What are the biggest stress points of being a landlord? Is software worth it when you’re just starting out? In this video, Rentec Direct’s Kaycee and Brentnie continue their conversation on landlord pain points and talk about the everyday tools and systems that make managing rental properties easier (especially if you have a day job). Don’t miss part one of this conversation on the pain points of being a landlord.
New investors and landlords understand the inherent benefits of becoming a landlord. However, being a landlord comes with its share of responsibilities and challenges. Thankfully, overcoming these challenges is often a matter of finding strong processes and the right tools.
In this follow-up video, Kaycee and Brentnie from Rentec Direct will discuss common pain points associated with being a landlord and the best practices and tools to streamline your tasks. You don’t need to read or watch the first part to understand the conversation, but for those interested in a deep understanding of landlord pain points as a new investor and landlord, don’t miss the beginning of this conversation.
Learn more: The Biggest Pain Points of Being a Landlord – Video
The Biggest Pain Points of Being a Landlord, Part 2 – Video Transcript
Balancing Rental Properties With a Full-Time Job
Brentnie:
Hello, this is Brentnie and Kaycee. We’re here from Rentec Direct, and we’re going to go over some landlord questions—biggest pains—again today.
Kaycee:
I’ve owned rental properties for a long time. We’ve had great tenants for almost 20 years of owning those rental properties. And so, over time, you might be exposed to a few more issues, but as long as you have the systems in place to manage them, it’s kind of part of the job.
We kind of mentioned too, with DIY landlords, a lot of people who get started, they do have a full-time job already. So owning rental properties is kind of this side gig, this hope to grow a portfolio in the future, but it’s not really sustainable to live on as an only job. It’s something that you can kind of build in the background. So it’s even more important to have these systems in place to be able to do it on the side or congruently with your other full-time work, whether that’s raising a family or working with other people or running another business or working for another company. Owning rental property kind of fits into that lifestyle, but it’s important to have those tools in place.
Solving Expense and Receipt Tracking Headaches
Brentnie:
Yes, I absolutely agree. And I would say we have a lot of clients at Rentec who, being a landlord isn’t their primary job. They are working other nine-to-fives and having a family. And I think that it’s very cool to see how much time saving having a software offers them.
Learn more: How to Balance Being a Part-Time Landlord With a Full-Time Job
And that kind of actually brings us to—I was looking at the forum, and within the comments, our OP asked what’s the best way of keeping track of your expenses. And they mentioned, “A few other landlords I’ve spoken with have trouble keeping track of the receipts that get lodged in the car compartments or the cabinets that they forget about.” And a few people are mentioning similar problems. A few people are saying, wait, I keep track by using Excel, or I keep everything in a plastic envelope. And I think that having everything all in one software makes it so easy to not have to panic that, no, we’re missing this receipt, because we already scanned it in on the go and we’re moving on with our day, as opposed to having to track something somewhere and then add everything in later. And we have a spreadsheet for this, and we have an app over here, and we have another app over here. When all the maintenance tracking, all of the financials, and everything regarding your portfolio is all in one place, it makes it a lot more seamless to just be able to be doing this on the side and then moving on with your day and whatever else you have going on.
Kaycee:
Yeah, I mean, we used to be receipt-tracking, keep-in-an-envelope type of landlord, but now with the advantages of cloud storage and different tools and cameras in our pocket, it’s so easy to just take a scan of a receipt right away. We were pretty excited to release in Rintech, like, we call it our AI receipt scanner, where you can just take a picture of a receipt and it automatically, like, finds out who the merchant is, who you’re paying, what the expense is, and you can attach it to a property. So there’s tools out there for landlords that can make it even easier, so you’re not having to keep that stacked of paper receipts, you’re not having to manually enter and sit down at your computer and be like, it’s expense day.
There’s—we’ve just had so many developments in tech available to landlords that makes it a little bit easier. One of the advantages of owning rental properties is all of these landlord deductions that you get come tax time, but that’s why it’s even more important to keep good records of your expenses that you can use as write-offs to take advantage of some of these tax opportunities when you’re doing your end-of-year paperwork. So make sure to use those tools that are available to you to again reduce those pain points, reduce the time it takes to all of that manual entry and accounting. And that’s where I think software can really come and help you.
