Property Management

Hands-On Property Management in the Pandemic Era

• by Andy Wallace
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Many tenants are poised to adapt to a property management inspection model that is safer, more effective and resilient to social distancing restrictions. Modern innovations like grocery store self-checkout, online retail shopping and webinar conferences weren’t, of course, developed in response to the current pandemic. However, these more efficient, contactless ways of conducting daily business certainly have become more popular and attractive—and even indispensable—in the current environment. The property management industry also had been applying smarter, greener and more digital technologies to traditional workflows before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Businesses already fluent in these refined approaches have seen a smoother transition into our “new normal.” Many tenants, with their smartphones in hand and an inclination toward self-service already cultivated, are poised to adapt to a property management inspection model that is safer, more effective and resilient to social distancing restrictions. Property inspections, the bread-and-butter product of any successful property management business, are the point at which the tenant’s living space, the owner’s investment and the property manager’s responsibility all intersect in meaningful, often actionable documentation. But inspections performed in person, on pen and paper, are extremely vulnerable to disruption, as we have so clearly seen over the last two months. In this new era, property managers can’t, in good conscience and within government guidelines, perform these inspections in person without potentially putting inspectors and tenants in harm’s way. Yet neither can these inspection activities be suspended indefinitely without consequence. Rental property tenants certainly enjoy more self-service capabilities now than they did 10 years ago. Self-guided rental property viewings facilitated by smartphones and keyless entry or lockbox technologies are sure to become increasingly popular in the next few years. Leasing application processes, now commonly performed online, will continue to become more paperless and contactless. Inspections, really, are the final link in the chain that can keep all but the most essential servicers and vendors from needing to visit a property in person during a tenant’s occupancy. With smart technologies, property managers can empower their tenants to become effective inspectors of the properties they call home. Contactless Move-In Inspections It’s moving day. New tenants pull up in their box truck, gain access to their new home via lockbox and step inside. They receive an email from their property manager. It instructs them to perform a move-in inspection on their mobile device—or else review and provide feedback to a pre-move in inspection completed by the property manager before move-in day. A few taps on the device and the tenants are inspecting the property exactly as it has been defined by the property manager. A user-friendly app walks them through the property room by room and one detail at a time, prompts them to snap photos, note conditions and provide any other info required in the inspection template. With that done, the tenant signs on the screen and taps to submit the inspection. After receiving the tenant-completed move-in report (or pre-move in feedback), the property manager reviews it and follows up as appropriate, with additional requests for info and clarification, perhaps, or by dispatching an essential service vendor. The move-in is complete and social distance has been maintained as much as possible. Mid-Lease Tenant Inspections Of course, tenant-completed move-in inspections alone won’t cut it. Property managers should implement contactless mid-lease inspection processes and procedures whenever possible to ensure a comprehensive solution. An effective tenant-completed inspection activity leaves little room for error: It guides the tenant point by point and asks the tenant to provide specific information about the property: Has the HVAC filter been changed?  Are there any water leaks under the sinks?  Are there certain winterization steps that need to be performed?  Are these concerns routine? Sure. But any one of them can pose significant and complex ramifications if not properly addressed. A tenant can easily complete and document various types of corrections and info requests using a contact-free approach. Complaint-based follow-ups, documentation of HOA/lease-violations corrections and due-diligence info requests are the most common, but even unique situations can be accommodated with the right tools. The property manager remains up-to-date with property conditions without ever setting foot on the occupied property. Only essential service vendors and the like ever need do so. Can you eliminate the need for professional inspectors entirely? Of course not. The expert eye of a veteran property inspector should not be undervalued. At the same time, property managers in the post-COVID-19 environment will be wise to collaborate with their tenants to remotely collect as much information as possible. It’s also important to realize that most tenants want this too. Most tenants are conscientious and responsible, complying to landlord requests when asked. Nonetheless, they prefer to avoid having strangers walk through their property, particularly in this current crisis. As such, they are incentivized to perform these inspection activities in a timely and effective manner, to keep from having an in-person follow-up. Remote inspection activities not only make it easier on you as a property manager, they can enhance your value from the perspective of your tenants. Tools are Available—Use What Works Whether you end up adapting more generic tools or apply a specific dedicated solution, the objective is the same. You need a technology solution that allows you to capture exactly the data you need from the property in a way that is easy both for your tenants and for your employees. Some property managers have settled on informal processes like FaceTime or Zoom for their purposes. Various form generator tools—such as Google Forms, WP Forms for hosted WordPress sites, and others—are available as well.  Finally, there are tailored applications with customizable features available. The important takeaway is that all the technologies and many of the specific tools already exist for property managers to become more safe, increasingly efficient and less vulnerable to disruption. Additionally, it’s clear that our consumer culture is ready for self-completed inspections. Perhaps the best time for individual property management businesses to begin implementing these kinds of technologies was five years ago, but the second-best