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Running a successful rental business involves finding great tenants, streamlining time-consuming processes, and collecting rent on time each month. However, becoming a landlord also requires standing out from your competition to avoid long vacancies and generate quality tenant leads — all of which can be done through a rental property website.
You can always hire a website developer to create one for you, or use property management software platforms like Avail to create a custom marketing page where you can feature your properties in detail. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of creating websites for rental properties so you can take your business to the next level.
What’s the Purpose of Rental Property Websites?
A rental property website can help landlords manage their rental business in a way that’s sophisticated, establishes credibility, and is eye-catching to prospective tenants. Instead of relying on a third-party rental listing site to advertise your property, you can have all of your available properties shown in one place — increasing your chances of generating tenant leads by 40%, based on Avail data.
You’re also able to add your own business logo and color scheme to your custom marketing page, making it easier for prospective tenants to identify your rental business online.
How to Create a Rental Property Website on Avail
The rental property website builder on Avail is easy to use. We outlined the steps to creating a marketing page on Avail so your rental business can stand out:
- Sign in to your landlord account: Creating an account on Avail is free, but you’ll need to upgrade to an Unlimited Plus account in order to create a marketing website. If you’re looking to save on the $7/month cost of upgrading, you can always take advantage of the Avail Referral Program to earn up to $500 in account credit, letting you upgrade your account at no cost to you.
- Click the “Marketing Website” tab: Once you have an account, click on the “Activate Your Marketing Page” button to begin the process of creating your own rental property website.
- Click the “Edit My Page” tab: Once you’ve successfully activated your Avail Marketing Page, you can then begin the process of customizing each section to your liking. Upload your rental business logo, choose your preferred site color scheme, upload your available properties, and change the copy in each section to your liking.
- Reroute your custom domain to your Avail Marketing Page: If you already have your own rental property website domain, you can easily redirect traffic to go from your old site to your current Avail Marketing Page URL. However, Avail is currently not able to assist in embedding any marketing page into an external URL.
If you experience any issues when setting up your Avail Marketing Page, our Customer Support team is ready to help seven days a week.
Check out Aljack Management’s Avail Marketing Page to see how your website can look once published.
What Can I Use My Rental Property Website For?
An Avail Marketing Page can benefit landlords and their tenants in various ways. Here are four tasks you can complete through your rental property website:
- Advertise rental listings: Tenants can find all of your available rental listings in one place, which can make it easy to quickly fill more than one property.
- Allow tenants to apply for an apartment: If a tenant already viewed the property virtually or in-person and decided it’s the one for them, you can direct them to apply directly through your Avail Marketing Page. Since your website is already connected to your Avail account, their rental application will automatically populate in your dashboard for review.
- Custom online resident portal: Your Avail Marketing Page also benefits your current tenants; tenants can create an Avail Renter Profile, view their lease 24/7, pay their rent online, and even submit maintenance requests — all in one place.
- Add resident testimonials and frequently asked questions: Not only does a rental property website build credibility, but it can give you the chance to build your reputation as a landlord. Stand out from the crowd by adding resident testimonials and creating a frequently asked questions page addressing common tenant concerns.
Create a Rental Property Website on Avail
Running a successful rental business is easy to do, especially with the help of a personalized rental property website on Avail. Instead of hiring a website developer or using a complex template online, you can create one in no time by upgrading to Unlimited Plus and activating the Marketing Page feature on your landlord dashboard.
Create an account or log in today to start on your own website that can be shared across any social media platform, your email signature, and more.
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As a renter, you’ll often be required to fill out a rental application and authorize a background check to help landlords determine if you’re a good fit for the property. While this step can take a few hours to a few days, there are quicker ways to provide your renter information when apartment searching — and that’s through a renter profile.
An Avail Renter Profile allows you to save both time and money by sharing your rental information through a shareable link. Here’s everything you need to know about how to create a renter profile on Avail to speed up the process of applying for an apartment.