How Software Improves the Tenant Experience and Saves You Money
Brentnie:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think it also makes it easier on your tenants too, which is really nice. As a landlord, it’s always great to have a situation where you feel confident and your tenants are having a better experience as a result. And being able to offer things like online payments and quick—through an app—maintenance requests, so that you can respond more promptly, all of those things increase your tenants’ experience as well, which, obviously, just makes it a full circle win-win situation.
Kaycee:
And I think, even if you have one property that you’re getting started with, I think that’s the best time to use a software program and get your processes in place that are so simple. We use software, obviously, but I’ve definitely met property managers who have a hundred properties and they’re still using manual entry through Excel and QuickBooks, and it works because that’s what they’ve learned. But I always, when I talk to them, I’m like, it can be so much easier. And they’re like, I know, but it would be too hard to change it now.
So, if you’re starting with one property, you’re just getting into rental management, I’d say start with software now. It can be very affordable for you. And think about that opportunity cost. Like, if it costs $25 to pay for software every month, but that saves you one—even one hour—of time a month in, like, this manual entry or tenant communication or tenant screening, that totally gives you back that time and that cost of your monthly subscription fee when you’re using a software.
Marketing Vacancies and Reducing Vacancy Time
Brentnie:
Yes, absolutely. And then another thing that I don’t even think we mentioned about—another pain point that can happen—is finding tenants in the first place. We talked about tenant screening, but marketing your property, we’ve been in a hot rental market over the last few years, and a lot of people have benefited from that. But I think that we’re depending on your area, entering into places where you do have to put in that extra effort to get tenants to look through the door in the first place. So that’s another area where doing everything manually can be very cumbersome, but being able to do it with tools through your software can be a very seamless experience.
Kaycee:
Definitely, imagine getting a notice from your tenant, and it says, like, “I’m gonna move out in 30 days,” and you as the landlord want to market it right away, and all you have to do is check a box within a profile of your software, and that automatically sends it out to top rental listing sites. You’re not having to log into all these rental listing sites individually and create a new property listing. You can literally automate it that easily to find your tenant, your next qualified tenant, quickly, and make sure that your property is leased before a tenant even moves out, reducing that vacancy time. I love that you were thinking about that pain point and how software can help.
Prioritize Tenant Screening
Brentnie:
Any other last thoughts or tips for landlords considering taking the leap?
Kaycee:
Yeah, I think just prioritizing tenant screening is the other thing. That’s my top advice for a new landlord that I always say, you’ll hear me say it a hundred times whenever I’m talking to someone, is make sure you’re screening your tenants. Even if they’re a friend, even if you think you know their financial situation and you trust them, just put it in place that you’re always gonna go through a tenant screening process.
Brentnie:
Yes, and having a set-in-stone process that you’re using every single time for tenant screening, it puts the onus on the process and not on you. So you don’t have to have that uncomfortability denying someone. But also, in situations when you are denying someone, you want to make sure that you’re doing it for reasons that are legal and compliant with your state and federal and local housing laws, and so having a written-out standard process also just helps you to mitigate any issues that could arise.
Kaycee:
Definitely. Well, I think it’s always a good idea to have these conversations with people who have experience in the rental industry if you’re considering purchasing a rental property, investing, being really involved, or working with a property manager—those are the best things that you can do—is put yourself out there to learn, join a landlord association where you can have these conversations, keep following Rentec Direct to see what we’re sharing, because we’re always happy to give good advice and talk to us anytime with these questions about what it takes to be a landlord and be involved in the rental industry.
Final Thoughts
Landlord pain points can be challenging for the unprepared, but having good tools from day one and understanding best practices can set you up for success.
Found this video helpful? Keep an eye out for future topics where Rentec Direct experts offer more insight on the rental industry. Have a landlord question? Send it via email to story@rentecdirect.com or comment below, and your topic may be covered in a future video!