The Benefits of Being a Digital Landlord

In this episode of Your Landlord Resource Podcast, Kevin and I are diving into what it really means to be a “digital landlord.” We’ll walk you through how using technology in your rental business can save you hours each month, keep you organized, and improve both your experience and your tenants’ experience.

From e-signing leases to screening tenants in under a minute, we cover the practical tools that make self-managing easier. We’ll compare software options by breaking down their features, costs, and when each might be the right fit.

We’ll also talk about the real differences between paper-based and digital systems—what you gain in efficiency, what you might lose in hands-on control, and how to find the right balance for your style. Plus, you’ll hear our honest take on what we use, why we use it, and even where we still stick to paper.

Whether you own one unit or a growing portfolio, this episode will help you understand the benefits, drawbacks, and opportunities of going digital as a landlord.

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned

The Fair Housing Institute, 15% OFF with code YLR2025

Learn more about EZ Landlord Forms, Turbo Tenant, Rent Redi, DoorLoop, Hemlane, & Avail.

Tenant Screening Software we recommend: SmartMove & TenantAlert

Our Accounting Software: QuickBooks

Best product for de-icing rental walkways: Safe Paw

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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

Listen, most landlords do want to use technology to manage the rentals more efficiently. You know, remotely and even make them more professional, right? But just because you want to be more digitalized, that doesn't mean everything is automated. The tools we're talking about here today are to streamline your tasks and allow you more time to work on your business. Whether it be scaling and adding to your portfolio, or doing preventative maintenance yourself. Or even if you want to take that time to enjoy yourself, like working on a hobby, traveling, or spending time with family. That's the best thing about being more digital. It gives you more time to do what you want.

0:45

Welcome to Your Landlord Resource podcast. Many moons ago when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lack confidence and the hands-on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping after many failed attempts. Fast forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized. Professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelm to confident if you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making. Join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire. All well building is streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie: 1:34

Hey landlords. Thanks so much for listening to the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. This is your host, Stacie Casella, and I'm here with my co-host, Kevin Kilroy.

Kevin: 1:44

Hi landlords. I noticed this time you didn't tell people I was your husband or partner or what did my mom's friend used to call you?

Stacie: 1:55

She used to call me your companion. Because before we were married, she felt we were too old to be calling each other boyfriend and girlfriends.

Kevin: 2:06

That's right. Oh yeah, companion. That was a good one. I guess it makes sense. It just doesn't sound very romantic.

Stacie: 2:14

No, not at all. Which is why I will never, ever refer to you as my companion.

Kevin: 2:20

That's fine with me.

Stacie: 2:22

All right, guys. We're here today to talk about what it means to be a digital landlord. And I know that many of you have some sort of digital or electronic form of technology that you use when operating your rental property business. But we wanted to touch on all the different ways that you can implement those forms of technology to improve your operations.

Kevin: 2:47

You know, when it comes to real estate investing, I think it's important to note that there are two different types of digital landlords. Those that manage digital assets. And then there's those that use technology to manage physical real estate. First one really has nothing to do with rental properties and refers more to online apps and websites that sell you information pertaining to real estate. You know, NFTs and virtual real estate, like you'd find on platforms, uh, let's see, like Sandbox or Decentral Land. So since we are focusing on self-managing your rental properties, we will only be discussing the second one, which is the software landlords use to manage their real estate portfolios.

Stacie: 3:34

Yeah, so the term digital landlord has been growing in popularity and it's crazy to me that every job now has to have a specific name. Like when someone ask me what I do, am I supposed to say I'm a digital landlord?

Kevin: 3:50

Yeah, I think they would look at you funny, and then you'd have to explain to most everyone what that meant. But you know I get it, it seems everything needs a label these days. So today we will discuss the ways you can use technology to improve your and your tenant's experience in your rental property and why it matters, the pros and cons of using this technology, as well as give you some recommendations on what we use and why.