What Is a Renter Profile?
A renter profile consists of the information you would normally be required to share on a rental application, but in a format that can be shared through an online link. You also have the option to add a credit, background, and eviction report to your profile to avoid having to pay an application fee for more than one rental property.
The shareable link will automatically direct landlords to Avail where they can find a comprehensive overview of who you are as a renter, access your credit report, and more. Creating a renter profile is free and does not require an investment unless you decide to add a credit, background, and eviction check for a one-time fee of $55.
What Are the Benefits of Having a Renter Profile?
An Avail Renter Profile can benefit both renters and their landlords in various ways. Here are three main benefits of creating a renter profile before starting your apartment search.
- Save money on application fees: Application fees can cost anywhere from $30 to $55 per applicant, and are usually the renter’s responsibility to cover. Instead of having to pay that fee for more than one property, you can create one profile that can be shared with various landlords at once.
- Avoid negative hits to your credit score: If a landlord checks your credit health on their own, this can affect your credit score more than if you were to request a credit check yourself. If a credit check is initiated by you and not an outside party, it will be considered a “soft inquiry” and opposed to a “hard inquiry,” thus reducing the chances of your credit score going down.
- You control access to your information: With a renter profile, you can see exactly what information and reports landlords have access to. You can also revoke access to your information with one click, allowing you to keep your personal information secure and safe from people that no longer need it.
How to Create a Renter Profile on Avail
Creating an Avail Renter Profile is easy to do and can be completed in less than 10 minutes. Here’s how to get started:
- Log in to your account: Creating an Avail Renter Profile is free for renters and does not require any credit card information to complete.
- Click “Renter Profile”: This page will lead you to your Renter Profile, which will include sections to complete before being shared with landlords.
- Provide accurate information on who you are: The Renter Profile will request information that’s usually asked on a rental application, such as your residence history, work history, income verification, standard application questions, and screening report authorization.
- Share with future landlords: Once you’ve successfully completed your Renter Profile, you can easily share your information with any landlord through a link.
Do Landlords Accept Renter Profiles?
Landlords do accept renter profiles, especially if they’re already using Avail to manage their rental property. The Renter Profile includes verified and secure information about a renter to ensure landlords are easily provided the information they would normally request through a rental application.
The credit report includes information from TransUnion with your updated credit score, payment history, and account summaries. Background and eviction check information is pulled from the same source as traditional rental applications to ensure landlords are provided accurate data.
Save on Application Fees With Avail
The process of landing your dream apartment doesn’t have to be time-consuming, expensive, or stressful. With an Avail Renter Profile, you can easily get ahead of the competition by sharing your renter information quickly, at no cost to you or the landlord.
Create an account today to build your profile in minutes and enjoy the benefits of Avail.
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An Avail Rent Analysis report allows landlords to determine a fair and competitive rent price without having to spend hours researching similar properties for a rent estimate. This six-page report provides valuable information on rental market trends and rent comps to help you craft a rent price that makes sense for your local market and can generate income.
To help you get the most out of this report, we’ve explained what each section includes and provided suggestions on how to utilize these insights for your rental property.
How to Read an Avail Rent Analysis Report
The first page of the Rent Price Analysis report provides a rent estimate, a confidence score, and graphs with insights based on local trends for similar properties. Here’s a breakdown on how to digest these sections:
- Rent Estimate: The Rent Estimate is an estimated rent price for the property, assuming it’s in a condition comparable to nearby properties with similar features.
- Confidence Score: The confidence score is a predictor of how accurate the provided Rent Estimate is, based on the location of the property, its physical characteristics, market conditions, and insights from comparable properties nearby.
- Estimated Property Vacancy: The report provides a vacancy percentage that’s fueled by a proprietary aggregated analysis of geographic and property-specific trends in the area the property is located in.
Although the report provides an estimated rent price you can use for your property, it’s advised to read through the entire report to ensure your final rent price takes into consideration the time of the year and rent price ranges.
