Business
In Episode 21 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, we talk to James Barrett of Tenant Turner about the benefits of this technology to property managers and renters alike. Episode Highlights: Tenant Turner is a lead generation and tracking software for property managers to centralize their leasing process for rentals and coordinate showings. James Barrett and his co-founders were previously in IT and they also managed a few rental properties. They are affiliated with NARPM and it has been a very beneficial partnership. Tenant Turner offers lockboxes on properties so owners don’t have to conduct showings in person, which is especially beneficial during COVID-19. First-time investors tend to be hesitant about potential renters doing self-showings. Tenant Turner allows you to screen leads so only qualified renters can view your property and be allowed in when you aren’t there. Tenant Turner collects data on renters who submit to qualify for a property and sends reporting to property owners. Other sites like Craigslist and even Zillow don’t screen people for scams like Tenant Turner does. Opening up times for showings allows people who work a traditional 9-5 job to see homes, and allows property owners and realtors to maintain more regular hours. Property managers can adjust the available times for showings for when they’re comfortable. Tenant Turner tracks when tenants arrive at a showing and that information is in your report. Of course, certain small things happen like someone accidentally leaving lights on, so using Tenant Turner still requires property managers to visit their properties for cleaning and regular checks and maintenance. After a showing, the tenant gives feedback to the property manager including a rating, what they liked or didn’t like about the property, and even pointing out issues that need to be fixed by the property manager, like yard maintenance. This has increased the amount of feedback received because it no longer has to be face-to-face and removes the personal barrier to criticizing something. Tenant Turner now works with thousands of property managers in the US and Canada and has processed over 10 million tenant leads and has tens of thousands of lockboxes. Tenant Turner has highly responsive customer service if you’re having trouble with a lockbox or other feature so you don’t get stuck. The lockboxes also allow vendors to access the property. Self-access showings recently surpassed in-person showings on Tenant Turner. The main thing stopping a tenant from renting a property is being able to see the property, so anything that can make that easier is a good business move. 3 Key Points: If you are able to pre-qualify tenants, then allowing them to do self-showings carries low risk. A property manager should not use this technology as an excuse to never check on the properties. You can use feedback to show your potential tenants better properties for them and to improve the properties themselves. Tweetable Quotes: “The reality is there is gonna be some risk with people gaining access to the property, but what we’ve found is if somebody’s gonna be truly malicious, they’re not gonna go through the hassle of using Tenant Turner.” –James Barrett “What we find is helpful is we’re taking a tool like what you’re providing and we’re balancing it out. There’s always that balance of marketing the property, getting it leased quickly, but then finding a qualified renter.” –Jonathan Cook “We had pre-COVID-19 property management workflows, and now we have, obviously, COVID-19 protocol. And once again this is a key piece of any successful property management and leasing team to have this type of technology deployed.” –Bryan Jenkins Resources Mentioned: Check out our website ahiproperties.com Check out Birmingham Insurance Group online or call them at (205) 616-1107 Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com Tenant Turner website: https://tenantturner.com/ Learn More about Self Showings with Tenant Turner Email sales@tenantturner.com