COVID-19 has impacted the U.S. economy in unprecedented ways. While it is impossible for any industry to be completely recession-proof, landlords can take steps to make their portfolios more recession-resilient. It is critical to be proactive during times like these, not reactive.

Proptech can help obtain the right residents.

Even before the pandemic, prospective residents expect a digital experience when it comes to finding a place to live. Software like forrent, apartments.com, and apartmentsguide.com make it easy for prospective residents to find your properties online. Not only do these platforms offer powerful interfaces for prospective residents to search and apply for new places to live, but also have advanced features like 3D tours and neighborhood information that enable prospects to learn about your property in fun, engaging ways -- which hopefully lead to new residents for your property.

Proactively manage leases.

How precisely can you forecast your properties risk? Advanced proptech like YARDI can provide insights that enable property managers to assess performance, identify needs and to proactively adjust lease rates or length of term to manage the risk of lost rental income. Some solutions offer in-depth data analysis that combines your data and market data for a broader perspective of your portfolio.

Remain profitable with resident retention data

The resident experience is the key to a building’s value. Software solutions like Rent Café are available to make meeting your residents’ expectations a breeze. This type of software can facilitate various communications efficiently, saving you and your residents the problems that come with miscommunication and manual forms of engagement. Your residents will appreciate the convenience and transparency, which hopefully encourages them to continue renting from you.

Upgrade your business intelligence. 

Enhance management efforts by maintaining a portfolio-wide view of your properties. Modern proptech enables landlords to view operations at a glance, compare properties against one another other, and measure performance. YARDI provides a mobile-enabled platform with more than 200 built-in key performance indicators and powerful, flexible reports and dashboards. Putting operational tech into action gives property managers a way to produce the insights needed to maintain portfolios and catalyze differentiation and future competitive advantage.

Automate your workflows

Maintaining an exceptional operating level while also being efficient is a challenging yet necessary requirement for landlords, especially during a recession. Make your operations as efficient as possible by maximizing the contribution of your staff by optimizing and automating workflows. Both YARDI and Rent Café are great options for improved efficiencies.

Use a scheduling tool like CRM to understand staff and contractor availability. You can assign and dispatch work while keeping residents in the loop in real-time. Additionally, landlords can use proptech to manage preventative maintenance and inspections. Some tools also allow operators to implement an improved bidding process for vendors to ensure the best prices and highest-quality services are being procured. 

Be Proactive

Do not wait for a recession to invest in technology to help manage your property. This is not the first economic depression and it will not be the last. For proactive property managers, the value of high-functioning technology will start accruing immediately. Property management technology can help keep your business profitable in times of disruption. It can help you find the right residents for your properties. It can also make communication easier, collect rent more efficiently, track maintenance, manage budgets, speed up owner reporting, and automate your accounting.