Being a good landlord is time-consuming. If you have other responsibilities like a full-time job or a family, finding time to do it all can be difficult. Luckily, there are systems that can help you with your landlord duties. Here are three ways you can automate some of your landlord responsibilities to free up your time.
1. Automate The Tenant-Finding Process
The tenant-finding process is a tedious one, but as a good landlord, you’ll still want to be an active part of the process. Here’s what you need to do first.
Take plenty of pictures that showcase your rental and the surrounding neighborhood. Create a well-written ad that helps prospective tenants picture themselves living in your rental. Create a Google Drive folder, place the images and ad in it and include a Google Calendar for showings. Post your ad on a real estate listing website. Use the app Calendly to automate showings, which populates on Google Calendar. Allow prospects to fill out the rental application online!
2. Automate The Lease And Rent Collection
Setting up the lease and rent collection is probably the most important part of the automation process. For your first lease, you’ll want to hire an attorney to create it so it meets all the legal aspects required by your state. From there, you can customize it to suit each tenant. Use DocuSign to have tenants sign the lease, and then save it in your Google Drive making sure to give access to the tenant. Allow your tenants to pay rent each month using Cozy, which is free for everyone as long as they use the ACH method.
3. Automate The Tenant Onboarding Process
When a new tenant moves in, it’s almost like a new employee starting a job. There is a certain amount of onboarding to be done. For instance: A move-in inspection – make a walk-through of the rental with the tenant and note any issues. Have the tenant sign it. This documents the condition of the rental at move-in and what is expected at move-out. If there are maintenance issues that need attention, the tenant can make a request via the Cozy portal and everything is tracked. Gather a team of professionals you trust to do maintenance work in and around your rental. You’ll need a handyman, a plumber, etc. that are trustworthy and available to do work on your rental when it’s needed. You can keep track of any expenses incurred on the upkeep of your rental and deduct them at tax time via the landlord portal on Cozy.
There’s a lot to being a landlord, but you can spend less time on your landlord duties by automating as many of the responsibilities as possible. There are many websites out there to help you manage your rentals, so do some research to find out which ones work best for you.