Rental Benchmarks
The Rental Benchmark chart provides eight average rent prices to show a full picture on how much previous landlords have charged for properties with similar characteristics. If you’ve recently renovated parts of your property in hopes to increase its overall value, you can reference the Radius High and Zip High to better understand the maximum amount you can charge in your area.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to rent to low-income tenants, the report shares an average rent price for Section 8 properties near you. When deciding which rent price to lean closer towards, it’s important to consider the different amenities you offer, the location, and overall value of the home to avoid going too high or low on the monthly rent.
Days on Market vs. Vacancy in County
The demand for rental properties changes throughout the year, with summer being the busiest time of the year for moving. The Days on Market vs. Vacancy in County bar graph can help you better understand demand for properties similar to yours, since this will play a role in just how much you can up-charge in rent.
Landlords typically charge more in rent during the summer months, since that’s when most tenants begin their apartment search and move to a new unit. The winter is when you may want to consider lowering your rent price to avoid long vacancy periods, since most tenants refrain from moving during the colder months.
Rental Saturation Benchmarks
The Rental Saturation Benchmarks graph can be beneficial when understanding how many rental properties account for a certain county based on tracked rental properties and insights from the U.S. Census.
If you find that where you’re located has a small percentage of rental properties, then this can be a great chance to advertise your rental property to tenants looking to rent in the designated area since you have less rental competition.
Comparable For-Rent Properties
The Comparable For-Rent Properties chart outlines 10 nearby properties with information on their square footage, number of beds and baths, distance from your property, property type, and current rent. Instead of having to manually find this information yourself, you can find this information on an Avail Rent Analysis report to easily store on any device.
You’ll also be provided a Google Map view of the properties listed to help you gauge how close each property is to popular destinations or landmarks.
The more value the location of your property offers tenants, the more room you have to charge more in rent than other properties.
County Rent Trends by Bedroom and Type
Rental properties typically increase in rent price year-over-year, but in order to get location-specific insights, you can reference the County Rent Trends by Bedroom and Type graphs. Whether you own a one-bedroom property or four-bedroom condo, you can see how rent trends have changed over the years for certain property types to better estimate future changes in rent price.
Area Gross Yield and Rental Trends
As a landlord, the most important thing on your mind is protecting your investment and generating passive income through your rental properties. In order to do that successfully, it’s advised to gain insights on how much a certain rent price can generate in gross yield.
With an Avail Rent Analysis report, you see what other landlords in your area are listing as their rent, along with how much the median rent price for certain zip codes helped other landlords not only maintain their investment but generate a profit, as well. You’ll also be able to find a summary of rental trends to better understand if rent in your area has been decreasing month-over-month or recently increased due to a change in demand.
Purchase an Avail Rent Analysis Report
Determining a rent price is now easier than ever with the help of an Avail Rent Analysis report. You can purchase one for only $19.99 or use the account credit you’ve earned from the Avail Referral Program to cover the cost.
If you’re still unsure of how to properly read sections of a Rent Analysis report, you can always reference the Data Dictionary section at the bottom of the report to better understand the provided insights. Set your rent price with confidence today by creating an account to purchase a Rent Analysis report.
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]]>The post How to Invite Your Landlord to Avail appeared first on Avail.
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You’ve decided you want to pay rent online with Avail, but there’s still one step to complete — inviting your landlord to start using our software.
You don’t often hear of renters suggesting new ways for landlords to collect rent, but some landlords may not be aware of new or existing rental property management software. This can then lead to them thinking that physical checks and pen-and-paper records is the only way to go.
At Avail, we work on making the rental process easier for everyone. That’s why we outlined how you (a renter) can easily invite your landlord to Avail in less than five minutes while teaching you about Avail so you can feel confident when recommending our software.
4 Benefits of Paying Rent Payments Online With Avail
While some renters utilize popular platforms like Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal to pay rent, there are a handful of reasons why it’s better to use an official rental property management software like Avail.
