More and more property investors are running their businesses remotely, meaning that they can do all the essential tasks required to bring their money in from anywhere across the world, as long as they have a WiFi connection.
The appeal of working remotely goes without saying, and the importance of taking advantage of what technology can offer you as a property investor cannot be expressed enough. The market has seen countless companies popping up to offer investors and landlords some of the most useful small business apps that iTunes and Android have ever supplied.
Progressive Property has been hard at work, researching and testing out the best apps to help you on a daily basis with your property investment responsibilities. Whether you are seeking out a new property to buy, having a landlord emergency, looking to save money, or simply trying to make your regular tasks just that little bit simpler, we’ve got you covered.
Here are our top 7 property investing apps:
1. Zoopla, PrimeLocation and Rightmove
Let’s start with the obvious: without using Zoopla, Primelocation and Rightmove, how do you expect to find the best properties to add to your portfolio? These highly comprehensive search platforms allow you to apply a wide range of parameters to find the right location, price, size, keywords, etc, and include databases of over 1 million properties combined. They also update regularly and supply information on industry news and legislation.
There is no excuse whatsoever for you not to be using these on a daily basis, regardless of whether you are looking to expand, keeping up with competition, or just staying informed of the industry’s movements.
2. Checkatrade
Find contractors offering their trades for those urgent and not-so-urgent tasks with Checkatrade, which places an emphasis on a tradesperson’s reputation as well as their availability and the prices they charge. Checkatrade involves a rating system, which includes millions of reviews to help you decide if the plumbers, electricians and others who are offering services are to be trusted to do a job well and to turn up when they say they are going to. The app also runs strict background checks on tradespeople before they are accepted as members, including an interview, and the service claims that “no other directory of tradespeople uses this model”.
It’s free, it’s nationwide, and it’s one of the most reliable ways of finding yourself a great tradesperson with confidence.
3. Nest
The Nest app is a fantastic way for landlords to ensure that they are in control of the thermostat in their properties, simultaneously taking care of tenants and feeling confident that the heating is not being abused or over-used. This is of course particularly significant when you as the landlord include the bills in the rent you charge tenants.
Nest uses sensors and algorithms to alert you to when your property becomes too cold or too hot, and enables you to programme the heating to activate on and off at certain times. There is also the possibility of controlling alarms and security cameras, and options to perform safety checks without needing to manually perform them yourself.
4. Rental Yield Calculator
This quick and easy method of calculating your rental yield is supplied in a cheap app that allows you to set out your income and expenses on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, or as a percentage, offering you the opportunity to assess how economically attractive each rental property is.
There is the option to specify a required rent or required yield, as well as cash on cash yield before tax yields. The makers have promised that after-tax yields will be covered in future app upgrades.
With time (and the right updates, perhaps so that you can save multiple properties), this app is likely to grow in popularity and prove useful as a useful small business app for any property investor, be they beginner or expert.
5. Houzz
When it comes to interior design and renovation, some investors have a flair for it, while others haven’t a clue where to start. That’s why Houzz, voted “Best App” in the Google Play Awards 2016, is such a godsend and a fount of fantastic, house-transforming knowledge.
Houzz is an excellent platform for putting together mood boards and gaining ideas from home owners and property experts, architects and interior designers. There is enough variety and HD images on Houzz to inspire you to tailor any property to your individual taste, or to those of your tenants.
Use filters such as style, budget, room type and more to discover your ideal designs, in this service that is a thoroughly helpful app for any small business focusing on properties.
6. The LandlordApp
There have been whispers in some areas of the property investing web suggesting that the LandlordApp is one to keep an eye on. While some have suggested that it would benefit from being a little more user-friendly, there is a wide enough range of features available on this small business app to make investigating further essential for any property investor seeking some handheld technological assistance.
The LandlordApp allows you to maintain huge swathes of essential figures and calculations all from a single location, including keeping a record of tenants who have paid rent and bills, tracking cash flow, keeping track of events in its calendar, and much more.
7. Trussle
Property buying has truly gone digital, and the Trussle app is a powerful online mortgage broker ready to offer you up-to-the-minute opportunities and the ability to complete a mortgage process via your iPhone.
Trussle is a start-up that joined forces with Zoopla last year, building a level of credibility that might have been impossible without it being attached to such a huge name. The app searches more than 11,000 deals from 90 lenders to find you the ideal mortgage.
Or, lastly, you could make your own app…
More and more small property businesses are designing and building their own bespoke apps, to either help the day-to-day running of the company, or to offer their customers the opportunity to interact more closely with them.
As small business app technology continues to move at an ever-quicker pace, it is becoming easier, faster and more financially realistic a premise to have an app built for your company’s unique requirements. There are various tech companies that will deliver such a service, which enable your own business to have a bird’s eye view of all its most important activities, documents and events, offering you the chance for a truly paperless workflow experience as well as many other unique features you may need.
Until you decide to investigate deeper, make sure to take advantage of our top 7 small business apps for property investors!
Which apps do you find most helpful and useful in the running of your property investment and renting business? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook!
