers for their lights, appliances, and tech-driven vacuum cleaners. Their dependence on smart home technology will only grow, and the property owners and managers who can provide it will have an easier time attracting and retaining high-quality residents.
There are additional benefits as well. By remotely managing various systems within properties, such as HVAC, lighting, and security, energy costs can be reduced for property owners and for tenants, even while efficiency and productivity is increased. Tenants will appreciate having greater control and convenience. They’ll respond favorably to rental homes offering smart home technology.
Smart locks allow remote access, which is both secure and convenient. The smart locks or digital keypads allow for easy property showings, and they also allow for maintenance workers to get inside the property without someone running over there to meet them or make another key.
These technologies offer a variety of advantages, from efficiency to cost-savings to increased tenant retention and higher rental values. With the existing technologies already implemented and working well, the future is likely to include additional cutting-edge technology around smart home features that will easily increase tenant satisfaction and ease some of the frustrations in professional property management.
Building Management Systems
Wishing you could do more to monitor the condition of your multi-family building?
We can.
One of the newer property technology trends that is sure to expand over the next decade is building management systems (BMS) technology. This technology provides software that allows property or building managers to follow and manipulate the physical environment of any building. We can follow specific metrics, such as temperature, moisture, lighting levels, heating and cooling, and security systems. We can track when doors are opened, how long they’re opened, and whether a building is unusually humid or hot or drafty.
This is an enormous help when it comes to building security, habitability, and understanding when maintenance might be needed. We can adjust the regular services and inspections when we notice something seems off.
We get access to this data in real time, allowing us to respond right away to potential problems and eliminating the concerns we often have over deferred or unreported maintenance. Based on the needs and preferences of your building and your tenants, we can use BMS to automatically adjust the temperature of a common area or turn on lights in a stairwell when people approach it.
BMS is likely to grow into one of the most important technology trends in property management over the next decade, as it delivers efficiency and resourcefulness for property managers and the owners we serve. It’s basically a smart home system for multi-family buildings. And while this technology is especially important for multi-family investments, there’s a role for single-family homes, too. It’s all about automation and saving time and money by increasing awareness of what’s going on at your property.
These are some of the most interesting and exciting trends in technology that we see coming down the pike for the property management industry. When you’re looking for a professional property management partner in Grand Rapids or the surrounding areas, make sure you’re choosing a local expert who takes technology seriously. We are already using owner and tenant portals, smart locks on doors, and electronic rent collection and payments. We invest in technology to deliver a better and more profitable investment experience to you.
Questions about what all of this means for you and your portfolio of properties? We’d love to answer them. Please contact us at Short South Realty Group.