Stacie: 4:19

Yeah. Okay. So many landlords are being more strategic about using different forms of technology to improve their operations of their rental property business. And when we dug into what really constitutes someone being a quote unquote digital landlord, you know we were surprised that we're already doing most of these tasks. And it's funny because if you ask me, I would say I'm more of a paper person because I still print out a lot of forms and documents to read'em. And I am definitely that person who still gets a hard copy of my bills in the mail and opens them to pay them. Now I pay most everything online, but I just cannot adapt to getting my bills online and paying from there. I really don't care to do auto pay on my bills. I think part of that is because way back when before we were collecting rents electronically, we were dependent on getting our rent checks in the mail and you know, you just didn't know for certain when that check would come. Most always it was on time, but we have had some come late from tenants and we have had them get lost in the mail and show up a couple of months later too. So because we do not get paid until our rents come in, I was hesitant about setting up auto pays for my bills, and I really just never lost that apprehension. No, sorry, I got a little bit off subject there, but one of the main softwares that landlords are using to digitalize their businesses are lease creations and electronic signatures. So for us in California, we use leases from the California Apartment Association, which now has a couple different options to link their software to electronic signing software like DocuSign, which is what we use. EZ Landlord Forms is also a fantastic source for state specific leases. We use them for Kid Two's Duplex in Idaho, and we were very pleased with how easy their system was to use. The lease had everything in there, all the basics anyway, to cover landlords and still comply with state landlord tenant laws. And they had a crap ton of addendums that you could add to that lease as well. You know, all the pages are able to be edited, so if you wanna add or delete wording to make the lease more specific to your business model or your property, you can do so. You know, for instance, Boise Idaho gets cold in the winter months and there is ice and snow to contend with. So we added a section under maintenance that the tenants are responsible for that. That they had to shovel snow and that they had to use a certain de-icing compound that would not harm pets or the environment or the cement walkway.

Kevin: 7:09

So let me jump in here a sec. Kid two being construction and engineering, understands how certain materials can be harmful to surfaces. So I believe the product he specifically asked them to use were non-toxic granules made of potassium acetate called Safe Paw. It's biodegradable, it works fast, and is safe for pets, vegetation, as well as the concrete.

Stacie: 7:36

Which to be honest, the concrete was his biggest worry. And the pets were a close second.

Kevin: 7:43

Right. So one thing to be mindful of when you have concrete walkways is that using a chloride based ice melt, which one is sodium chloride, aka rock salt or table salt. And the others are magnesium chloride and calcium chloride. But you have to be mindful of those chloride based ice melts because they will break down the concrete over time and it will start to crumble and eventually crack and be unsafe. The one he uses is a potassium acetate and there is also a calcium acetate based one that is safe to use.

Stacie: 8:22

That safe paw is available at Home Depot and on Amazon. If you wanna check it out, uh, we'll link it in the show notes. But the point is, here in Sacramento we have never had to deal with deicing walkways. So for rentals, we wouldn't know where to start if one product over the other makes a difference or not.

Kevin: 8:41

And if you don't specify in your lease, which one you want your tenants to use, you are gonna get whatever they picked, which is likely the cheapest option out there. They can use whatever they want because you didn't tell'em they couldn't.

Stacie: 8:56

And you guys, this is why finding a lease that is editable, like with EZ Landlord Forms is so important. We talk about them often, and I think if you want a one-time lease option, it's 45 bucks. And if you wanna sign up for a pro account and pay the annual fee, I think one year is$99. Now that$99 gets you access to your lease all year long, as well as options for electronic signing, tenant screening, and rent payments too. Also, if you need to add on addendums to that particular lease later on, like say they wanna add a pet or something along those lines and you didn't add an addendum, you can take that addendum and lock it right in. You have access to those addendums all year long with that annual fee, so keep that in mind. So to be honest, for people like us who are self-managing landlords and already have systems in place, EZ Landlord was very helpful.

Kevin: 9:56

I'd say for what you get, the pricing isn't bad either.

Stacie: 9:59

No. I mean, a lot of apps, regardless of if their focus is for managing rentals or getting access to, I don't know, workout videos or music or whatever, most apps are around 10 bucks a month for full services.

Kevin: 10:11

Right, and the cost for those apps can really add up fast.

Stacie: 10:16

Right. So one thing I forgot to mention was that Kid two, you know, he uploaded the EZ Landlord lease to his Turbo Tenant account and sent it out for electronic signature through them, and it worked great. It was nice also because now that signed lease is in their tenant portal. And as soon as the lease was signed, it sent the new tenant the link to pay for the security deposit and the prorated rent.

Kevin: 10:44

Yeah, that was really nice. I mean very efficient and super easy for kid two who has zero experience with the landlord apps. And

Stacie: 10:54

you know, I'll even say that I learned a few things when I was helping him get everything all set up.

Kevin: 10:59

Well, that right there says a lot.

Stacie: 11:02

Yeah. You know, old dog, new tricks. Right?

Kevin: 11:05

I would never call you old.

Stacie: 11:07

Good.

Kevin: 11:08

Okay, back to ways landlords can be more digital. And this one might be super obvious, but marketing your vacant rentals is pretty much done electronically these days. I mean, no longer do people post ads in the newspaper or put for rent signs up outside the rental. Well, I mean, maybe some use signs, but not that often.

