Improve Efficiency and Visibility with the Help of Technology
The Key is Finding the Right Platform
By Ryan Helms
Gone are the days of filing cabinets overflowing with lease agreements, tenant communications and maintenance invoices. Technology has revolutionized how investors stay organized and continues to evolve, streamlining processes and improving efficiency along the way. Instead of spending days sifting through paperwork trying to find one document, within minutes a digital management system can sort through an asset’s entire life history to pull vital information.
For those who have yet to make the leap, investing in one-stop shop technology can drastically change and enhance the way they manage their portfolio. For those already utilizing digitalized property management systems, ever changing technology and the introduction of machine learning models continue to elevate their processes with automated data analysis, helping them to identify both lucrative and avoid-at-all-cost opportunities quickly.
The Why
Utilizing technology can improve processes for nearly every area investors touch, down to everyday tasks like rent collection and property management to more complex performance analytics and default remediation. Whether you are a mom-and-pop investor or have a large portfolio of properties, in addition to a global view of the inventory, one of the biggest perks to utilizing a performance management system is the organization it provides.
For smaller scale investors, these systems can provide you with exposure to new information and data that you have never seen before, all in one place. Imagine being on vacation or stopping at a local coffee shop and taking out your phone. With one click, you are able to monitor your investments from every angle, saving time and improving efficiency.
The benefits for those with larger portfolios are similar. Except in this case, it can provide you with a view of individual properties and transactions that previously could have fallen through the cracks.
If your documents are not digitized, this part of the process could take time. But once your systems are automated, things will move much quicker. While digitizing your portfolio can be intimidating, you do not have to go all in and can start with whatever level you feel comfortable.
One-Stop Shop
In years past, management platforms were much more segmented, where investors needed to utilize different systems to handle varying tasks. Today, we are increasingly seeing more online platforms that are streamlining the process, doing everything from property searches to due diligence and transaction management, increasing efficiency and accessibility.
You no longer need to work in a silo. Using one platform not only cuts down on training employees in how a variety of systems operate, but it also can provide you with better visibility into the entirety of your portfolio. With all of the information in one place, it is easier than ever to analyze information on existing investments, as well as identify the potential for new additions.
Do Your Due Diligence
If you are not doing your due diligence before making a move and you are not reviewing every aspect where an investment could potentially be a risk for you, you are missing out. But this does not need to be a cumbersome process.
The integration of big data sources puts the research right at your fingertips. Data can be pulled from a variety of sources, from your own records to census, neighborhood and even weather data to—after analysis—provide a clear look at the property and its potential.
Making Decisions for You
With new data constantly flowing into the system, loss analysis tools, which use machine learning, can help predict exactly where and how a risk could occur. Data can be tapped to predict high cost, low frequency events.
Investors can utilize these systems upfront to identify high risk areas that are prone to flooding or where there is a commonality for mold—linking trends to determine potential outcomes for a property. Using the right platform can provide you with specifics, like “There’s an 80% chance that there is going to be mold in this property at some point in time.” It even goes a step further to tell you the projected cost to get it fixed.
For foreclosures or properties in default, it is equally as important to do your due diligence to remediate any losses and recoup every dollar that you can. Without the assistance of technology, due diligence could take weeks to complete. With a loss analysis tool, it can be done within minutes.
Having this information can help you be proactive and make the right decision for you without hours or even days of research. While all of these additional resources can be very helpful, it’s important to keep a human touch as well. It is definitely tempting to go on autopilot and let the machine do everything for you. However, that can take you down a slippery slope. These programs complement human intelligence and decision making and are not there to replace it.
Find the Right Fit
The key to all of this is finding the right platform to meet your needs. There are systems out there that work best for beginner mom-and-pop investors and experienced large-scale organizations alike.
Each platform has its benefits and you need to find the one that meets your specific desires. Do you want a platform to help collect rent or are you more focused on default aspects and properties that need foreclosed on? Ask yourself what you would like to accomplish with the help of a platform and participate in demos to find the best fit.
Over the next few years, we are going to see a big increase in automation, likely at an unprecedented level. Technology is expanding right in front of our eyes like never before and as we adopt these new processes and add them into our management systems, the world of portfolio management will be able to provide insights that we never before thought were possible.