In addition to making renting hassle-free, here are five benefits renters experience from paying rent online with Avail:
- Schedule recurring payments with AutoPay: Set recurring rent payments with AutoPay to automatically withdraw your rent each month.
- Focus on your credit health with CreditBoost: You can report your rent payments to TransUnion with CreditBoost, which will help you focus on your credit health for future purchases or even your next rental application.*
- Easily switch your payment method for rent: Switch between paying rent with a debit card, credit card, or checking account each month with no penalty.
- Split rent with your roommates: You’ll be able to see how much each roommate owes in your dashboard, as well as when a payment was received from everyone.
How to Explain Avail to Your Landlord
Suggesting a new process for collecting rent can be daunting to do as a renter, especially if you’re still getting to know your landlord. For that reason, we want you to feel just as comfortable with Avail so you can get them on board.
Here are the answers to frequently asked questions they may have when first learning about Avail.
- Is Avail free? Yes, Avail is free for unlimited rental units. Landlords can also upgrade to Unlimited Plus for $7/unit per month, which can be covered by account credit earned from the Avail referral program.
- Do rent payments get deposited into my account right away? Landlords with Unlimited Plus can take advantage of FastPay, which deposits rent into their account as soon as the next day. Otherwise, the money will be deposited into their account in three business days.
- Is Avail safe to use for rent collection? Yes, all online rent payments are cleared through the Federal Reserve and secured with bank-level encryption.
- How long does it take to set up an Avail account? The initial setup process only takes a few minutes. Once that’s complete, your landlord can schedule payments in advance and handle any maintenance issues directly through their dashboard. Everything from collecting rent to background screening is streamlined to make managing their rentals easy and less time-consuming.
- Does Avail keep track of all payments and receipts? Yes, landlords can easily access all payment records directly through their account in case there’s ever a dispute or concerns.
- Can I use Avail to manage more than one rental property? Yes, landlords can add more than one property to their account to manage all at once.
If your landlord still has questions about Avail, you can refer them to our growing library of educational content that takes a look at every part of the landlording process.
How Can I Invite My Landlord to Avail?
Inviting your landlord to Avail can be done in less than five minutes. Here’s how to do it:
- Create an account: Log into your account to invite your landlord directly from your renter dashboard.
- Click “Invite My Landlord”: Fill out all required fields such as your landlord’s name, email address, and information on the current apartment you’re renting. You have the option to add a message to your landlord where you can politely request to start paying your rent online through Avail.
- Track the status of your invite: Once you’ve successfully invited your landlord, you’ll be able to see the current status of the invitation in your dashboard.
Your landlord will need to create an account and set up the rental property you’re currently occupying in order for you to start paying your rent online.
Include answers to commonly asked questions in your personalized invite to increase the chances of your landlord adopting Avail.
What Are the Benefits of Collecting Rent With Avail for Landlords?
Popular online payment systems occasionally used to collect rent almost always exclude rental property-related transactions from any form of payment protection and can violate the platform’s terms and conditions.
With Avail, landlords can easily advertise vacant units, request rental applications and credit reports, sign leases, and collect rent — all online. Plus, with the Avail Referral program, your landlord can earn up to $500 in account credit by referring 10 friends looking for a rental property management software.
The $500 account credits can cover the cost of Unlimited Plus, future background screening, or Rent Price Analysis reports.
Pay Rent Online With Avail
Surprisingly, recommending a new method for rent collection can be easier than you think. All you have to do is send an invitation through your Avail account and we’ll take care of the rest.
Don’t have an account yet? Create an account today to invite your landlord to Avail. Avoid late fees, pay rent how you want, work on improving your credit score, and much more.
*CreditBoost results may vary by individual.
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Managing your property is not an easy task, but using free property management software designed for landlords can make it much simpler to find and screen tenants, draft leases, collect rent payments, track repairs, and more. Whether you’re making the leap from paper-and-pencil landlording or from a different online property management platform, switching to Avail will save you time, money, and is simple to do.