Stacie: 11:30

You know, Brandon Turner used to advise people to put signs on bulletin boards and coffee shops and up at colleges.

Kevin: 11:38

Yeah. Well, I highly doubt he's doing that these days. But you used to use Craiglist a lot and now no way, right? You just use Zillow?

Stacie: 11:48

I do. You know, they make it so easy and whenever I list on other sites, I rarely get the response that I get from Zillow. So, in an effort to limit how many sites that I have to monitor when I'm marketing a vacancy, I only use Zillow. I mean, that's for the long-term rentals anyway. For midterm rentals I use Zillow and Furnish Finders. You know, I'm not a big fan of Airbnb and VRBO doesn't really fit our niche, or should I say we don't fit in theirs.

Kevin: 12:18

Yeah. But marketing digitally is really the way to go. You can manage it from anywhere at any time of the day. I mean, truly a remote task that really is one of the keys to operating our business. Alright, the next one is something we are relatively new to, and that is online rental applications and tenant screening. Now the tenant screening part, specifically for credit background checks, we've used software for many years. We use Tenant Alert, and we really like how they are set up just for landlords. And when I say they're fast, I mean, I'm saying as soon as you click the to pay button, it's like, what, maybe two minutes and the information's there?

Stacie: 13:02

Even faster. I mean, most of the time it's like 30 or 45 seconds.

Kevin: 13:05

Wow. And the pricing is pretty reasonable too. I mean, at least we think so. I believe it's like 25 bucks for just the basic credit check, which includes the actual credit report, the credit score, tenant history, and telecheck, which is if they've ever bounced a check. Or you can add the lease guarantee analyzer and eviction reports to your order and it's$30. And that lease guarantee part's actually pretty cool. I mean, it's very helpful for us. It basically takes all the information you've entered, because you can enter the rent amount and their income, and then it will analyze the tenant's credit background in comparison to their income and let you know how they rate on a scale of a hundred. And we actually get quite a few one hundreds, don't we?

Stacie: 13:55

Yeah, we really do. And you know, I think that's because we're sticklers for staying firm on our qualifying criteria. But let me get back to Tenant Alert's pricing options. The, the pro level is$40 and includes all that you've already discussed, plus statewide criminal, terrorists, sex offender, and federal searches. And their premier is$50 and includes everything plus nationwide eviction and criminal searches and checks for, any social security fraud. Now, because we're members, we get a little better pricing. And I'm not sure if we don't pay an actual membership fee, but I think it's because we're part of the Sacramento Rental Housing Association. I used to get my credit reports done through them, but when they joined the California Apartment Association, Tenant Alert picked up all their clients to run their background checks. Anyway, it doesn't matter, but I'll tell you, it has come a long way since those early two thousands.

Kevin: 14:56

I bet it has.

Stacie: 14:57

Yeah. So I get a little better pricing than what others get. Maybe it's'cause I'm a realtor, I don't know. But anyway, Tenant Alert is great because you get your reports super fast. And you guys, I've used them for the last 15 years and they have really developed reports to be very easy to comprehend. They rate each tenant on a scale of a hundred. With a hundred being that they a hundred percent recommend that tenant. But when you're entering all the tenant's information, it gives you the option to also enter their income and then the rent and security deposit amounts that you're gonna charge. You enter those into the system and then it generates a rent to income ratio for you. And then in the summary, it notes their ratio based on the credit findings. And what it shows you is that if they have enough money after paying all their debts, to cover paying their household expenses. I mean, as you can tell, I love Tenant Alert and their reports are so easy to read and understand.

Kevin: 15:59

So an alternative to them for background checks is Smart Move, which coincidentally is owned by TransUnion, which is one of the three major credit bureaus.

Stacie: 16:10

Well, creating a credit background check division is a very smart move on their part.

Kevin: 16:17

I see what you did there. All right, so Smart Move is very similar to Tenant Alert, but with only three pricing tiers. One thing I like is that if you are a landlord who's willing to accept someone's credit report supplied by the applicant, Smart Move has a$25 option you can still enter all the applicant's information and it will give you a resident score, which is similar to Tenant Alert's, lease guarantee analyzer, plus a criminal background check. The price jumps up to$38 if you want a credit and eviction report. And then for$40 you get everything I just mentioned, plus an income analyzer and identity check. Now, the one caveat that I don't like is that the system has to email the applicant to get their approval before it will release the information to the landlord. So if the applicant doesn't respond right away, then the landlord has to wait. Which is fine if you're not in a hurry, but for me, we don't move on with the rest of the background check, you know, like calling past landlords, checking with their employer and calling the personal references, until we get the credit report that tells us if they even qualify.

