Technology finally taking off in the buy-to-let market
It has been well documented that the lettings industry has not been one to accept technological advancements and tends not to embrace change with open arms. However, we are now in the midst of a mini revolution within an industry that has at times been reluctant to accept new working practises.
The property market, in particular buy-to-let is now catching up with other sectors and technology is actively involved in improving existing work processes. We are now starting to see letting agents, property management companies and landlords accepting the role of technology and recognising how it stands to improve their business – an almost inconceivable progression from when the digital inventory platform launched last year.
So how does technology help?
Technology brings a certain science to the inventory process, for example, following a more organized methodology enables you to ensure deposit scheme compliance and avoid disputes. What’s more, it ensures repeatable, reliable and secure data collection, provides comprehensive inventory information and allows your company to individually brand the report to your liking. The paper-based approach is much maligned and has often been criticised for not being robust enough to uphold a case in court (as the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has recently highlighted), and now there are viable alternatives available to businesses looking for more rigorous reporting.
Digitizing existing work practices has been proven to save time and money, and inventory reporting is no exception. Using technology for the inventory process is a more efficient model all-round, and confines the traditional paper-based approach to the recycling bin.
By automating the inventory process, it frees up time to invest in more strategic activity, ultimately growing your business. Technology can also improve client services, speed up the entire reporting process, improve productivity, and reinforce build your brand.
What this means for the futureThere are a multitude of challenges in the current inventory process which include multiple inspectors, compiling reports, maintaining records, transparency to name but a few. Embracing new technologies mean most of the mundane tasks associated with producing multiple property inspections are automatically computerised, freeing up the users time for other tasks.
There are also a number of challenges for businesses to consider when implementing new practises like staff training, consistency, reliability and data accessibility. Ease of use must go hand in with adoption in order to ensure success and it is a testament to the technology if the user is able to pick up and use new programmes with minimum disruption or training.
With both landlord and letting agent working together towards the same key goals and objectives in the inventory process, technology can help the industry. So whether that’s deposit scheme compliance, avoiding disputes or dispute resolution (should it come down to it), reliable data collection and comprehensive inventory reporting means that vital information is freely accessible. The role of technology is to help the user through the process; giving the revolution the best possible chance of long-term success.