How to Get Started With Avail
You can get started with Avail at any time during the rental process, whether you’re in the middle of a current lease with tenants or looking to fill a vacancy. Here’s how:
1. Create Your Landlord Account
First, begin your switch to Avail by creating a landlord account. You will be asked to provide your name, email address, and phone number for security login purposes. The personal information that you provide Avail is secured with bank-level encryption and will never be shared with third parties.
2. Set Up Your Rental Properties
Next, you can enter the addresses of your rental properties, what type of property they are, and unit numbers (if applicable). You can always remove and add more properties later on in your Landlord Dashboard, so don’t feel pressured to upload every property at this stage. Avail lets you upload and manage an unlimited number of units and properties for free.
If you have any rental vacancies, Avail can help you build a rental listing and post your listing for free across the top rental listing sites.
3. Upload Your Current Lease
Next, you will be able to either upload an existing lease for each individual rental property or start from scratch and create one through Avail. You can upload a lease through the “Leases” tab under each unit or rental. If you’re creating a new lease for a rental property, you can use one of our free, state-specific lease templates.
Watch: How to Create a Digital Lease or How to Upload an Existing Lease
4. Set Up Online Rent Payments and Invite Your Tenants
You can set up online rent payments a few ways; in the “Payments” tab in each rental property, while you’re adding a new rental property, or by clicking “Create Rent Payment” under the “Tenant” tab to the left of your Landlord dashboard. This is also where you can invite your tenants to use Avail, making it easier for them to pay rent online, submit maintenance requests, and have access to their lease at any time.
You will be asked to simply enter the tenant’s name, email or phone number, cost of rent, and dates of their lease — then Avail will take care of the rest.
If this is the first time you will be collecting rent online, you can also manually enter in previous payments you collected before joining Avail. If you have tenants who don’t want to pay online or if you want to keep receiving payments outside of Avail, you can continue to manually enter new offline payments into your account to keep all your rental income information in one place.
5. Let Your Tenants Know About CreditBoost
After signing up for their Avail account, tenants have the option to enroll in CreditBoost, a feature provided by Avail that allows them to build credit from paying their rent on time each month. Learn more about CreditBoost for tenants here.
Tenants can also pay their rent how they want, whether that’s with a credit card, debit card, or bank transfer.
Remember, our concierge service can assist with every step of getting started with Avail, including creating your account, helping your tenants create their accounts, uploading multiple leases for different rentals, setting up rent collection, and any other issues you run into.
Common Questions Landlords Ask About Switching to Avail
Because we know you might have reservations about making the switch to Avail from another property management software platform or from doing things offline, we want to address some common concerns landlords have when thinking through making the switch.
Is Avail Legitimate?
Your data and privacy is our highest priority, which is why our network has 256-bit encryption and is constantly monitored to protect our users. It’s also important to note your personal information will never be shared with third parties. Our servers are also monitored 24/7 and have a 99.7% uptime guarantee.
How Can I Get Help When Switching to Avail?
Our customer support team is always ready to answer your questions or help you navigate any issues you run into as you set up your account. At Avail, we pride ourselves on customer service, and our customer support team is available seven days a week, live phone support included.
How Long Does it Take to Set Up?
If you’re creating a landlord account on your own, it will take around 10 minutes to set up, and even less for your tenants who are joining.
Is There a Cost to Switch to Avail?
There is no cost to switch to Avail from another management platform — Avail is free for unlimited units. However, you can choose to upgrade to our Unlimited Plus account to get more features and remove all payment processing fees for tenants if they pay rent with a bank account linked to Avail.
What Do I Do With My Active Signed Lease Agreements?
You can bring all active leases over to Avail when you create an account by uploading them to your individual rental properties.
How Do I Get My tenants on Board With the Switch?