Stacie: 17:35

Yeah. And I wanna say we do every step of the tenant screening process ourselves. You know, it's not hard, you know, once you get it under your belt and do it a few times.

Kevin: 17:44

Well, I mean, that's the case with almost anything, right? You know, once you can move past the fear of the unknown and get a couple of tries under your belt, I mean it gets easier and easier.

Stacie: 17:54

Yeah. Right. Maybe we should take our own advice'cause we're not good about doing videos or being active on social media. And I mean producing creative reels, right? By the time I learn what the algorithm wants, it changes and I need to learn a whole new process. But you know, everyone has to start somewhere. 20 years ago, I had no idea what I was doing managing rentals. And I will say that when we had to place our first tenant, I leaned on some friends who were in the business and they held my hand that first time. Which is likely why we are working on a course on tenant screening. And we wanna be able to show you how we do it step by step. You know, let us be that friend that you can lean on. And you guys, the course is not even done yet, but we are slowly working on it. If you're interested in learning more about it, we do have a wait list and we'll put a link in the show notes for you to sign up if you're interested. Oh, and we will link both Tenant Alert and Smart Move in the show notes if you wanna learn more about those as well. All right. Onto rental applications. Now we do use a California based rental application because each state has laws on what you can and cannot ask. And there are really generic ones out there. Now, I can't remember if Kid two one used from Easy Landlord or Turbo Tenant. You know, actually I think I downloaded it from the Idaho State website. But we wanted one that included info on pets, and it's amazing how little information some of those apps have on them. He wanted to allow pets and many applications we found did not have a place for prospects to enter the information about their pets. You know, you guys need to know what kind of animal it is, what breed it is, how old it is, and how much it weighs.

Kevin: 19:45

Right. I mean, these are the things we don't know much about because we don't allow pets. Which reminder, pets are different than ESAs or emotional support animals. You can have some limits on ESAs, but not much, I don't think. But applications. You know, we don't partake in using applications from apps or places like Zillow and here's why. If we allowed applications to be completed by anyone interested, we would a hundred percent get a ton of people applying who just don't qualify. They will do that because they know they don't qualify and it is likely that landlords who are in a hurry to fill up their units will just be happy to have someone apply and then approve them so they can get their place rented out. I mean, that's definitely not for us, you guys. You have to have criteria and you have to stick to that criteria, so you decrease your chance of getting that bad tenant in there. Now, we know larger property management companies who have applications on their website, but before someone can complete the application, they have to sign off on the criteria or qualifying standards before the application is released to them. This means they have to read through two to three pages that list out credit score levels, pet criteria, criminal background criteria that are acceptable, or that would be an automatic denial. Every criteria is on there. And then they have to sign that document saying they understand, agree to the criteria, and that they still want to apply. This ensures that the company can deny an applicant and keep their a fee should they apply when they knew in the first place they were not going to qualify. Other than that, we either send out our applications by email or we hand them a hard copy when they come to view the unit. We don't like to use those automated ones. I mean, too much hassle in the long run. Plus, the company that has the app on their site gets the app fee. They run the background check, so I get it. But it takes all of the control outta the landlord or owner's hands and puts it on the app where the software the landlord uses. And what I mean is that companies like Zillow use standard credit agencies to pull the background checks. With Tenant Alert or Smart Move, they analyze the income you input, not what's on someone's uploaded document, to tell you if they on the surface are a good fit. Again, there are a lot of great features that apps and software offer landlords that help them digitize their business, but for us, using their application service is not one of them.

Stacie: 22:32

Yeah, I mean, you still have to do all of the other checks that we mentioned before. Zillow Turbo Tenant, EZ Landlord Forms, Rent Redi, Avail, every single landlord software now offers a service. And you know why? Because they make a fortune off it. Every application is at least$35 for them and they run thousands of'em. For me, the control freak, I think applications are better off being processed in-house and not by an app, and that's just my 2 cents. Listen, most landlords do want to use technology to manage the rentals more efficiently. You know, remotely and even make them more professional, right? But just because you want to be more digitalized, that doesn't mean everything is automated. The tools we're talking about here today are to streamline your tasks and allow you more time to work on your business, whether it be scaling and adding to your portfolio, or doing preventative maintenance yourself. Or even if you want to take that time to enjoy yourself, like working on a hobby, traveling, or spending time with family. That's the best thing about being more digital. It gives you more time to do what you want. But for us, applications are crucial to our success, so we handle those ourselves.

