KriyaGo - Blog #tenants

How Real Estate Companies Can Benefit From a Digital Tenant Experience

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

COVID-19 came as a shock to most businesses. Entire industries suffered a lack of demand, while supply chains became more fragile than ever.

Worst of all, many companies had to down their shutters faced by dwindling sales.

However, one thing emerged as a positive factor to make many businesses resilient. The pandemic expedited the digital transformation planned by many companies.

Statistics show businesses across the world increased investment in tech to hasten operational efficiency. In addition, they had to cut costs and even improve customer service.

Real estate was no expectation and felt the need to transform digitally. In fact, 42% of commercial real estate companies plan to increase their tech investment in the next year.

In addition, 14% of companies are going to make their tech budget double, according to Deloitte.

Therefore, real estate agencies are working hard to foster a digital tenant experience. It can be the secret to more deals and longer occupancy rates in a highly cautious market.

Let’s explore how a digital experience for your tenants can help you rise above the water and win the competition.

Personalized Recommendations for More Conversions

Most of us are used to shopping online. So, you must have seen how various eCommerce portals like Amazon recommend you the best products. It takes into account your past purchases, Google searches, websites you visit, and more to make personalized recommendations.

A similar technology helps YouTube recommend songs you may like. It uses several factors like songs you listen to and recent history to make the recommendations.

Needless to say, such tailored suggestions are highly favored by users. In fact, 61% of people want brands to personalize experiences based on their preferences.

As a result, real estate agencies can use the same technology to recommend spaces to potential tenants. It will take different factors like demographics, income, and more to suggest the right products.

Best of all, the data for making this possible already exists with real estate agencies in their ERPs and CRMs.

Maybe they just need to integrate their tools to derive meaningful insights.

Ensure Safety and Health of Tenants

COVID-19 has brought with it a range of requirements for real estate businesses. They have to be more proactive to control the spread of the virus in their properties. In addition, they need to prove to the tenant their seriousness in fostering a safe and sanitized environment.

It is high time for real estate agencies to adapt and listen. Otherwise, they risk losing customers, as 81% of business leaders want to change their workplace safety requirements to deal with COVID.

Fortunately, technology can help property managers ensure the safety of the occupants. For example, they can use a mobile app where tenants can check if the restroom is free or not.

It will prevent crowding in front of the restroom and ensure physical distancing.

In addition, the mobile app can provide data on the latest sanitization drives to boost the confidence of the tenants.

A lot can be done with the culmination of a few technologies like IoT and mobile apps. And as per Deloitte, these two are the best choice to improve front-end tenant experiences.

Provide Tenant Self-Service

Technology has changed how customers interact with businesses. They are not ready to wait at the end of the line for 10 minutes as you play them a boring old tune.

Instead, customers, today prefer speed. They want to use the internet and mobiles to get replies to their queries and request services immediately.

The need is more prominent among millennials who grew up surrounded by technology.

As a result, 40% of consumers prefer self-service compared to human interaction. In addition, 70% of people want a business website to come with a self-service application.

Real estate agencies can cash in on this trend by offering a tenant self-service portal. It will allow your occupants to perform vital tasks without leaving their couches, like:

Submit service requests

Pay rent and charges
Manage their account
View and download financial reports and bills
Get notifications and alerts

A self-service portal can boost your tenant experience instantly. Additionally, it can free up valuable hours for your employees, streamline workflow, and even cut costs.

Engage Tenants Better than Ever

Technology can bring endless possibilities to engage your tenants. This can be a vital strategy to hold on to your occupants, even if they are away from their offices.

A range of technologies can help you engage your tenants better. From mobile apps to virtual reality (VR), you can create unique digital experiences using different technologies to stand out.

The practice is more common than you think and already bringing massive returns. For example, Mixc mall in Shanghai is engaging shoppers with VR-based 360-degree tours of their building. Buyers can tour the mall and visit stores, just like in real life.

In addition, they can browse the shelves and select products to buy. This strategy worked amazingly well for the mall over Valentine’s Day week and generated $71,000 in sales.

Real estate agencies can think of similar approaches to engage tenants. For example, senior homes can provide resources to ensure the well-being of the tenants using mobile apps.

In addition, property managers can conduct competitions or even meditation classes to facilitate virtual engagement.

Other Unmatched Digital Tenant Experiences with KriyaGo

Real estate agencies need to work with an adept partner to excel at digital tenant experiences. KriyaGo can go a long way to help you choose and implement the right technologies for your needs. Our experience in real estate and exposure to different verticals makes us the leading choice for digital transformations.

In addition, we can integrate your existing tools to drive meaningful insights. You can develop fitting tenant experiences based on your insights for more success.

