As a landlord, your ability to generate a positive return on investment is highly predicated on your ability to lower costs, maximize efficiency, protect your property from harm, and limit turnover. And if you want to improve your approach in each of these areas, you’ll need to pull out all of the stops. That means investing in a few helpful gadgets.
6 Gadgets Worth Investing In
It doesn’t matter if you own one rental property or have a massive portfolio with dozens of doors. The following gadgets will help you run a more profitable and stress-free business. Here are a few of our top suggestions:
1. Smart Door Locks
As a landlord, you want to eliminate any point of friction that eats up time and/or compromises the safety or accessibility of your rental properties. Smart door locks can help with both of these.
Smart door locks, which are surprisingly affordable, allow you to lock and unlock doors remotely, provide electronic access for contractors or real estate agents, log who comes and goes from the property, and easily control security and privacy for tenants without having to change out door locks or keys between each tenancy.
If you do choose to install smart locks, make sure you’re intentional about what data you gather — and be sure to explain how the technology works to your tenants. The last thing you want to do is violate their right to privacy.
2. Smart Smoke & CO Detectors
Every rental property needs to be equipped with smoke and CO detectors to warn tenants when living conditions are unsafe. But traditional smoke and CO detectors are a pain. Batteries die, which leads to constant chirping. This often leads tenants to remove the detectors altogether, which leaves the property exposed. You can deal with this issue by installing smart smoke and CO detectors that can be controlled, silenced, and optimized remotely.
3. Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats are certainly cost-effective. But more than that, they’re convenient.
Imagine a scenario where you’re in between tenants. It’s the middle of the summer, and because nobody is living in the property, you’d prefer not to have the AC running 24/7. With a smart thermostat, all you have to do is pull up the app, and you can adjust the temperature from anywhere.
Now let’s say you get a call from your property management service, and they tell you that you have back to back showings scheduled for tomorrow. You can pull up the app tomorrow morning and turn on the AC so that the house cools down before their visit.
Without a smart thermostat, you’d either have to run the AC all day and night (expensive) or drive back and forth to turn the thermostat up and down (inconvenient). This is just one example of why having smart thermostats is a smart move!
4. Leakage Detectors
Is there anything scarier or more dangerous than a leak in your rental property? Depending on where the leak is, it could go undetected for weeks or months before finally creating enough damage to be visible. But with a leakage detector, you can monitor changes in water pressure and get notifications sent directly to your phone. You can even install an automatic water shutoff valve that lets you turn the main water supply on and off with the tap of a button.
5. Todoist App
Do you constantly feel like you’re forgetting something? Do you stress that you’ll miss an appointment? Do you keep a bunch of sticky notes and paper lists in your car, office, or house? Well, maybe it’s time to invest in an app that will help you keep your thoughts, appointments, and lists in one place.
Todoist is an app that doubles as a virtual to-do list and a calendar management solution. Use it to make sure you never forget something important. It costs a few bucks for the premium version, but the value justifies the expense.
6. SMS Solution
Looking for a way to stay in constant contact with your tenants? Whether it’s sending out rent payment reminders, notifying tenants of a change in policy, or even managing your team, a good SMS solution will give you all the control you need to maximize efficiency across the board.
Enhance Your Real Estate Investments
These gadgets have helped thousands of landlords over the past few years and have the potential to impact your own rental property business positively moving forward. Implement them as you see fit and reap the benefits of more profitable and stress-free investments.
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