Personalize Your Real Estate Data Experience

In today’s age of data-centricity, professionals across different sectors often face hurdles in persuading their peers to embrace novel tools designed for data handling. Consequently, despite the considerable resources poured into them, well-designed dashboards and reports remain overlooked. If these analytical insights remain untapped, can they be considered valuable?

These could encompass metrics such as property valuation, appreciation rates, rental yields, occupancy statistics, and the effectiveness of property marketing strategies. Despite having this comprehensive data at their fingertips, interpreting it and utilizing it for strategic investment decisions can be daunting. The sobering truth is that not all of these ventures have achieved their anticipated results. At the heart of the problem is often a glaring oversight – a misalignment between the meticulously planned management strategies and the genuine needs and expectations of the property investors and tenants.

Yet, in these challenges lie opportunities for growth and improvement. We must identify the reasons behind these disconnections and take steps to bridge the gap effectively. The key to success is fostering curiosity and gaining profound insights by studying your target audience. This, in turn, empowers you to create data experiences that not only meet but exceed expectations, catching the attention of management, elevating business value, and sparking valuable conversations.

What hinders asset managers from personalizing data experiences?

  1. Assessing data requirements: Even with their expertise, asset managers might not always grasp the nuances of every aspect of real estate asset management. Misjudging the specific data needs of various roles can hinder the delivery of actionable asset insights.
  2. Language barrier: Many professionals know what they aim to achieve but may find it challenging to express it in the precise vocabulary of asset management. Conversely, some may be so occupied in their routine tasks that they overlook the transformative potential of data in enhancing their asset strategies.
  3. Fear of change: Venturing into new methodologies, especially in asset management, can be daunting. The allure of tried-and-tested methods often overshadows the long-term advantages of innovation, such as optimized asset performance and increased returns.
  4. Learning from the past: Reflecting on past strategies and interactions within the asset management team and with stakeholders is crucial. Historical experiences can shape present strategies and perceptions, and harnessing these lessons to inform future decisions is vital.

This is why we must not overlook the crucial role played by data designers. They bridge the gap between data and user experience, ensuring that data remains accessible, understandable, and exciting.

Here are four straightforward yet highly effective strategies to create data tools that genuinely resonate with your team:

  1. Use Common Insights: Most of the daily touchpoints you interact with are designed to present data in an easy-to-understand format. For instance, news apps use graphs, colors, and formatting to make their content more user-centric and effective. Drawing inspiration from these touchpoints allows you to create more intuitive and user-friendly tools.
  2. Understand Team’s Perspective: Allocate time to understand how your team incorporates data into their strategic decisions. Observe their preferences and understand when and how they engage with the data. As such insights will be a game-changer while developing the tools that fit their everyday processes and needs
  3. Engage in Tool Development: Involve your team members to participate in the tool development process actively. Understand their preferences in data personalization and visualization. However, it is crucial to maintain a unified approach that aligns the broader style and goals of the firm with individual preferences.
  4. Start simple and improve: Rather than aiming for perfection from the outset, adopt a strategy of starting with the basics and improving as time goes on. Collaborating with your team to identify the most critical data insights required for decision-making. Prioritize these, tackling them systematically so that it is in alignment with the team’s needs. This approach ensures a smoother adoption process and avoids disruption.

By fully embracing these strategies, you can overcome the challenges of adopting data tools and create a culture that values data for organizational success. It will help boost operational efficiency, ensuring the management of diverse portfolios – a challenge that would traditionally be overwhelming.

As you navigate the complexities of data-driven decision-making in property management, it’s essential to recognize that solutions are readily available to streamline this process. The utilization of smart data solutions can significantly enhance efficiency, making it possible to manage multiple user experience scenarios simultaneously—a task that would otherwise be daunting.

RealSage Analytics is a cutting-edge solution that has the potential to revolutionize real estate operations and take decision-making to new heights of sophistication. By adopting these strategies and exploring innovative solutions, you can effectively tackle the challenges of adopting data tools and embark on a journey toward a more efficient, data-driven future in property management.

How to find the best leasing CRM for your property management firm?

There’s no dull day as a leasing manager. You’re not only dealing with countless inquiries but also making sure you keep up with prospects who show interest and maximize applications without compromising on the rental prices or the quality of tenants. 

Leasing managers at larger firms, in particular, have variables like market shifts, competitor tactics, marketing strategies and systems and processes in place to consider.  You need to be sure you’re operating as effectively as possible, while still bracing yourself for the unexpected.

That’s where a leasing CRM comes in as an ally to make every part of your daily operations easier and more profitable. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to vet the right solution for your business, the key features to look out for, and potential pitfalls to avoid.

What makes leasing at scale so difficult?

Leasing is like any other sales process on steroids. The sheer volume of activity coupled with the loss of revenue to property owners in cases where a unit is not rented on time puts tremendous pressure on this business function to run efficiently throughout the year. 

