Digitizing everything seems to be the direction where most industries are headed. That’s easy to see why: moving some aspects of the operation to digital can solve a lot of long-standing issues when it comes to business operations, and opens up plenty of opportunities to focus on the core aspects of a business that matter.
Real estate and property management aren’t immune to this shift, though it may be a little less apparent given the nature of the industry. However, there are definite areas that are being pushed to (or have already moved) towards the digital realm.
Taxation
One of the trickiest things to wrap your head around when it comes to real estate and the property is taxation. There’s a load of things that can play into the purchase and selling or property, and one of those things is taxes. 1031 tax exchanges and everything else about the internal revenue code can be challenging to deal with, even with agents that are already well-versed in property.
Moving these kinds of concerns to the digital sphere allows for an easy to consult the library of information about these essentials at any time, which can be crucial when you need to move or sell a property quickly. In the future, calculating for tax may be automated with enough development and support.
Property management
Another online development when it comes to real estate is property management. While certain aspects to it will always require human oversight (like personal inspection and contract signing), there are also a couple of processes that can be moved to a digital platform to make it easier.
There are several examples of this in the market today, especially when it comes to the area of tenant-landlord communications. It’s entirely possible to move the usual system of maintenance, complaints or feedback about the unit or the building online, streamlining the communication process between renter and owner.
Search and selling
Finally, networking among real estate agents and customers has never been easier until the dawn of the digital age. It becomes far easier to connect to interested buyers or sellers without being physically in the vicinity, and other matters like inspection can be done with the aid of more advanced technologies like VR.
Digitizing search platforms have also allowed selling to be more flexible in terms of negotiation, as it’s more likely for sellers to trust someone they can easily verify. Some advanced platforms can take everything from credit to criminal history when looking into prospective buyers, and buyers themselves can search the same for both the property and the landlord.
What’s the endpoint here? We can reasonably expect that the continued shift towards the digital will integrate the tech we already have (like smartphones and apps) with other important aspects of property management. Expect significantly decreased processes when it comes to paperwork and more flexibility when it comes to sales.
Real estate embracing the online aspect can have some interesting applications when it comes to both property management and sales — a unique blend of real and digital interaction that promote better efficiency.