Avail makes the work of a landlord much easier, but it also makes being a renter easier, too. Features like CreditBoost, being able to create and follow maintenance tickets for their rental, and having an easy way to make and stay on top of rental payments are all reasons why tenants love using Avail. Also, landlords using Unlimited Plus can let tenants know that there aren’t any ACH/bank fees.
Should I Go With Avail or Hire a Property Manager?
We completely understand, and don’t worry — if you’re not sure about making the switch to Avail right now, we’re always here. But keep in mind that Avail saves landlords both time and money. Avail automates and simplifies the rental process, allows you to be more in control of your rental properties, and saves you money on property management fees (which can range from 6% to 12% of rent profits).
At the end of the day, Avail always has your best interest in mind, and we’re happy to answer any questions and concerns you might have about using our platform.
If you’re ready to make the switch, begin by signing up and start enjoying the many benefits of being an Avail landlord, like our directory of landlord-tenant laws by state, and a library of educational articles on property management.
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No platform better understands the struggles of DIY landlords than Avail; the small pains, costly tasks, and endless hours put into your rental property are what drive our platform every day.
While our standard free Unlimited Avail account works to make renting easier, our Unlimited Plus account takes landlording to a whole new level. For $7/unit per month, Unlimited Plus can help you save time and money while managing your properties like a seasoned professional. Here are five great benefits that can only be accessed through Unlimited Plus.
1. Custom Rental Property Website With a Tenant Portal
With an Unlimited Plus account, Avail landlords can create a custom rental property marketing site that is accessible to prospective and current tenants. These customizable web pages allow landlords to organize their listings while providing descriptions and photos for each unit.
Plus, current tenants can log in to their Avail tenant portal to pay rent, create maintenance tickets, or review their lease through their landlord’s site.
2. Go Deeper Into the Tenant Screening Process
Screening potential tenants can also be a hassle for landlords looking to quickly find a reliable tenants for their units. That’s why Avail offers tenants-initiated TransUnion credit reports, background checks, eviction histories, and more.
But with Unlimited Plus, landlords have the opportunity to get deeper into the screening process if they wish, with the option to create customizable screening questions and communicate with individual applicants through our message center to better know their future tenants.
3. Customize Your Rental Lease Agreements
Creating a lease that abides by state and local laws, is uniform in appearance, and includes all your unit-specific rules makes your job as a landlord simpler. This is why Avail makes the process easier by providing Unlimited Plus users with customizable lease templates. Landlords can add specific rules and clauses to their standard leases, such as pet rent, assigned parking spaces, or availability hours.
The process to make a lawyer-approved lease agreement is simple and can be done in less than 30 minutes.
4. Clone and Reuse Your Lease Agreements
Customizing your lease can take some time to do, and when conducting an apartment turnover, you usually have to create and customize the lease all over again.
But with Avail Lease Cloning, a feature of Unlimited Plus, landlords can clone a given lease for each property or renter. That way, when you have the perfect lease, it will be there for you to use in the future or clone for your other units, dramatically reducing the time it takes you to sign new tenants.
5. Fast Payments and Waived ACH Fees
Direct-deposit online rent payments, specialized deposits, and fee collection tools are just the beginning when it comes to collecting payments for your property. With an Unlimited Plus account, landlords can expect rent payment deposits to be in their bank account days faster than the competition — landlords typically receive a direct deposit up to three days after their tenants pay rent. Additionally, ACH bank-to-bank transfer fees are waived for all Avail Unlimited Plus landlords, incentivizing renters by saving them money each time they pay rent.
Upgrade Your Account to Unlimited Plus
To take advantage of these features and more, log in to your Avail account or sign up for an Unlimited Plus account with Avail.
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We spoke with Katie D., a tenant in Chicago who has been using Avail for about a year, to get her thoughts on the product, her favorite features, and how it’s changed the way she rents.
How Were You Introduced to Avail?
It was actually my landlord who set up Avail for us. Before, I was paying rent by mailing him a check once a month, which was frustrating because if we mailed it too late, we’d get charged a late fee. That was happening often enough that it was annoying.
