Landlord vs Investor – why Property Management is no longer enough

Property management services are scarcely a new thing. In fact, most landlords consider their property managers an essential part of their rental portfolios.

‍

Recent changes to the rentals landscape have heaped significantly more complexity on property managers’ plates, however, begging the question: are traditional methods still keeping up and delivering the value landlords need?

‍

‍

What do landlords really need?

People often assume that the majority of landlords’ needs are to have the admin of running a rental property taken care of. That’s certainly a big part of it, but it’s not the whole picture by a long shot.

‍

Owning a rental property isn’t just about keeping it tenanted. It’s about turning it into an appreciating and profitable investment. That’s something a lot of property managers and property investors forget, letting the title of ‘landlord’ disguise the investor – and investment – behind it.

‍

In truth, rental properties are often the most valuable individual assets in an investor’s portfolio.

‍

‍

Yes, they require significant amounts of admin to run successfully, but they also require strategic management (just like any other asset class) to reach their full potential.

‍

That means value-adding property management services really need to include optimisation of returns on investment, risk reduction, portfolio expansion strategies, comprehensive investment reporting and more.

‍

‍

What do property managers typically provide?

So, how many of these services do traditional property managers provide? The answer is, unfortunately, not all that many.

‍

The main reason behind this is that property managers’ day-to-day responsibilities (the admin side of property management) have become a lot more complicated and time-consuming thanks to increasingly complex regulations. As a result, they’re spending the majority of their time keeping properties tenanted and compliant, and have little to no capacity to focus on the strategic side of the investment.

‍

This, in turn, affects the service landlords receive, which often becomes limited to the basics of sourcing qualified tenants, rental collections, reactive maintenance, arrears and lease management.

‍

‍

Where (and why) do these services fall short?

Property managers are not struggling to provide the kind of value modern property investors need because of a lack of effort. If anything, property managers are some of the hardest working professionals we’ve ever met.

‍

The problem is that their traditional tools, techniques and technology are consistently and repeatedly letting them down.

‍

Attempting to use multiple disparate systems to perform cohesive property management services while navigating today’s extremely complex regulatory environment leaves most property management agencies fighting information siloes and difficult operational gaps. Without improving these inefficiencies, it becomes a genuine struggle to deliver the bare essentials, let alone solve the four main challenges of property management: compliance, manageability, scalability and profitability.

‍

‍

How can property managers bridge the gap?

So, how do property managers address these challenges and deliver on their potential as asset managers? The key lies in a growth-oriented business model, supported by standard operating procedures for every workflow, run via a unified, purpose-built technology solution.

‍

Of course, until fairly recently, there wasn’t a single software solution available that covered all the elements of South African property asset management. This was partly because no-one had stepped up to the plate to design such a solution, and partly because some people feared this type of technology might replace the role of the property manager altogether. (This was a concern shared by many industries facing technological ‘disruption’ during the 4th industrial revolution.)

‍

As property managers’ ourselves, however, we knew that the true expertise of a rental manager – their ability to optimise a rental asset’s performance – was not something technology could ever replace. Rather, we saw an opportunity to create a purpose-built software solution that would empower rental professionals to perform even better in this critical asset management role.

‍

The result was WeconnectU – South Africa’s first software solution that brings all the functions of property management together in one, cloud-based software ecosystem. An ecosystem specifically designed to support and augment property managers’ irreplaceable asset management skills.

‍

Since its inception, WeconnectU has enabled hundreds of property management businesses around the country to drastically improve the speed, accuracy and overall efficiency of their processes. This has not only given them more capacity to focus on the strategic side of property asset management, it’s also levelled up their asset management capabilities through comprehensive reporting (amongst other things).

‍

By providing both big-picture and granular insights into all measurable aspects of a rental property’s performance, WeconnectU empowers rental asset managers to guide their investors on a truly optimised investment journey. Even better, it enables those asset managers to demonstrate exactly how an asset’s performance has responded under their management, making it impossible for investors to ignore the value their rental property management service has delivered.

‍

‍

The importance of a modern mindset

Having the technology available to support modern rental property management is huge step. But it’s not the only one that needs to be taken. There are also two critical mindset shifts that need to happen in order for the rental property industry to reach its full potential.

‍

The first is letting go of the old-school interpretation of rental asset managers as rental administrators. It’s long past time we acknowledge these professionals’ true value – their advice, experience, and ability to optimise rental asset performance.

‍

The second mindset shift is around our approach to technology.

‍

The 4th industrial revolution has come and gone, and with it the fear of being replaced by artificial intelligence. Now, in the 5th industrial revolution, the world is embracing the potential for technology to augment human capabilities, helping us reach new heights of human-centric, professional service.

That is what WeconnectU was designed for. That is how WeconnectU is revolutionising the industry. Not by replacing human expertise, but by providing the kind of support system than enables that expertise to step into the spotlight and put on a mind-blowing show.