Final Thoughts

Tenant experience technology is the latest trend to generate awesome returns. It can help you engage your tenants and provide stellar service. In addition, you can lower your costs and make your operations more efficient. Best of all, you can improve your retention rates and revenues without exception.

7 Clauses You Must Have In Your Lease Agreement

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 12:37:03 -0500

If you're planning to lease out your property, you may have to consider getting a lease agreement prepared before looking for tenants. Lease agreements are written documents to safeguard your property from damages or any legal issues with the Tenant. All the clauses mentioned in this agreement should be crystal clear and easily understood by potential tenants to avoid confusion.

Every lease agreement will be different depending on several factors such as property type, area, state laws, and more. However, some clauses are common in all the lease agreements that are a must-have. Let's take a look at each of them here.

7 Must-have clauses in your lease agreement 

Preparing a lease agreement can be a daunting task, but here are the seven clauses that you must have in your contract before leasing your property to tenants. Knowing what to include can ease the process and cut down the time required to write your agreement. Here are the seven clauses to include in your contract.

1. Security deposit terms

As the name hints, security deposits are promises made by the tenants to keep your property secure and cover-up for damages done by the tenants. As a property owner, it's important to add this clause in your lease agreement to reduce your liability in case of any events. Here are some of the things to add to this section:

The exact amount that should be deposited. 
The interest rate and the way you store the deposit
Add how you return the deposit amount

You should also specify the reasons in case of deducting the amount

2. Maintenance and repair clause

Maintaining your properties is crucial, and it's an ongoing process. As a landlord, you will be responsible for recurring maintenance such as gardening and plumbing. Specify that in your lease agreement and also the steps to place maintenance requests when the need arises.

Adding this to your lease agreement can reduce the chances of huge damages to your property and ensure all the maintenance requests are placed and inspected on time. Ensure you mention every detail clearly in legal jargon and simple words so that it's easily understood by the tenants to avoid misunderstanding.

3. Rent payment clause

It is a must-have in any lease agreement. You should add the entire lease amount along with the rent charges every month and the due date in your contract. 

The Tenant agrees to deposit $xxxx as security and agrees to pay $10,000 rent to be paid like $833 per month due on the 5th of each month. A grace period of 5 days is allowed, but payment after the 10th of each month will result in additional charges, and the Tenant must pay $30 as an extra for every late payment. Upon signing this agreement, the Tenant agrees to comply with these terms.

4. Duration of the lease

Having a well-worded written document and getting it signed is one of the most crucial steps before leasing your property to tenants. You need to specify the duration of the lease along with the due date. It's also important to add the notice period. It goes something like the example below:

"The lease on the property begins on March 10, 2021, and ends on March 31, 2022."

5. Renewal clauses and other responsibilities

One of the must-haves in your lease agreements is the lease renewal clause. It's important mainly because if the tenants choose to stay after the set period, it's important that they notify you regarding the same.

If they decide to leave the property, tenants should inform you a month or two in advance, so it's easy for you to fill the vacancy during the time. Specify the renewal terms, and for new lease agreements, KriyaGo can help you do just that. We help you automatically renew lease agreements to ease the process. 

6. Restriction and breakage clauses

You need to write whether pets are allowed or not and regarding any such restrictions in this step. Some landlords have a strict no pet policy, conditions on excessive noise in and around the property, and many more. If there are any such restrictions, you need to add them to your lease agreement as it prevents covering up damages done by pets.

It also prevents disturbing the neighborhood with loud noises or pet litter on your property. You should also include breakage clauses in the agreement to avoid paying more for damages done by the tenants on your property. It clears any misunderstanding by having a legal written document signed by both parties. 

7. Termination clauses

As the property owner, you have the right to terminate the Tenant during the term. In case of any damages or misconduct, you can notify your Tenant to leave your property, so it's always better to have an agreement signed. Termination clauses specify certain conditions under which the Tenant can be terminated.

Finally, make sure all your property and tenant details are mentioned and that the Tenant has read the whole agreement before proceeding to the next step. It’s important that you do a thorough background check and Here's an example of what can be written at the end of your lease agreement:

By signing this, the Tenant agrees to have fully read, understood, and adhere to the terms and conditions mentioned in this lease agreement.

Create your Lease Agreement with KriyaGo

If you're having difficulty creating a lease agreement or lease abstraction for your real estate business, let KriyaGo do it for you! We can also customize property management software for your business, prepare lease abstractions, back-office accounting, and a lot more.

Our team of experts will help you find the best solution for your property business and ensure a smooth flow of processes, right from hiring tenants to creating automatic lease agreements for you. To know more about it, talk to our team of experts today!

References

Top 9 Best Practices For CAM Reconciliation

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -0400

Common Area Maintenance (CAM) reconciliation sounds simple. Just add up all common area expenses and divide them among all the tenants. But in reality, it is a complex and time-consuming process.

