Monthly Archives: September 2009

Property Software Vs Property Management Company

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Lots of landlords start off with no need for any help at all with their property management. They have a very small portfolio and trick themselves into thinking that they are just as efficient with their hand records as any software or management firm. That is clearly a mistake, but the fact is that when the going gets tough and landlords finally face up to needing help, they often make another error. This one has the potential to cost them a lot of money. They choose property management firms over property management software.

When they start to struggle as their portfolio grows, many landlords panic and throw the whole lot into the hands of a property management firm. This can be a major mistake for a couple of reasons:
 
Of course, first there is the money. Most property management firms charge a substantial block of money every week. The alternative of buying and setting up decent landlord software does involve an initial cost but once that is paid the monthly outgoing is minimal, if anything at all. In contrast, a property management firm will cost a huge block of cash and it will charge increasingly more as your portfolio grows.

Landlord software does not work like that.

It does not care how big your portfolio gets, it just allows you to enter more into the system and does not hit you with a huge bill for the privilege.
Another thing that landlords do not anticipate about property management firms, is the sense of disempowerment they bring with them. Most people go into property in their own business to achieve a sense of being in control of their future and their finances. With a property management firm you lose all of this. They take over the whole thing and you have little say in how they run things. They may claim you will but when it all comes down to it they have their policies. On the other hand, property software dramatically reduces the hours you spend running the show but still allows you to be completely in control and in charge.

Property management software allows you to build your own reputation just with the help of a tool to make things a lot easier. When you hire a property management firm, you are placing your business reputation, the most vital thing of all, in the hand of strangers. Some of them are probably very good but no matter how good they are mistakes are made and it is a very frustrating feeling when those mistakes that harm your business are not even your own.
 
If you are getting to the point where your property portfolio is growing and becoming unwieldy, do not make the knee jerk decision to turn it all over to the property management firms. Not without at least giving property management software a try first. It will help you to reduce your hours and maintain control, so it really is the best of both worlds

Landlord Software Keeps Tenants Happy

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It is an unfortunate fact that landlords are often not terribly popular with their tenants. This is often not the fault of the landlord, it is just that they are the ones collecting rents and deposits and initiating cleaning inspections, making some tenants view them as the interfering authority figure, whether it is fair or not. Many tenants see landlords as focused solely on getting hold of their money with very little care for their needs.

It is for these reasons that the landlord/tenant relationship can sometimes be a little fraught. Tenants want to live in a clean and functioning environment with as little interference as possible, and landlords wish to protect their investment and make sure it is profitable for them. This causes tension and often a stressed out landlord. But there is a way to make the relationship that is so central to property management run more smoothly: landlord software!

This property management tool makes sure that landlords are better organized and more efficient in the running of their property. Sure, they could hire a property management firm to facilitate the relationship between them and their clients but that would mean paying out a substantial dividend every month to another client. That is money the landlord could be putting into their own pocket if they have invested wisely in the correct property management software.
The correct landlord software will enable the landlord to economically control his or her property empire while at the same time remaining in close communication with their tenants. Nothing is more frustrating for the tenant than when they want to speak to the top guy and it takes them three or four lower down people to finally reach them. Not a very clever start to the beginning of a new relationship.

As a landlord you have a responsibility to keep the lines of communication open and with a ratio of ten to one with your tenants in many cases, doing it all manually is a killer for some of us. Good property management software will allow you to do everything more efficiently and, therefore, free time for the vital one on one communication that many tenants demand.

Landlord software will allow you, as a property manager, to keep meticulous, exhaustive records. This fact alone can prevent tenants from trying to argue the point about lack of notice for an inspection or something similar. If they can see that the landlord is completely organised, they will know that that kind of dispute is not going to go their way. This often makes for smoother communications.

Property software definitely makes a landlord’s relationships with their tenants easier. This is because it makes excellent record keeping a snap. The tenants always know exactly where they stand because the landlord remains one hundred percent consistent, thus avoiding confusion. This most certainly gives the landlord the advantage.

Landlord Software Saves You Time and Money

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There are very few landlords with any sort of sizeable portfolio that try to struggle through their day to day business without some form of property management software. The large majority of modern landlords are now fully aware of the kind of benefits that property software can bring to their business and have jumped on board.