Kevin: 23:51

And that's not to say that's forever. If a software with application processing comes along that has options for us to select, like using our own application, not theirs. Having applicants sign off on our qualifying standards before applying. Even adding information we can use to do background checks like rent to income ratios, then maybe we would consider it. One thing we do use and have learned really to love is the option to have tenants e-sign their leases and documents. Now, because we are Realtors, we already pay for DocuSign. Most of you will only need the personal plan, which runs$120. Now most all of the apps we are going to discuss today that include applications and tenant screening, include some level of the electronic signature amenity. Turbo Tenant has this option as Kid two utilized it for his lease signing. And E-sign leases has been an awesome addition to our digital landlord world. I mean, no longer do we need to find a time that works for all the parties to meet and sign the lease. No longer do we have the stress about what if they don't show up on that designated day? Because we used to meet them on move-in day and have them sign the lease and pay all their rent and security deposits that day, usually by check. Now as soon as their application is approved, regardless of when their move-in date is, we create and send the lease over for them to review, and once approved, we send it for eSigning. That way the tenant is locked in before the move in and we are receiving all the necessary funds much sooner, which is a huge plus. And if you want to meet them on move-in day to show them around, great. We have created walkthrough videos that we use in case we can't be there to show them around. I mean, we basically have a short, private YouTube video that is us walking around and showing them where the mailboxes are, where they can find the compost and recycling bins on the property and the dumpster to use in the alley. Plus the back patio and where they can find amenities we offer for that, like the furniture cushions if they've been removed for winter months. You know, stuff like that. For us, that video saves us about three hours every time a new tenant moves in. Okay, I want to move on now. We went over the leases and e-sign, which most landlord software offers now, which is really a nice perk. We've done the applications and tenant screening. I guess we now move on to rent collection.

Stacie: 26:31

Yeah, I think it's more overall landlord management software and rent collection is a big part of that.

Kevin: 26:38

Right.

Stacie: 26:39

Well, I say that because EZ Landlord Forms does offer rent collection, but does not offer any other support beyond leases, applications, and tenant screening. So if you truly wanna handle rent collection and communication and financial tracking on your own, you might be good with a simplified system like EZ Landlord. But if you really wanna digitalize your business, then you'd wanna look at a landlord management software. And, oh my word, there are so many of'em out there right now. Now let me just roll through the names really quick. So there's Turbo Tenant, Rent Redi, Door Loop, Hemlane, Avail, Stessa, Rent Tec Direct,Landlord Studio, Innago, Yardi Breeze and Tenant Cloud. And those are the heavy hitters in this industry. And honestly, you really cannot go wrong with any of them. Most all offer a variation of the same thing. Some vary in price, like some have a flat fee no matter how many units you add, and some prices go up each time you add on a unit. Some are free, which is Turbo Tenant, and we love them for landlords who are just starting out. You know their system is easy to use and understand, and when you want to upgrade your account, the amount is minimal.

Kevin: 28:00

Yeah. We mentioned it earlier, it's like$10 to$12 a month.

Stacie: 28:05

Yeah. If you pay the fee annually and it does go up as you add units, so there is that to consider. Some of these software companies have created comprehensive apps, that are great for full portfolio management, like Rent Ready and Door Loop do this. They both offer accounting, maintenance and tenant dashboards. Rent Redi as well as Turbo Tenant can integrate with REI Hub, which is a very useful accounting feature. It's huge, and you would have no need for an accounting or bookkeeping software like QuickBooks if you had this as an option. Rent Redi, which is another software we really like. Their integration with REI Hub allows for automatic syncing of all your properties and transactions. This feature allows streamlined bookkeeping, financial reporting, and tax ready reports. So, if you're looking to seriously digitalize and spend less time on accounting tasks, Rent Redi might be your answer. Turbo Tenant is also associated with REI Hub, but one, you do have to pay for the pro version of Turbo Tenant to get it, and two, it's not truly integrated. You actually just get access to the accounting software to use. But regardless, again, a very good option.

Kevin: 29:26

I mean, really, I mean, they're all really good options out there, right? Stacie and I have discussed the possibility of us using Hem Lane at some point because it's a software that grows with you as you scale in net properties. What I really like about them is that you can hand over full property management to them when you're ready.