First, the size of the operation is much larger with many moving parts which means there are multiple components that ought to be managed. The impact of a small oversight in such instances has big implications. 

Regular tracking of all KPIs is a must in order to quickly identify kinks in one’s armour. For example, a team that tracks their property viewing numbers daily will learn about a broken scheduling link much sooner than a team that doesn’t. 

There are also unique coordination challenges that need to be solved. Leasing managers must be aware of not only the properties under their management but also those operated by fellow team members nearby.  Lastly, tracking leasing activities across multiple channels and teams is so complex that it can’t be done with a spreadsheet. The scale of managing leasing for a large portfolio requires a specific solution that’s built for the job and can automate communication, lead management and marketing channel and leasing team performance.

Why Won’t Generic Software Work?

With these leasing operations issues, generic sales software features that may look good on the surface, may not be applicable or work the way you want them to manage your portfolio on the platform. Generic sales software:

  • Requires too many workarounds and customization for specific tasks.
  • Needs a way to integrate with all the other software you’re using to be effective.
  • Can be difficult to scale as your business grows.

What does the best leasing software entail?

Leasing managers today need to be efficient, quick, flexible, and reliable—and the software you choose should be the same.

The main traits of top-of-the-line leasing software include:

Industry-specific features: that seamlessly integrate with your day-to-day workflow to ultimately save you time and money

Professionalism: the software is reliable and easy to understand,—you’re fully supported as a customer, and people that access the software feel fully comfortable using the solution too

Security and Accuracy: data is stored safely and reliably and prospect information/rental applications are accurately recorded.

What Leasing Software Features Should You Look For?

In a sea of never-ending options, how do you choose the best commercial leasing software? Start by understanding your biggest needs and prioritize them by how much time and resources they’re costing your business. Identifying your biggest priorities can help you shop and discern the best features that move your business forward.

Vacancy in a property is an expensive and inevitable occurrence. The loss of rental income is just one component of the equation. Other expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance, and advertising costs must also be taken into account.

Building a streamlined process from receiving an inquiry to signing a lease is the fastest way to minimize your vacancies and start generating rental income. There are five key steps to the lead-to-lease journey, let’s break down each step and go through how an ideal platform can help accelerate the process.

Step 1: Consolidate your leads

Getting leads from multiple sources by email or phone is the easy part. Ensuring that these inquiries are effectively consolidated and channelled to the right leasing manager’s dashboard ensures that you minimize missouts. 

Step 2: Automate Responses and instantly schedule showings

The right software can let potential tenants book their showings online. Tools that automate follow-up reminders via email and text can help ensure they show up on time.

Step 3: Accept, Deny, and Manage Applications

Once you’ve showcased your property, it’s essential to simplify the application process by offering an online option. A top-notch leasing software allows you to customize application forms by adding, removing, or rearranging fields to meet your needs. With the right software, you’ll have a comprehensive view of all your applicants in a single dashboard, where you can accept, deny, or manage each one. Additionally, the software securely stores applicant information and streamlines the signing process, eliminating the need for repeated data entry.

Step 4: Track key metrics

An ideal solution would allow you to create custom reports, define KPIs, and track what matters most to your business. An intelligent system that delivers critical insights and trends directly to your inbox is what you are after so that your teams don’t have to wait on business reports to make decisions.

Get Started with the Best Leasing Software for your business. RealSage Convert is a powerful yet simple CRM with the tools you need to convert prospects to lease better.

How to improve lead-to-lease ratios for your Multifamily Rental?

The success of any property management company lies in its leasing cycle. When done right, it’s a repetitive and steady beat that fills vacant units with quality residents quickly for maximum revenue potential. On the other hand, an ineffective leasing strategy can be an expensive drain on the business.

Taking the time to review processes and make sure they are done in a timely, efficient manner is critical. This post will go through ways one can improve lead-to-lease conversions along with some helpful tips that could help increase occupancy rates.

  1. Define existing processes and the conversion rates at each stage of the lease-up process.

A typical lease-up process can be broken down into 3 stages –

  • Initial inquiry
  • Property viewing
  • Rental Application / Lease Signing

Before identifying areas of improvement, it is important to map out the conversion rates at each stage of the funnel. These numbers would serve as a base against which improvements are measured.

2. Start at the top of the funnel by evaluating all your property listing channels

You don’t have to necessarily pay for leads since, in the rental space, plenty of leads can be generated for free. While there are paid listing sites available, the majority of lead generation comes from open databases. According to research by Tenant Turner on Zillow’s Ad vacancy page they found out that most potential tenants start their search through free methods like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist — so if your goal is making more money without spending too much then start by listing on these platforms.

Pro Tip: You can save tons of time by syndicating your listings through software that allows you to centrally manage your vacant listings.

