Landlords - Should You Use an Online Property Management Program Like Buildium?
Every landlord should have a very good record keeping system.
With an increase in the use of the Internet, you should consider moving your record keeping system from your computer to an online system.
An online system can offer many benefits.
Let me discuss all the advantages of using an online system to manage your investment properties.
Ease of Access An online system can be accessed from any computer that has Internet access.
If your property management software was computer based then you would have to lug your computer around at all times.
If you need to look up something you can easily go into a library and use their computers for free or rent a computer at stores like FedEx Kinkos.
Tenants Have Online Access Tenants have the option of logging onto their account.
Their account would show their payment history.
This allows them to see what they currently owe.
They can send communication directly to the property manager through the online system.
The tenant can also fill out a maintenance request.
They can check back later to see who has been assigned to handle the repair and the estimated date that it is to be completed.
Maintenance Repairs Tracking Tenants have the option of filling out tickets for maintenance request online.
This information is immediately routed to the property manager.
There is a record of the date the request was entered and the date the repairs were completed.
The property manager has the option of creating a work order for the appropriate repair person to handle the repair.
When the repair person completes their work then their invoice can be attached to the work order.
This gives you a.
pdf view of the work order history.
Online Rent Payments Tenants are able to make rent payments online.
This makes rent collection easier for the property manager since they do not have to drive out to the property to personally collect from the tenant.
Tenants can make payments from the comfort of their home without having to drive to a rental office to make payments or worry about getting there during office hours.
Central Backups Most landlords do not backup the hard drive on their computer at home.
This puts them at risk in case something should every happen to the computer.
With an online system, the company is responsible for backing up their servers.
Most do this several times during the day and they guarantee against loss of data.
With an increase in the use of the Internet, you should consider moving your record keeping system from your computer to an online system.
An online system can offer many benefits.
Let me discuss all the advantages of using an online system to manage your investment properties.
Ease of Access An online system can be accessed from any computer that has Internet access.
If your property management software was computer based then you would have to lug your computer around at all times.
If you need to look up something you can easily go into a library and use their computers for free or rent a computer at stores like FedEx Kinkos.
Tenants Have Online Access Tenants have the option of logging onto their account.
Their account would show their payment history.
This allows them to see what they currently owe.
They can send communication directly to the property manager through the online system.
The tenant can also fill out a maintenance request.
They can check back later to see who has been assigned to handle the repair and the estimated date that it is to be completed.
Maintenance Repairs Tracking Tenants have the option of filling out tickets for maintenance request online.
This information is immediately routed to the property manager.
There is a record of the date the request was entered and the date the repairs were completed.
The property manager has the option of creating a work order for the appropriate repair person to handle the repair.
When the repair person completes their work then their invoice can be attached to the work order.
This gives you a.
pdf view of the work order history.
Online Rent Payments Tenants are able to make rent payments online.
This makes rent collection easier for the property manager since they do not have to drive out to the property to personally collect from the tenant.
Tenants can make payments from the comfort of their home without having to drive to a rental office to make payments or worry about getting there during office hours.
Central Backups Most landlords do not backup the hard drive on their computer at home.
This puts them at risk in case something should every happen to the computer.
With an online system, the company is responsible for backing up their servers.
Most do this several times during the day and they guarantee against loss of data.