Stacie: 29:45

You can. You know, plus they have an option to add on maintenance repairs as well. You know, essentially they have a list of approved maintenance, repair people who they will call on your behalf to handle the coordination with the tenant. So Hem Lane is a very nice hybrid version of property management software. You can do it all yourself, like we would probably start off doing, and then you can add in maintenance and repairs. Say like, what if our contractor Jim retires someday? And then we can transition into full-time property management that handles everything when our portfolio grows large enough. Or you know, when we're at a point where we no longer want to be so hands on. And we're fine to use'em in Sacramento, but if your rentals are located outside of a major metropolitan area, I think it's 20 miles outside, they will not guarantee that they can find a suitable property manager for you. You know, and I kind of appreciate that. This means that they have pretty high standards and they're not gonna stick you with a property manager that they don't know has experience or a proven good track record.

Kevin: 30:55

You guys, we will link most all of the companies we discussed today in our show notes. And remember to listen or to find links, you can go to your landlord resource.com/episode 1 0 6 or whatever episode number you need. The show notes are also located in the podcast platform at the bottom of the episode description. Now some software have their own accounting features like Door Loop for instance. It's very strong on the financial side of owning rentals. You can evaluate each property financially or your portfolio as a whole. I mean, there are a ton of reports you can print, which is nice when you're meeting with your CPA and it does integrate with QuickBooks, which is what we use. So for landlords who already use and pay for QuickBooks to manage their rental property finances Door Loop is a very good option. Rent Tec Direct also integrates with QuickBooks. Most all of these softwares have tenant portals where they can pay their rent, upload needed documents, like their renter's insurance documents, and they have the capability for communicating with tenants. So if you wanna blast out an email about an upcoming inspection, or if a tenant needs to report a maintenance request, all that is done on the app. Which means that you only have one place you need to go to find the record of the conversation and you're not hunting and searching through your emails for the specific thread that noted what you or they said. I mean, that's a great feature.

Stacie: 32:30

Yeah. And for rent payments, you guys, they all vary. You know, some have instant rent payments to you. Some takes five business days, some charge a fee to get that instant payment. Some allow only a ACH. Some allow credit cards and likely add a steep fee for the tenant. Rent Tec Direct and Tenant Cloud have rent reporting features. So in the last episode, number 1 0 5, we talked about new landlord tenant laws that have passed in 2025 and one was for California, where certain landlords have to offer the tenant the chance to get their rent payments reported to a major credit agency. And that's so they can improve their credit score if it's needed. And I suspect other states will follow suit if they don't already have this law in place.

Kevin: 33:21

Yeah, so that'd be a nice feature to already have in place with your software if so. So you guys, you can see that there is not one software that covers all the needs of landlords to be fully digitalized. And some of these softwares are very expensive. But with all that said, we do encourage you to do your research and see if one suits you best. Maybe you have no idea financially where your rental stand and that accounting software that Rent Ready, Turbo Tenant and Door Loop offers is very appealing. Maybe you plan to grow your rental property business quickly and you need one that can handle many units and transition into a pre-screened property management team. In which case Hem Lane might be good for you. Maybe you don't wanna be digital much at all, but need a software that can offer electronic rent payments and tenant communication, in which case, maybe Turbo Tenant or Avail is for you. And if you already have QuickBooks in place, maybe Door Loop or Rent Tec Direct is the landlord software you've been looking for. You see, they each have small differences, but those small differences may be a huge benefit to you. Again, we will link them all in our show notes. Now, some of these we partner with, some we do not. So just know that there might be a possibility if you sign up with one of the softwares we are discussing today, we might be compensated for that referral.

Stacie: 34:49

So I mentioned before that we still do rely on paper systems, for some aspects of our business. You know, old habits die hard, you guys.

Kevin: 35:00

Right? I mean, I love electronics and what living in a digital world offers, but I do love writing my to-do list on a pad of paper. And Stacie and I still use a weekly calendar to organize our schedules so we are working efficiently. And I do know there are calendar and task apps, but you also need to be looking at them on your phone or computer all the time. I mean, I kind of feel like sometimes I need a break from electronics. But, and this is a big but, when it comes to managing rental properties, using a paper system means you need to have a physical space for all your documents. And using paper only means you chance losing or missing information. If you are still signing leases in person, you could have long delays. And if you allow checks for your rent payments, it can be harder to track and prove if they were received on time. So I will say that moving to a digital system for most of our tasks does save us time when we have to search for records. And we haven't discussed it, but we have mentioned before that we use QuickBooks for our accounting software. I mean, we really love it. We do use it for rent collection, but we're moving away from that pretty soon. I mean, it's just not cost effective. I believe they charge us 1% of the rent for each deposit. Now our average rent is$1,950, so there's$19.50 for each unit we have to pay monthly. I mean back when electronic payments started, it was a great deal. I mean, now though, it's insanely overpriced, especially with the options available through the landlord software we've discussed today. For communication, we really just have our tenants text us directly. And you know, when we are having a nice weekend away and someone texts us to ask if they can have a fish tank, I mean, those are the times I wish we really had a formal system to filter requests that we can deal with later.

