How PropTech Friendly is Your Letting Agency?
Twitter is 11 years old; Facebook is a teenager, recently celebrating its 14th birthday; WhatsApp is only 9, just a year older than Instagram; Linkedin was founded in 2002 which means the platform is quite old in comparison to the other media. This is not a celebration of the different platforms that most people take for granted, especially the demographic who has grown up during the explosion of the "digital age", it is about reflecting on how, not only our personal lives have adapted to the digital shift, but more so how our working lives have been impacted by technology.
Is your Letting Agency current & up to date with trends?
The way in which people live their lives, interact with one another and communicate, has changed beyond believe. The shift has only happened over a period of 15 years and with mobile devices becoming the method for people to shop, chat, read, write, or work, technology is coming to the fore within the sector. The use of Social Media within lettings is more prevalent than ever with the use of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram used as platforms to not only advertise property, but to raise and improve brand awareness. It is surprising how many agents have yet embrace Social Media to assist them with raising their profile. Resistance is high, many giving the main reason for not using Social Media is lack of time. However, TweetDeck and Buffer are resourceful media management platforms which can be used to help drive social media results. Both TweetDeck and Buffer give you the ability to program posts on any platform in advance. Not only does this allow you to plan forward, it also allows you to be time-efficient.
Do Electronic Signatures Count?
In 2002 legislation was introduced governing the use of Electronic Signatures. The Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002 explained that an advanced electronic signature is uniquely linked to the signatory, is capable of identifying the signatory, is created using means that the signatory can maintain under his sole control, and is linked to the data to which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of the data is detectable. This means that letting agents can solutions which allow them not only to streamline their processes and be more cost efficient (less paper, less ink, less printing) as well as ensuring that they produce a much more effective audit process. DocuSign, Adobe Sign, Signable, Topaz, all offer "anywhere, anytime" electronic signature solutions.
Tech Solutions to Make Your Day
There seems to be an App or Tech Solution for everything and the Property Industry is not averse to a little bit of technology to make life easier. There are software platforms available to assist with carrying out inventories, check in - check out and property inspections. The reports produced serve a dual purpose - they are not only professional, they can be used as a marketing tool. The inventories are not the only part of the lettings process that is covered. At the front end is Goodlord, technology that the administration process to be dealt with swiftly and in a timely fashion. For property managers, Fixflo makes reporting repairs easy for both agents and tenants. The platform generates reports through a picture-based system and helps tenants report their maintenance issues and landlords or agents manage repairs more effectively.
Traditional methods of doing business married up with technology can provide the tools that can take care of day to day mundane tasks allowing you to deal with sourcing more business and taking car of clients.
Susie Crolla - CEO