Work, career, business, travel, and leisure: It sounds like they are all impossible to juggle together. While it is true that you have to be very present in your business, there is a way around this predicament. Owning a business shouldn’t tie you to it. It should be easier to be a business owner than an employee. If an employee gets a chance to travel for leisure owning to the vacation leaves allowed to them, why can’t a business owner do the same?
Thanks to technology, you can now take care of your real estate business while traveling the world or pursuing other interests. If there is one thing you should’ve learned from the pandemic, it is the importance of spending time on things and people that matter to you. While money and business are important elements of life, they are not the be-all and end-all of your contentment. Use technology to solve your predicament and use the extra time you have to do things that bring you great joy.
Hire an Assistant
You may not want to pay someone to do what you think you could do by yourself. But what happens if you want to leave for a week or two to enjoy the fruits of your labor? Who is going to look over the real estate business? An assistant—even a part-time assistant—can help manage the business. You can leave the business to your assistant and not have to worry about a thing as you are sipping coffee with the Eiffel Tower before you.
Leave the assistant authority to settle your dues, too. Forgetting about your apartment mortgage is the worst thing you can do. Ensure that it is clear to the assistant that the priority is to pay whatever fees you owe the bank. That being said, you can check out the due dates and make arrangements ahead of time using the bank’s mobile app, too.
Use Technology
Install security cameras in your apartment building. The cameras can be linked to an account that you can access remotely. This way, no matter where you go, there’s a way for you to check what’s happening on your property. You can also use a smart system that can check the locks, lights, and sound systems. You can still be in full control of your property regardless of where you are. As long as there’s an internet connection, there’s a way to monitor the situation.
Have you heard of virtual reality (VR)? To advertise your property, you can use a combination of VR, augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (ER). This way, you can tour potential tenants around the property even if you and they are not physically present.
Build a Community
If you have several tenants, it’s always better to create a community for them. A Facebook group or Messenger thread can help systematize the relationship. This way, they can also air their grievances directly to you or the community as a whole. In every relationship, communication and transparency are key. The more you give them space to vent out, the easier it is to solve problems in the property.
Even when you are away, you can continue discussing with your tenants any concerns they have. Always be reachable to them (unless you are climbing Mount Everest, obviously). If you need to be away for an extended period, always leave them instructions and appoint a person to answer their needs.
Continue Networking
If you do not have a vacancy in your property, does it mean you will stop networking already? What if one of the tenants decides to leave? Where are you going to find someone to take that place? Loss of income because of contracts ending is a huge waste of resources. Even when you do not have space to offer, always be present in networking events. Continue being active in Facebook groups and threads because you never know when you might need to advertise a vacant unit once more.
Generate Leads From Tenants
Where can you best generate leads? From your present tenants. They usually have friends looking for an apartment, or if you are running a commercial building, they might have friends in the industry who need to rent a unit for business. They are the best sources of leads if you need to lease or rent out a unit. Make sure to ask them for referrals and offer them a discount on their rent if they can successfully recommend a tenant.
You have to be committed to making the setup work for you. The first thing on your list is to maximize technology and all of its powers to make it possible for you to travel and run a real estate business at the same time. Everything is possible if you work enough to find ways.