Stacie: 37:06

Right. Okay, so why would landlords not want to digitalize and lean more towards being paper based? I think some of it's a control thing, and I totally get that. You know, you have the lease in hand, you watch the tenant sign it in person, so you know they're good to go. You've witnessed it firsthand. I think, well actually, I know that for some older landlords, they do not really understand how to use a computer beyond checking email and reading news articles. Using passwords and logging into sites is completely foreign to them. Don't even ask them to accept rents electronically. They wanna paper check so that they can again, hold it and control it, drive it down to the bank, and go into the branch and talk to the teller. And you know, maybe that's the highlight of their day and maybe that's their way of being social. And if it works for them, then you know, right on.

Kevin: 38:06

So your parents who are very successful people. I mean, they don't even have internet at their home.

Stacie: 38:12

Exactly. But then when they need electronic tasks done, who do you think you're calling me? But Kevin's right. I mean, not about not having internet. That's unheard of. But some rural areas have limited internet access and using digital tools might be more challenging. I won't even begin to talk about people having fear of data breaches. You know, think about it, your bank information, the tenant's personal information, all that is on those apps. So cybersecurity is definitely something that's important to consider.

Kevin: 38:44

Yeah, I mean, that's something I don't think any of the software companies really market about. You know, kind of interesting. Now I wanna take a minute to talk about the cost aspect of going digital. You guys, those fees add up really fast. Like Stacie said, we pay very high fees for deposits through QuickBooks and that is on top of their monthly fee. We have to pay annually for DocuSign so we can link our California Apartment Association leases to it and send it out for electronic signatures. We pay quite a bit for the California Apartment Association, but that one is worth every penny for us because we get top-notch California based leases and legal advice. We pay for a membership to A A OA, also known as the American Apartment Owners Association, as well as BiggerPockets to stay in the know about laws and changes in the market. When we finally decide on the landlord management software to use, we likely will have to pay a decent amount for that. And if we had a website, we would have several fees to pay for maintaining that as well. Now, I can't really quantitate the time saved for using all of these apps and softwares enables us, but I imagine between rent collection, tenant screening, accounting, et cetera, it's probably nearly 20 or 30 hours a month on our busier months. So let's consider the cost of not going digital. I can say for certain that we have lost out on tenants in the past when we did not reply back to them fast enough. One had submitted several applications for different properties, we were still pushing paper for tenant screenings back then, so we lost them to another landlord. Not realizing when rent was unpaid is another one. We had several instances when the rent was not received on time and didn't even know it. I mean, once you allow one late payment, they think it's okay to continue and it's hard to implement the late payment rule when it's happened several times already. I mean, it's just a bad look being so unorganized. Also, consider if your rentals are out of state, how would you even be able to handle them without anything being electronic. If you work full time, it's hard to manage everything well. Mistakes would definitely happen, and you certainly don't want to get popped with a lawsuit because you failed to comply with the landlord tenant law. I mean bottom line, where not everything has to be done electronically or digitally, implementing the use of software in some aspects of your property management is highly recommended.