I think my landlord switched to Avail because it was more convenient for him to be able to process the rent money right into his own bank account, and he also realized it was a lot easier for his tenants. It’s worked pretty well so far. It definitely eliminates the issues we were having.
What’s Your Favorite Avail Feature?
I honestly think that even though there’s a fee, it’s that I’m able to pay my rent with a credit card. It makes it so convenient, and it’s obviously great for credit card points. But overall, convenience has been a game-changer for me and my roommates. Using Avail is just a lot easier. We live in a city, so going to find a mailbox and stamps is frustrating and hard to do sometimes. Being able to do it all from the convenience of your couch is pretty awesome.
What Do You Think About Our New Feature, CreditBoost?
Being able to pay rent with a credit card is really great, and on top of that, having it impact your credit in a positive way instead of a negative way — which was something I was always nervous about when I paid rent with my credit card — is even better. To me, it’s a great user experience, and it’s the biggest charge I make every month, so seeing a positive impact on my credit would be pretty fantastic.
Were There Any Learning Curves When You Started Using Avail?
No, I actually felt like it was pretty intuitive. I really liked all the email alerts reminding me, like, did I sign up for Autopay or that rent was due, because I can be forgetful. And then I switched to Autopay, which was really simple to do, so I don’t really have any other qualms.
Has Avail Helped the Relationship With Your Landlord?
It’s definitely helped our landlord not get as frustrated with us for forgetting to send our rent in on time, or us having to contact him and saying it’s coming. So in that sense, I’d say it’s helped our relationship with our landlord for sure.
If you’re a tenant and interested in simplifying how you pay rent and communicate with your landlord, sign up for Avail. And if you’re already an Avail user, let us know what you think on our community forum.
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Using Avail to manage your rental properties online can streamline your entire operation, as well as save you a ton of time. Once you’ve successfully created an Avail account and listed your properties, you can share this helpful handout with your potential tenants to show them how Avail works.
New to Avail and want to know how it works from a landlord perspective? Learn more here.
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]]>The post Avail Software Review: Three Primary Benefits appeared first on Avail.
]]>Nate Smoyer, a real estate tech expert at Tech Nest, recently published an episode reviewing Avail.
The review focused on three primary benefits for landlords working with Avail, which Smoyer agreed “helps landlords feel good about their rentals.”
Online Tenant Screening
Smoyer is a rental property owner himself and pointed out a strength of Avail in online tenant screening, focusing on the screening reports and credit reports.
Screening online saves landlords time and helps ensure they only have the right tenants.
Syndication
The review also noted the importance of syndication for rental listings. Avail pushes listings out to a variety of channels making it easy for tenants to find listings.
Payments
As most landlords agree, one of the biggest challenges is collecting rent payments. The review highlights Avail’s online rent collection, noting automating payments is essential for landlords.
This is especially true the further you are away from your properties.
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The online lease signing process is easier than ever. Avail features have streamlined the steps in the leasing process, from approving your applicants to collecting your first month’s rent and security deposit at lease signing.
Let’s walk through some of the features and tools that can help you easily draft an online lease and efficiently communicate with your tenants.
Save and Reuse Your Lease with Lease Cloning
We’ve always allowed you to start with our lease templates and customize them for your personal needs. But when you’re ready to sign new tenants, you usually have to customize the lease all over again.
We’ve eliminated that problem with Avail Lease Cloning — when you’ve tailored your perfect lease, it’ll be there for you next year or for your other units. You can simply clone and sign the cloned lease, which dramatically reduces the time it takes you to sign new tenants.
New Local Assist
Will Help You Build a Local-Specific Lease
Local Assist, a reimagining of our already robust state and city-specific lease templates, is our comprehensive tool to help you navigate the legal and functional aspects of managing a rental property given various local requirements.
