4 Unorthodox Ways to Use Property Management Software
When it comes to property management software, your imagination might be more useful than you think.
Getting creative with your tools in any business is a great way to increase revenue and broaden your scope of influence. A creative mind combined with entrepreneurial thinking is a recipe for success.
For example, many users of free property management software have found their platform useful outside of managing property. If you can imagine another use for your software, there’s a good chance you can enact it. Thinking outside the box is a great way to stretch your creative muscles and find an enterprising new use for the tools available.
Read on to learn about five unorthodox ways to use property management software.
- Storage Units
Whether or not you already rent housing to tenants, you might find yourself with vacancies or spaces unsuitable for living. Maybe you have a few properties in inconvenient spaces or with awkward shapes or sizes for living. You might also own garages, sheds, or unfinished basements. Transforming these spaces into storage units is a creative way to solve vacancy and increase revenue.
If you rent to tenants, it’s a good idea to keep your tenants and storage clients separate. That is, don’t rent storage space to tenants. This guideline helps avoid conflict between pre-existing tenants and storage space renters.
If you want to rent storage units, it’s easy to adapt property management software to this purpose. After all, you already own the space. You will, however, need to read up on laws pertaining to non-dwelling units and ensure you’re compliant.
Once your spaces are up to code, you can prepare a contract in much the same way you’d prepare a lease. You can also set up a security deposit for renters on your property management software, as well as collect monthly rent.
- Parking
Renting out parking space works similarly to renting storage units. Both spaces are considered non-dwelling units, which means the laws for renting are alike.
Many people, especially commuters, value a convenient parking space. If yours is located in a convenient location for workers or visitors, consider advertising it for rent. Clients will be attracted to a cheap, advantageous parking option if it’s safer and closer than a parking garage or street parking.
If you have parking spaces you’d like to monetize, it’s easy to do so with property management software. Instead of tenants, you’ll have clients who rent your parking space by the month or a specified term. Write a contract, send it to clients on the software, and collect online payments when rent is due.
- Boat Docking
Do you own a dock or lot for vehicle parking? If so, you might consider monetizing this space. You can generate revenue by allowing clients to dock their boats, water equipment, or other vehicles on your property for a monthly fee.
Like parking, this idea is easy to implement on property management software. Instead of individual units, you’ll manage the docking area as one property with multiple renters. Write up your contract, have clients eSign with the software, and start collecting rent.
- Other Rental Spaces
Opportunities to innovate with your property management software are endless. If you own any other rental space (salon chairs, flea/farmer’s market booths, etc.), property management software may be good tool to manage your rentals.
However, make sure you do your research before committing to a platform. Some platforms are more flexible than others, while some might not be able to accommodate your needs at all. For example, a software platform with strict unit-based rent pricing may not be as useful for renting individual spaces.
If you know your platform is flexible (or plan to use one that is), you should have minimal difficulties setting up your new rental management system.
Get Creative with Property Management Software
Just because property management software is designed for landlords, you shouldn’t let this limit your imagination. If you have an idea for monetizing another asset, property management software might be your tool to achieve it.