3. Timely response to incoming inquiries is critical

You are 40% more likely to connect with a prospect when you respond to them within 4 minutes as opposed to within 24 hours. When renters are motivated, it is a certainty that they are looking at multiple properties simultaneously. It is impossible for leasing managers to make themselves available 24/7. However, there is automation that can be put in place in order to ensure a renter is guided towards the desired next step in addition to having their basic questions answered immediately.

4. Always present alternatives to help improve conversion

Motivated renters are looking to move into a new home typically within a 30 to a 60-day timeline. Property Managers are more likely to improve their conversion rates by ensuring that all prospects are presented with alternatives in case they do not warm up to the property they had initially inquired about. A thorough understanding of the renter’s considerations during the initial interaction is imperative to ensure the right option is presented in a timely manner in order to improve the conversion rate.

5. Virtual Tours are no longer a ‘nice to have but a ‘must have’

Technology has changed the way we live our lives, and now it’s helping leasing managers make their rental showings process more efficient. Automated scheduling tools allow for quick updates to go out automatically based on what properties are available in an instant. 3D camera technology like Matterport ensures potential renters get virtual tours of homes without ever leaving their couch!

Pro Tip: Ensure you label aspects of your unit while getting a virtual tour ensuring renters are able to fully educate themselves and make quick decisions on their own.

6. If you haven’t already, bring leasing online

It’s time to go online with your leasing paperwork. A recent study showed that the percentage of renters who want to apply for a lease online increased by 15% in just the last two years! Employing technology allows property managers to exercise greater control and saves an incredible amount of time, too. Digital documentation also ensures that you don’t have to dig into old filing cabinets and documents are always just a few clicks away.

7. Nothing will replace the human touch

Automations throughout the leasing process are not meant to compromise the relationship between renters and managers, If anything, these are meant to free up more time for leasing and property managers to interact with renters in meaningful ways as opposed to carrying out repetitive tasks that add little value to the customer’s experience.

8. Track your progress constantly and re-evaluate your processes periodically

Once you have made a certain change to your process, it is important to understand the impact it has on your firm’s overall leasing performance. Like everything else in business, leasing also is an ever-evolving exercise that needs to be constantly monitored and revised in order to ensure premium customer experience and success for the firm.

This just about sums it up. We at SoulRooms care deeply about problems pertaining to effective leasing and hope this post adds value to leasing managers looking to improve their conversion rates. Happy leasing!

How to increase tenant satisfaction ratings as property managers?

Since portfolio occupancy is the most important KPI for property managers, tenant turnover inevitably becomes the biggest impediment to success.

Keeping tenants happy has become a necessity for overall success in today’s competitive market. Not only do happy tenants leave positive reviews and send referrals, but they also stay on for extended durations ensuring high occupancy rates are easier to maintain. This reason alone warrants taking the time to review renter journeys and design processes to maximize tenant satisfaction.

This post will go through best practices property managers can imbibe to maintain high tenant satisfaction ratings.

  1. You only get one chance to make a first impression, make the move-ins count.

Tenants do not expect to walk into their new home and find flowers arranged on the coffee table or towels shaped like swans in the bedroom. However, since moving-in is hard as is, friction here should be minimized by ensuring all necessary instructions are delivered in a clear and timely fashion.

Pro Tip: If as the property manager, you are able to provide new tenants with a spot to park their moving truck or book the elevator in advance on their big day, you will already be outdoing a majority of your competition.

2. Make maintenance requests priority numero uno

We understand that a request to install an additional hook on the bathroom door is not the same as an HVAC breakdown in the month of January. However, property management teams are encouraged to develop a culture of treating minor inconveniences faced by tenants as important business problems that ought to be resolved in a timely fashion. In the short run, this ensures improved tenant satisfaction and occupancy, however in the long run this can lower operating costs that result from impeccable property maintenance.

3. Standardize communication channels and set expectations from the get-go

At the outset, restrict all tenants to one channel for all communication. The best way to keep tenants happy is by implementing an intelligent channel that readily provides answers to commonly asked questions, is easy to use, and, is accessible on the go.

Pro Tip: Ensure expectations around turnaround timelines are set at the outset via auto-responses during holidays and off-hours. Also, proactive transparency about external intervention leading to potential delays will always be better received than a reactive explanation to a complaint about delays in resolution times.

4. Quaterly feedback forms > Exit surveys

All teams that manage operations ought to do everything in their power to avoid surprises. While exit forms are a good way to show that one cares in addition to gaining an understanding of the shortcomings of property operations, they fail to help property managers with the KPI that matters most, occupancy.

Periodical feedback forms not only ensure one maintains a pulse on their tenant base, but also allow proactive resolution resulting in improved occupancy in the long run.

There is no denying that property management is a tough, often thankless gig. However, incorporating technology and best practices has the potential to have a dramatic impact on the business as well as the overall reputation of one’s brand.

We at SoulRooms care deeply about problems pertaining to rental managers and hope this post adds value to folks looking to improve their tenant experience. Happy leasing!