As your rental property business grows, so will the needs and demands of your tenants. To ensure your tenants' needs are being meant, you have to maintain an open line of communication. One effective method of doing this is by implementing and using a tenant portal. If you are unsure whether or not a tenant portal will be beneficial to your business, here is what you need to know.
Why Should You Use a Tenant Portal?
Tenant portals can help with managing some of the tasks that are necessary for your rental properties to operate. For instance, the portal can be used to collect payments from tenants. The system can notify tenants via email and text of upcoming rental payments and fees. It also gives the tenants access around the clock to make payments.
In addition to this, the portal can be used by tenants to make repairs request. Instead of tenants having to wait until business hours to make an oral or in-person request, they can simply log into their account and submit it from any location.
You can even share important documents with your tenants via the portal. For instance, you can save on paper and postage by making leases available through the portal. Announcements, such as property rules, can also be shared through the portal.
What Should You Remember When Evaluating a Portal?
You have the option of setting up your own portal, but many landlords are turning to companies that already have established systems. If you are planning to contract with a company, there are several things to remember during your evaluations of the portals.
You want to ensure the portal is user-friendly. For instance, if a majority of your tenants are older people who have little technical experience, you need a portal that is straightforward and easy to navigate.
You also need to look for a portal that offers the ability to complete some or most of the tasks that are most important to you and your tenants. In addition to offering rent payment and maintenance requests, consider contracting with a service that has the ability for you and the residents to discuss other issues that are not maintenance related.
Finding the right portal can take time and effort. To simplify the process and ensure the portal that is selected continues to meet your needs, consider contracting with a property management company. The company will likely have a system in place that is capable of meeting your tenants' needs and can help with following through on any requests that are made.
Investing in a platform like this can make your property management job much easier.
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