Stacie: 41:31

And you know, I think most landlords do many other tasks electronically. I mean, people like my parents and other older family members who own rentals are definitely not the norm. You know, the bottom line is that when landlords operate aspects of their business electronically, it offers tenants consistency, right? And this definitely improves the landlord tenant relationship and the tenant's experience living in your rentals. The organization that comes from using software also ensures that you have all the documents easily and readily available. Whether that's for a question a tenant has or to file your taxes or having your records organized brings not only a time saver, but peace of mind too. Some landlords are using electronic files to organize and plan their preventative maintenance, which helps keep your units in good condition. And nothing but good for you, and your tenant can come from staying on top of that maintenance. And another thing that being digital can help with is scalability. You now think about it. Once you have your systems in place, you can grow and scale much faster and easier. Hey, one more thing, and you guys, this is pretty new, but I cannot let this episode go without discussing AI. Now we could do a whole episode on AI and how it helps landlords and you know, maybe someday we will. But, AI has been very helpful for us as rental property owners. We have used it for creating checklists on what to do when we want to implement something new. Like when we wanted to install property wide wifi. We went on to chat GTP and essentially said we own a sixplex located at 1 2 3 A BC Street in Sacramento. We wanna offer property wide wifi for our tenants to use and for us to use for such things as smart locks and security cameras. What is available in our area? What do we need to know about installing wifi technically and financially? And is this an amenity that our tenants would find beneficial? And if so, how much could we charge for it? And you guys, I got pages of information. You know, from what companies offer wifi to what materials would be needed and who was available in the area to install all the tech for us. It broke it all down and was very helpful in our research on whether we wanted to move forward with this improvement or not. You know, we're also still looking for another rental property to buy. And we found one in Sacramento that fit our buy box perfectly. It had the opportunity to add more units by way of an A DU. So we used chat GPT to find out what we needed to know from the city and county level to do this. You guys, it put out a very detailed list of what we needed to know, where we could research more about the regulations. And how much it would cost and how long something like this would take. And lastly, this past week, as Kevin mentioned, we had a tenant who wanted to get permission to install a 20 gallon aquarium in their unit. Now our lease, as detailed as it is, does not discuss aquariums. I don't know about you, but 20 gallons of water seemed like a lot when I read his text. It's not, but I also think I was just not in the mood to get that text on a Friday night at seven o'clock from this tenant. All right, so back to AI. Before I said, yes, no problem to this tenant, I wanted to check on a few things. One being our insurance policy and if it had any restrictions on aquariums. I know that sounds odd, but many policies have clauses about waterbeds, so I just wanted to be sure. So what did I do? I uploaded the insurance policy and specifically asked chat GPT if there were any exclusions and coverage for fish tanks or aquariums. And there were not. So we were good to go on that end.

Kevin: 45:48

Yeah. I'm amazed at the information you can get from AI. I mean, and it's fast.

Stacie: 45:54

It is. And, and listen, I know that you have to take the information you get from AI with a grain of salt. Trust, but verify right. AI is only as good as the detail that you provide in your prompt when you ask it to do something. It's also dependent on information that's found on the internet, which oftentimes is more opinion than fact. But I'm telling you, it's still very helpful. And with some tasks that would have taken me hours, if not days, to gather all the information. I got it all within a half hour of starting on that prompt. Huge, huge time savings.

Kevin: 46:28

Uh, we didn't get that property, by the way. I mean, someone else swooped in and nabbed it right up from under us.

Stacie: 46:36

Yeah, I was very disappointed, but I'm just gonna go with it wasn't meant to be.

Kevin: 46:41

Well, yeah, it's still a bummer. I mean, I still check the listing daily to see if it's still pending, but so far no luck. You know, one more thing we failed to discuss was using security cameras and smart locks. I mean, those aren't necessarily administrative help, but they definitely help when it comes to managing the rentals. Security cameras will help deter crime and the smart locks have been a lifesaver when we are having work done on the units. We don't need to be there with the key, we can just assign the tech a code for them to enter and they can come and go as they please. I mean, talk about a time saver.

Stacie: 47:19

I actually know of a landlord who owns rentals outta state, and she uses smart locks to allow prospective tenants to go in and view the unit. If they like it, apply, and are approved, she has assign'em a code for entry and she never sets foot in the state or the unit or meets them. I have to say that's not my cup of tea. And you have to be very trusting. But I do think that many landlords use systems like this to digitalize their property and make their job a hundred percent remote.

Kevin: 47:49

Yeah. Well, the app we use does tell us if the door has been closed and locked, so that would be okay. I just don't think I would be comfortable allowing several prospects to enter the unit without someone there. I mean, one for liability reasons. Two, being there to answer questions and sell the space is an important aspect of showings being successful.

Stacie: 48:10

Right. I mean that's, that's a good point. All right, landlords, that's our episode on what it means to be a digital landlord. We discussed the pros and cons as well as some options for you to look into. So thank you for listening. We appreciate you all taking the time outta your busy day to listen to what we have to say here. If you like what you hear on the podcast, would you do us a favor and subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform? That way our episodes will be there waiting for you, so you can enjoy all we have to say about owning and self-managing rental properties. And we would be super appreciative if you could leave us a kind review. You know, those reviews really help other landlords like you know, that we're the real deal. We have links to the review sites in our show notes. If you have a question or wanna suggest a subject for a podcast, you can text us at 6 5 0 4 8 9 4 4 4 7 or email us at stacie@yourlandlordresource.com. That's Stacie with an IE, or kevin@yourlandlordresource.com. Feel free to download any of the forms or templates that we offer. Or if you wanna sign up for our free newsletter, you can access all those links in the show notes as well. And you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. Plus we have a private Facebook group, uh, that's just for landlords. Again, links to all those are in our show notes. Thanks again for taking the time outta your day to listen to our podcast. We really appreciate it. And until next time, you've got this landlords!