Streamlining property management in San Jose, CA is an ongoing process. It requires a constant review and improvement of systems and processes. At Superior Homes and Properties, we are always considering what we can do better. 

Investing in technology allows us to be more efficient when it comes to leasing, managing, and maintaining your investment properties. We’re sharing some of the tech tools we use in order to streamline how we do business and save you money. Take a look at what’s possible when it comes to letting our systems be supported by innovative tech tools. 

Tech Tools for Leasing San Jose Rental Homes 

Marketing a rental property is much easier and streamlined when you have the ability to syndicate a single listing across a number of rental platforms. When you’re advertising your vacant home for rent, you want to be in all the places that tenants are looking for their next home. This includes Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, RentCafe, Zumper, and Apartments.com, as well as others. It would take a lot of time and effort to load those descriptions, photos, videos, and rental details into every single site separately. 

But, when you have the property management software that allows you to upload a single listing and then syndicate it to all those platforms, you’re making efficient use of your marketing time. We can do this as property managers, and it’s one of the best reasons for you to work with us. 

We can also make the showing process easier. We love meeting new people and talking about homes, so in-person tours and showings are really important to us. But, sometimes it’s simply not possible, especially if a tenant has a complicated schedule. If you’re an independent landlord managing on your own, meeting tenants at your property to show the home might be logistically impossible. 

Self-showing technology is a tool that has really changed the game when it comes to leasing properties. You can install a digital keypad or lockbox and grant access to prospective tenants for specific periods of time. They can go in and see the home on their own. This has led to faster leasing periods. 

Tenant screening is much improved with tech tools that allow us to check the national eviction database, verify income, and review credit reports. DocuSign and similar programs allow us to collect a signed lease agreement from tenants electronically. 

Tech Tools for Property Management in San Jose 

Once a tenant is approved and moved in, there are plenty of tech tools that make the leasing period more efficiently managed. If you’re working with a property manager, you’ll likely have access to an online portal. Your tenant will have a portal as well. This is an instrumental tool in:

• Collecting rent from tenants online. They can create automatic and recurring payments, schedule payment reminders, and save bank information to initiate payments at any time. 
• Collecting maintenance requests. Tenants can send in a written maintenance request when it’s not an emergency. This allows us to track the work that is needed and completed at your property. 
• Communication. Tenants can send us messages and ask questions. They can access lease agreements and other documents. 

Owners benefit from our online portals, too. This is a tech tool that allows you to correspond with us, review invoices from maintenance vendors, and see when rent was paid. You can also review your accounting statements and financial reports. 

Smart Home Technology 

There’s an increased demand for smart home technology among tenants in San Jose, Los Gatos, and the surrounding areas. This was once something that you might install in your own home, where you live. Now, you want to consider making at least some smart home tech tools available to your rental properties. It drives up your rental value and makes your property more attractive to well-qualified tenants. 

Some of the most popular smart home technology tools that you should consider for your rental property include:

• Video doorbells. These are immensely popular, especially in single-family homes. When installed, tenants can see who is at the front door before they open it. Even if they’re not home, they can download an app that lets them know when someone is at the door. This is beneficial for keeping tenants safe and for tracking their packages and deliveries that come to the door. 
• Smart thermostats. Conserving energy is top of mind for many residents these days. When you install a smart thermostat in your rental property, you can improve air quality and keep the temperature of your property comfortable. These thermostats can be programmed to raise or lower the temperature in the home depending on the time of day, the day of the week, or the number of people who are detected to be in the property. 
• Virtual Assistants. Siri and Alexa and any other programmable voice that seems to come from the great beyond are more normalized than ever. People are speaking to these virtual assistants as if they’re real people. Alexa can put together an Amazon order based on voice commands and a study of recent purchases. Siri can give directions, read out a recipe, and program the lights to turn on at a specific time. You won’t necessarily want to provide the action technology that enables this, but you do want to make sure that it can integrate with your property when tenants move in. They’ll want to be able to program their vacuums, garage doors, locks, and lights. Make sure you’ve created the tech-driven environment at your rental property that makes it easy for tenants to set up and use their trusty virtual assistants. Strong internet will be a necessity and while it’s likely up to your tenants to set up their own internet service, we recommend that you be prepared to make suggestions.