Our Property Management Insights

Property managers know that as critical as the rental showing process is, it’s also really time-consuming. Between scheduling and rescheduling appointments, hosting the tour (assuming the prospects show up!) and then following up afterward, it’s not a simple task. We recently dove into data that shows that property managers are busier than ever, due to a high occupancy rate and a low number of rental units available. In a tight market, property managers need to save time, and self-showings might seem like a dream come true. But are they really?

“We used to get 50 phone calls a day at our office. Now we don’t get any. It’s awesome!”

Have you been much busier than normal this spring? That’s not surprising: in early 2021, we noticed a significant increase in lead and leasing activity, especially as compared to the level of active rental inventory. In fact, while the leasing “busy season” typically starts in May, it actually started in March this year. We decided to dig into our user data to figure out what’s happening -- and what it means for property managers who are already strapped for time.

Finding new tenants during rental turnover is the most challenging and time-consuming part of a property manager’s job. With the average vacancy lasting thirty to forty days, it’s a major disruption to cash flow and annual income, plus the work involved to find and screen potential tenants is a significant effort.

As a property manager or rental property owner, you probably spend a lot of time qualifying each prospective tenant. You need to make sure they’re able to pay rent, that they don’t have a criminal background or other red flags (like poor credit), and that they’re a good fit on variables like pet ownership or smoking. Screening tenants is a challenge, and the stakes are high—poor screening could leave you facing a costly eviction.

The main reason to use any technology is to get more done with less effort, all while automatically tracking the results—and that’s absolutely the case with rental properties. Property management software, including tenant lead software, helps property managers save time while getting their vacancies filled faster with better quality tenants.

As you get ready to advertise a residential rental listing, you’re probably wondering what you can do to get the most value from your investment. After all, advertising can sometimes feel like paying taxes: it’s money you have to spend, but you can’t always see the benefit.