For those stubborn few still holding out or those that are relatively new to the game and looking for some advice, let’s take a quick look at the advantages of decent landlord software for the smooth running of your business:

It will Record and Update Your Tenant Reports
We are all aware that having spotless and up to date records of everything pertaining to your tenants is one of the biggest tasks of residential property management. This time consuming task is also one of the most vital and, as a result, takes up loads of time in the average landlord’s week.

Any slacking in this area makes the landlord vulnerable in the event of a dispute with the tenant regarding payment, lease terms or any other conditions of a tenancy. Landlord software will make sure that your records are beyond dispute.

Property management software will also allow you to make up a report when it is time to send a late payment notification, renew a lease, or prepare an eviction notice. Most landlord software contains templates that let you adjust them to your individual needs and save loads of time and effort in the process.

It Can Help With Accounting and Filing Your Annual Tax Returns
Most of us dread tax return time even though we know everything we have done is above board. It is the fear that we have forgotten something that usually causes this anxiety. It is also because, no matter how thorough we have been in keeping our records, the job of putting it all together to fill in the tax return is always a daunting prospect. Property management software will take all the worry out of this time of year for you.

It will allow you to track all your rental income and expenses in real time so when it comes to completing your tax return you are sure to have all the data you need. Excellent record keeping will also ensure that you won’t miss out on any possible tax deduction, which is a hugely important (and beneficial) reason for getting hold of landlord software in the first place. No one likes the idea of giving the taxman more than they are due!

Landlord Software Keeps Track of Your Rental Property Inventory
Keeping an inventory allows you to track your rental properties with ease, and property software can save you so much time in this depatment. You can include information on important property details such as location, square footage, rental information or any type of maintenance issue with your rental properties.

If you own a large number of rental properties, you can also compare the returns of your properties by any number of elements such as monthly rental rate, property values, location and so on.

All landlords that use property software agree that it has made their lives easier and their business more profitable.

Buy to Let Landlords Still Worried

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Despite the fact that we seem to be hearing a lot of good news about the state of the economy, and in fact the state of the property sector specifically, some landlords are still very concerned.

A recent poll conducted by an organization called Direct Line for Business found that nearly a third of landlords are still losing sleep over the current economic situation and many are very worried about their future in the property sector.

Personally, I don’t find this news at all surprising. For a lot of landlords the recent huge upheaval was the first time they experienced how quickly things can crash in the property game. The shock of going from boom to near bust will have had an effect on the confidence of a lot of landlords and rightly so. Hopefully it is this kind of experience that prevents us from repeating the same errors perpetually.

There is a worrying aspect to all this, though, and it is the news that some landlords are cutting corners by cancelling insurance policies. That is a very dangerous practice and, in my mind, is akin to gambling; the odds may be slightly more in your favour than in a casino or bookies but the stakes are very, very high.

One of my rules in this game is to make sure I am fully covered. It is imperative that you keep your insurance up to date. If the worst happens and you are uninsured you stand to lose everything. As harsh as it sounds, my advice is to leave your insurance policies alone and find somewhere else to cut corners.

False Dawn a Frightening Thought for UK Housing Market

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The BBC website has recently published an article on their website that is sure to cause some concern among those of us involved in the UK property sector.
 
After weeks, if not months,  of generally good news about the state of the housing market in the UK, economic forecasting group, The Ernst & Young Item Club, have decided to ruin the party with their prediction that the property market is at least five years from regaining its 2007 peak.

At first glance this does seem like fairly bad news but on further reflection UK landlords, or at least those that have weathered the storm in reasonable shape,  may not be terribly dismayed at this news. Those landlords who are still holding a decent portfolio tend to be of the variety that see property as part of a long term plan, the benefits of which are likely to be reaped sometime in the future, as such a slow return to peak prices is unlikely to affect them too much.

In fact,  the opportunity for picking up additions to their portfolios at a reduced price, for some time to come, may be welcome news for a lot of landlords who are still in a position to invest.

Despite the general feeling of optimism abounding concerning the economy at the moment, my thought is that most of us are just pleased the whole thing did not prove to be as dire as some predicted. I am not sure we are that shocked that we are in for a bit of a wait before we return to peak housing prices.