Making property investing a profitable business is a long-term strategy. You have to know your markets, when to buy and sell, and when a cheap property is worth fixing. You also need to know how to spot good deals and be ready to take some risks.
Although successful investing is a skill that develops through experience, your efforts will be greatly supported by the following technologies.
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1. Calculated Rent Estimates
Figuring out how much rent to charge for each of your properties seems easy, but it’s not. There are a multitude of factors you must weigh before putting a property on the market. Those factors include location, features, and amenities. However, you’ll also need to set your rental rates so you’ll stay profitable over time.
As Rent Spree explains, a rent estimate isn’t just something you create once. First, you’ll establish a baseline rent estimate, but that baseline will need to change over time if your goal is to maximize the value of your properties. You’ll need software to automate this process, since it requires constant calculations pulling from data sources that are difficult to access manually.
Using an automated rent estimate application is the ideal way to determine how much rent you should charge now and throughout the life of your rental property.
2. Simple Cellphone Alarms
You’ve probably used your cell phone alarm to wake up in the morning or alert you about an upcoming doctor’s appointment. Did you know that a simple cell phone alarm can be the backbone of your investment business?
Using an alarm seems simple, almost too simple. However, alarms are the key to being on time, and being on time is the key to success.
Being late has somehow become tolerated in society, yet tardiness is one of the worst habits you could ever develop. As a property investor, each time you show up late to an appointment, it makes the other person see you as unreliable. Show up late enough times and they’ll know they can’t count on you, and that will impact how they do business with you.
So, set alarms for your appointments. Set a reminder the night before, the morning of, and for the time you need to leave to make it to your appointment on time.
If you want to take it to the next level, use an app like Time to Leave that will tell you when to leave for your next appointment. GPS will use your destination plus current driving conditions to calculate when you need to leave, and you’ll get a swift notification sent to your phone.
3. Task Management Software
Task management software will go a long way in helping you stay organized and on track with your landlord and investor duties. For example, you can use task management software to keep track of appointments and even financial deadlines.
If you use block scheduling to stay productive, task management software can help you standardize your daily routine. For example, block scheduling works by allocating chunks of time to related tasks. When you have tasks to perform on a regular basis, you can set them up as recurring tasks and get reminders sent to your email address.
Task management will help you meet your deadlines, which will ultimately make you a more efficient investor.
4. Programmed Spreadsheets For Financial Tracking
There are countless financial tracking applications available for property investors, but how many apps can you download without being overloaded? If you’re already using a multitude of apps to manage your properties, you may want to go basic and use a simple Excel spreadsheet to track your finances.
When programmed correctly, an Excel spreadsheet can be just as good or better than a fancy smartphone application. Spreadsheets are accessible offline and are fully customizable. You don’t have to deal with a bad user interface or features you don’t need.
The biggest downside to using an app is that your data is being stored on someone else’s server. That alone should make you think twice about using an app to store your sensitive financial information.
Keep it simple and secure by using Excel spreadsheets to track your rental properties.
Simple Technology Is Often Best
Simple technology is the most overlooked tech in every industry. Oftentimes, basic tech will outperform even the most complex app that isn’t user-friendly or is too complex to use.
If you want to maximize profitability, your time is important. Don’t waste time trying to make complicated technology work. Go back to basics unless you have complex needs.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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