Local Assist has been enhanced to provide guidance, advice, and references to legal requirements specific to the state and city that your property is located in. You’ll find Local Assist embedded through our screening and leasing features. Where applicable, Local Assist will provide essential notes and documents, including localized ordinances, lease clauses, disclosures, and attachments.
We understand real estate is a local business that requires localization, which is why we’ve also compiled extensive guides on state landlord-tenant laws. Local Assist is entirely based on your property’s address and exists to make landlording more approachable.
In-App Messaging With Tenants
Use in-app messaging when you need to communicate with your tenants about the lease you’re sending to be signed or when you want to remind them to upload proof of insurance.
Phone calls, voicemails, and texts can be a lot to handle, and hard to officially keep track of. With in-app messaging, you can communicate with your tenants directly in your Avail account. When you’re not online, you’ll be alerted via email if your tenants send you a message.
Transition Tenants More Easily
Once you sign the lease, the process isn’t quite over. There are a lot of things that need to be done before your tenants move in.
You have to collect first month’s rent, move-in fees, and security deposits before handing over the keys. And you’ll need to actually coordinate that key exchange, too. When and where will your tenants pick up the keys?
We’ve laid out several next steps after the lease has been signed to help the transition process from lease signing to tenant move-in. These steps can be completed directly from your account, too, and include:
Collecting the first month’s rent: We’ve seen that its fairly typical to collect first month’s rent and deposits well before the tenant receives the keys to the property. We recommend that these first payments should be received within 7 days of the lease being signed, and no later than move-in.
Coordinate move-in and key exchange: This is something that creeps up on us as landlords, and before we know it, tomorrow is move-in day for a new tenant and we’ve forgotten to figure out when and how we’ll give them the keys. Now you can coordinate this directly in your Avail account.
Receive proof of renters insurance: Our lease templates, by default, require renters insurance. This is so when accidents happen, tenants aren’t coming to you and hoping that your landlord insurance policy will cover their damages (it won’t).
We’ve found that although most leases require renters insurance, only 14% of tenants actually follow through with it, usually because they simply forget. Not anymore.
Help tenants transfer utilities under their names: We’ll help you and your tenants transfer utilities. It starts with reminding tenants which utilities are their responsibility. And then you can provide them the service provider that’s recommended for your home or building.
Receive completed move-in inspection checklist: On move-in day, landlords should have their tenants complete an inspection checklist to mark down any pre-existing damage. At the end of the year, the landlord can look back on that checklist to see what may have been the tenant’s responsibility. When a landlord forgets to do this, move-out and security deposits become a nightmare.
Post-Signing Checklist Will Guide Your Tenants
After signing the lease, your tenants will see a similar list of actionable items as described above, where they can complete all the steps necessary to have a smooth transition into their new home. They’ll be able to:
- Pay first month’s rent
- Coordinate move-in and key exchange
- Provide proof of renters insurance
- Set up utility transfer
- Complete the move-in inspection checklist
These steps will help your tenants complete all the tasks that are typically a requirement for receiving the keys to the property. And as a landlord, you’ll have everything you need to feel comfortable when you do hand over the keys. It’s a win-win for you and your tenants.
Lease Customization and Optional Clauses
Avail offers several lease customization options, including the ability to easily click-and-drag the order of lease clauses and rules.
We also offer a few pre-built lease clauses that you can elect to add to your lease and are popular among our landlords, including:
- Requiring renters insurance before move-in
- Enforcing completion of the inspection checklist within 72 hours of move-in
- Requiring that rent be paid online using Avail
To add any of these additional clauses, all you need to do is select the option and it will automatically be included in your lease.
Improved Integration with Online Rent Collection
As soon as you finalize your lease, you can also set up online rent payments. Our online rent collection tool offers receipts, reminder emails, payment tracking, and autopay for your tenants, all to ensure rent payments are easier for both of you.
Next Steps
If you have more questions about the the online lease process, read our Complete Guide to Rental Leases and get started by setting up your online lease today.
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