You might miss certain expenses or end up overcharging your tenants. Additionally, any error in CAM reconciliations has a negative impact on property management. You can’t miss out on having a thorough reconciliation process.

While the task is tedious, our list of best practices helps make your CAM reconciliation more accurate.

Impact of a good CAM reconciliation process

The money recovered from CAM reconciliations is used to operate and maintain common areas. An accurate CAM reconciliation process has various benefits other than just a financial boost.

Better tenant relationship

A transparent and timely reconciliation makes tenants trust you more. They will also be motivated to pay rent on time and also be responsible for maintenance. If the tenants are kept in the loop of the process, it leads to fewer CAM-related disputes. Through a good CAM reconciliation, you can build a better brand image and also get more referrals from trusting clients.

Be ahead of competitors

With around 2 million real estate agents in the US alone, the industry has become very competitive. To stand out, property managers need to provide additional amenities to tenants. Having control over the CAM expenses can help cover the costs of such amenities and also improve your brand image.

Negotiate leases

Lease negotiations need to be profitable for both the property manager and the tenants. A good CAM reconciliation process covers all property management costs while also giving tenants the best amenities.

Tips for CAM reconciliation

Common area maintenance expenses usually include:

Repairs and maintenance expenses
HVAC and other utilities
Property tax and other fees

Salary of property staff such as janitors and security services.
Cost of new amenities

To cover these costs and fairly divide them among your tenants, you need to follow these tips for CAM reconciliation.

Budget for your CAM

A CAM reconciliation starts with budgeting. One of the best ways to get a budget estimate is to look at the previous year's reconciliations. Or, if your property is new, you can also do a thorough expense review. This step is essential to avoid missing any expenses. If you detect any errors after submitting the report, then changing it would be difficult.

Apart from the usual expenses, your CAM reconciliation should also include pro-rata shares that have changed during the term.

Calculate your occupancy

One of the typical mistakes in CAM reconciliations is calculating the expenses by considering 100% occupancy. Some costs like security services and amenities might not change depending on the number of tenants.

But others like water, electricity, and janitorial services will vary with occupancy. You need to also consider the number of days a tenant has stayed on your property. Consider a tenant who has signed the lease in March. It would be unfair if they had to pay expenses for the whole year. In this case, you need to exclude the first two months of the year for that tenant's expenses.

Document all changes

It is not uncommon for property managers to exclude minor repairs and maintenance from their CAM reconciliations. But eventually, these charges add up as discrepancies in your final report. To avoid this, document every change you have made to the properties, and add this to your CAM reconciliation.

Include property management fees

Tenants are also liable to pay a monthly fee to their property manager. Depending on the number of units, property managers can charge anywhere between 4% to 12% of the monthly rent.

Ensure timely invoices

If you want to ensure you are paid on time, then you also need to send timely invoices to tenants. Your invoices should reflect the various expenses to ensure transparency. Make sure that you follow up and collect the fees within the due date. Timely payments make reconciliations easier and help avoid discrepancies.

Obtain all third-party information

Third-party information like bills from insurance and janitorial service providers and reports from utility companies are all required to make the CAM reconciliation more accurate. Obtain any such information to make sure your reconciliation process can finish on time. Keep track of all missing information as it is easy to miss something small, especially if you handle multiple properties.

Review the reconciliation

Verifying your ledger can be time-consuming. But it is also crucial to avoid any errors in the reconciliation. You can start by comparing your reconciliation report to the previous year's reports. This highlights any major mistakes, especially if the costs have a drastic difference.

Next, you also need to check if the details mentioned in the reconciliations reflect in the actual leases. Make sure you are not charging the tenant something, not on the lease.

Also, check for any missing entries or unpaid invoices from tenants and vendors.

Use property management software

Property management software has many features you can use to make CAM reconciliations easier. You can keep track of the expenses, save invoices and payment details, and communicate with your tenants.

For example, Yardi Breeze has specific tools to help with CAM reconciliations. It allows you to set up tenant details for all properties and create payables for the same. It also lets you run a reconciliation by creating balancing sheets for each property. You can reach out to a Yardi consultant to know more about its features.

Outsource your CAM reconciliation

As a property manager, you will have many tasks that require your attention. If you cannot handle CAM reconciliations or want an expert to take care of them, you can reach out to an outsourcing company.

Simplify CAM reconciliation with Assetsoft

CAM reconciliations have little room for error. At Assetsoft, we help clients simplify their CAM reconciliation processes. Our team of experts understands the legal and functional aspects of common area maintenance.

By outsourcing your CAM reconciliations to us, you can maintain common areas better while also reducing the overall fee. With platforms like Yardi and MRI, we make sure that the reconciliations are justified and the expenses are fairly divided.

To outsource your leasing processes, reach out to Assetsoft!