Most landlords have now moved past any question they may have had about whether they actually need landlord software. It does not take long in the property business to become acutely aware that landlord software is a necessity. Even after you come to that conclusion, however, there is still the daunting task of choosing the correct software for your needs.
There is a lot of property software on the market at the moment, a hangover from the property boom. A lot of people were determined to make money out of it even if they did not actually want to be a landlord, the result was a flooding of the market with tools that were supposed to make life easy for those in the property business. The difficulty is that most don't.
Ideally you want a property management tool that was designed by someone who actually has experience in managing a portfolio of properties themselves. This experience is the best way, without doubt, of them knowing exactly what you need in property software.
I eventually designed my own software after one too many encounters with inferior products that actually made my life as a landlord harder. Not to mention costing a fortune. Like most people I do not mind paying good money for something that functions in the way it should but to pay out for something that achieves the opposite of what it claimed, was very frustrating. So, I set out to design some property management software that actually would solve all my problems.
For example, so many of the landlord software packages on the market at the moment don't even allow you to do a relatively simple task such as looking quickly at your property portfolios bottom line ? cash flow. It is great and necessary to have loads of detail available to you on each individual property but sometimes you like to just be able to see the big picture at a glance. My software allows you to see that.
I also recognise the fact that some people like to view things as a visual image as well as in text and numbers. For some landlords that allows them to keep things straight in their heads more effectively. In a number of places, therefore, my software will allow you to see things graphically in forms such as a pie charts and line graphs.
The thing I most pride myself on with this property management tool I have developed is the fact that it is constantly evolving. Things change in any industry and the property game is definitely in a state of flux at the moment. I use the feedback of my valued clients to update and improve the software and service on a regular and timely basis.
In this way I not only know that my software product is keeping up with the modern trends, but I also know that it is doing so in a way that suits the needs of my customers.
As your property portfolio grows it becomes necessary to use an efficient property management software solution to help you to better manage your finances.
Here are some tips on what you should look for in this area:
Does the Software Allow You to Track All Finances? Now, as a property investor you will know that it is not just mortgages that you have on a property. You will also have loans that are secured on your property. These different types of loans can include personal loans; bridging loans; and even credit card loans.
Any landlord software should be flexible enough to allow you to record details of any kind of finance that that you have on your property.
Does It Remind You When Your Mortgage is Expiring? This is an essential ingredient, and one that every good property management software application should have. In fact, it is safe to say that not knowing you're your finance interest rates are expiring has lead to too many landlords overpaying in interest charges. This, of course, has a negative impact on the cash flow your property is generating.
Therefore, make sure that your chosen software solution will alert you when your fixed rate, tracker/discounted rate and other tie-in mortgages are expiring.
Fast Finance Analysis Reports Now, any good landlord software package will come with one touch reports that help you to quickly determine the data that you have entered in for your property business.
A key reporting requirement is to be able to see a snapshot of the exact standing of the loan. In other words, you want a detailed breakdown of the mortgage/loan including all the mortgage interest and capital repayments that have been made during any period.
Another powerful report is one that I refer to as a ?Mortgage Broker Summary? report.
This report is a must and is going to save you huge amounts of time when you are looking to get renew or get new loans. This is because this one report answers all the questions every mortgage broker is going to ask about your current financial commitments.
This report will typically include the following details:
?All the mortgages/loans that you have. ?Who the mortgage/loans are with. ?What amounts are outstanding? ?What redemption penalties exist if you decide to redeem the loan? ?And lots more?