No industry today stands untouched by technology’s influence, and multifamily real estate is no exception.
Property technology, or PropTech, is revolutionizing the experience for multifamily real estate investors and their residents. PropTech allows you to build a toolkit, also referred to as a tech stack, which helps you simplify finding, managing, and renting properties, regardless of market conditions.
From posting property listings to managing security deposit returns, PropTech has the potential to automate the entire renter experience. By unlocking the untapped opportunities that PropTech offers in the small multifamily space, the renting process can become more convenient and efficient for both investors and residents.
Let’s follow the journey of Terra Capital’s latest resident, Anne, as she navigates her rental experience using a few of our favorite PropTech companies.
Disclaimer: This article is not sponsored by any company mentioned below and the opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
Leasing The Unit
Anne, an elementary school teacher early in her career, is looking for a one-bedroom apartment near her new job in downtown Indianapolis. She encounters PropTech for the first time while searching for a home to rent on Zillow, Apartments.com, StreetEasy, and the comparable local online listing platform’s in her city. It is here Anne comes across Terra’s tech enabled listing for a 1b, 1ba unit in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Beech Grove, which was automatically listed to all the top-rated platforms by Terra through Buildium.
After seeing the amenities and affordability of the neighborhood, Anne is excited about the listing and wants to book a tour before heading to work, but with her busy schedule she opts to make use of Tenant Turner’s virtual tour option for now. She is given a one-time code to view the virtual tour of the property directly from her phone.
After seeing the property from all angles on the virtual tour, Anne wants to check the home out in person. On such short notice, Anne is able to select a self guided tour through Matterport to see the apartment in just a few hours when she gets off of work. She is given a one-time code to enter the building and navigate the apartment. Anne has no doubt she wants to make this her home, and she is ready to submit her application!
On Buildium, Anne is able to submit her application, pay the fee, and hand over the necessary documentation to Terra – all in a day’s work, right from her smartphone. Once approved, she signs the lease on either HelloSign or DocuSign, marking an efficient end to a swift, seamless process that was completed and made easier with the use of PropTech.
Move-in Day
A week later, Anne is ready to move in. On move-in day she received her access codes for the building and her apartment unit, powered by Schlage. Pictures of the unit are snapped and stored on an online portal via Obligo to be retained until her eventual move-out, which is a one-stop shop for security deposit management, making the move-in and move-out process seamless.
As a part of the move-in process, Anne is signed up for Nutiliti which consolidates all her utility bills in one place and tracks the usage for Terra to see. This way, she doesn’t have to juggle multiple bills or set up her utilities on her own – even Wi-Fi is included! Anne also doesn’t have to worry about keeping track of different bills throughout the month since Nutiliti combines the utility charges into her monthly rent, meaning Anne receives all her bills as one charge on autopay with zero hassle.
Life As A Resident
A few days into living in the new unit, Anne encounters a small hiccup: a leaky bathroom sink. No worries, she logs onto Property Meld, a plug-in of Buildium, and submits a work order, even including pictures of the leaky faucet.
Before sending out a repair team, Property Meld suggested a Do-It-Yourself video tutorial to try and fix the issue. Anne gives it a shot but soon realizes she needs more than a screwdriver to fix this issue. She follows up with the work order requesting someone to come by and repair the sink.
With Anne’s permission, the repair team is provided with a one-time access code to enter the apartment. Once the faucet is fixed, they mark the work order as completed on Property Meld, and an invoice is auto-generated and the team gets paid by Terra.
A few weeks later while at work Anne receives an automated text that there is a leak happening in her apartment. Turns out her upstairs neighbor accidentally left the shower running. Terra’s team was notified right away via the NOWi Sensors on the water meter, allowing this issue to be resolved quickly by the repair team without anyone’s utility team being overcharged.
Towards the end of her lease, Anne books a call with the building manager on Calendly, sharing that she’s finding the current payment schedule a bit tricky. Terra has a solution: how about switching to bi-weekly or even weekly rent payments instead of the usual monthly schedule? Buildium makes this flexibility possible for Anne.
Fast-forward to Move-out Day
It’s the end of the year and Anne’s lease is up. An automatic lease renewal is set out by Buildium, but Anne’s got news: she’s off to a new city for a job opportunity, so unfortunately she won’t be renewing her lease. While Terra is sad to see her go, the use of PropTech makes the move-out and resident turn over process seamless for everyone involved.
Once Anne has packed up her things, new photos are taken and uploaded to Obligo, which promptly refunds her security deposit straight into her bank account. After evaluating the home for any necessary patchwork and repairs, digital work orders are placed, and the repair team steps in, does their magic, and gets paid automatically through Property Meld and Buildium.
And so, the rental cycle begins again. Terra is able to list the now-sparkling property as available on Buildium, broadcasting it to Zillow, Apartments.com, and StreetEasy. Interested renters get a glimpse of Terra’s properties through virtual tours, and the PropTech journey begins anew!
Revolutionizing the Future of Multifamily Investing
As you can see, PropTech solutions are transforming the landscape of multifamily real estate operations, presenting game-changing opportunities for operators and their renters.
These innovative solutions not only address real-world challenges but also unlock new levels of operational efficiency and resident value. By leveraging these technologies, operators gain valuable data insights that enable them to continuously improve and thrive as highly-profitable business centers.
So, take the leap and embrace the world of PropTech– you’ll not only enhance your business but also have the opportunity to make meaningful connections along the way!
Here’s a closer look at some of the services or similar companies that Terra Capital uses:
Tenant Turner is a lead scheduling software and rental automation platform that allows tenant scheduling, lockbox, and automated showings software solutions for property managers. They offer services 24/7/365 for property managers with a dozen rentals or thousands.
Buildium is a comprehensive property management system that handles the entire rental process, from tenant screening and lease management to rent collection and maintenance request processing. Not only does Buildium effectively manage tenant relations, but it also supports your business by hosting your website, handling taxes and accounting, and assisting you in growing and managing your entire real estate portfolio.
Nutiliti offers a utility management platform that allows you to effectively manage and monitor utility usage, billing, and reporting for your properties. This solution provides tenants with a user-friendly experience for bill payment, while also offering you the ability to track usage and metrics across all your accounts through comprehensive activity logs.
Property Meld provides a maintenance solution specifically designed for property managers. It eliminates the need for intermediaries by offering a single platform for both you and your tenants to handle work and maintenance requests. This comprehensive platform books, tracks, and oversees the entire maintenance request process, keeping you updated with live updates on the repairs in progress.
Obligo offers a new solution to deposit-free living that is used to attract renters, boost retention, and optimize bad debt. The leasing process is accelerated with deposit-free living & certified e-payment processing.
NOWi Sensor is an intelligent water meter designed to assist you in monitoring and comprehending the water consumption of your properties. It detects leaks, faulty valves, and potential water damage at an earlier stage. Considering that the average cost of a water damage claim is nearly $10,000, NOWi os a tool that can save you a significant amount of money in the long run.
Schlage is a lock manufacturer that offers tech-enabled locks, from smart locks to electronic locks, Schlage offers products to make keyless entry seamless for residents in both the building amenities and in their units.
Matterport is a 3D camera and virtual tour software platform that helps you digitize your building, automatically create 3D tours of your properties. On the website’s platform you can store, share, and manage all the property tours in your portfolio.
