Does it make any Sense to sell a Property in these times?

It’s perfectly alright to sell a property during these unsettling times prevailing in the country. And surprisingly, experts say that it will not affect anything in case if you buy or sell a property in spite of the ongoing pandemic.

Property Management Companies by your side during these times will help you in improving the state of your business for the better either during or post the pandemic. The Property Management Consultant is an added advantage while you are trying to boost up the sales.

The unsettling times open ways for many opportunities but just that it’s a little difficult to see them when you are in much of strangulation.

Reasons why it is okay to Sell a Property during the Pandemic

Here, we will take you through the reasons why we say that selling or buying properties are completely normal and also beneficial during these unsettling times.

1. Potential Audience is easy to spot
2. No more competition
3. Virtual tours
4. Can avail the best deal
5. Low-interest rates

1. Potential Audience is easy to spot

You can easily spot your potential audience. Only the customers who already have the ready cash will look for properties to buy. The pandemic has made way for serious buyers. You spot them, you lock them with a deal.

2. No more competition

When your competitors are in a mute mode, it is the best time to show your presence. It attracts the buyers to check you out.

3. Virtual tours

Since it is not safe to travel, doing virtual tours is one great thing to employ.

Did you know? There are online auctions happening everywhere. Should I say that the new era for the real estate sector is born? And in this new era, Property Management Applications acts as a platform to help the real estate owners market their properties to a larger set of audience. since managing your property virtually with the help of the Property Management Application is going to be the new normal, kick start it now!

4. Can avail the best deal

This is one of the best times you can seal the deal for the properties you have been looking for a long time. There is only one market where you can sell a property and buy the properties and this situation makes it easier for you to bargain and get the best price. With Property Management Companies on your side, you can crack the deal at the best price possible.

5. Low-interest rates

The Interest rates are relatively low. The buyers out there would want to get the deal in the lowest rates possible and right now they could be looking at your property.

The sales have dropped to a greater level but haven’t stopped completely.  You just need to employ new techniques the situation demands you right now. At this time having a Property Management Consultant will benefit you the most, by keeping the current pandemic situation in mind to boost sales.

Truth be told, the situation as you see is definitely not favorable for the people who sell the property however, with little innovation and a different approach, you can still keep the graph going.

What are the factors you should keep in mind before selling a property?

If you are planning to sell a property, it may not be the right time. But if you still want to make a sale, the best approach will be contacting a Property Management Company to help you with sell a property.

Either that or you can take your property online by the use of the Property Management Applications available.

With the outbreak putting many people at home, you need to employ techniques that ease the pressure of the customers buying a property.

Factors to keep in mind before selling a Property:

You will be expected to undergo research before selling a property, factors to check would be,

1. Do not overprice
2. Enable access to the virtual tours of the property
3. Assess the customer
4. Conduct Property Inspections
5. First Impression counts
6. Do you have access to a Property Management Consultant?

These are some of the factors you should keep in mind before selling a property to a customer. We will brief you on the above-mentioned factors to help you understand better.

1. Do not overprice

This is one of the most unsettling times we must have ever faced. So be considerate of your customers. Never overprice the property and take advantage of the situation of your customer.

2. Enable access to the virtual tours of the property

While you can’t organize a direct visit to the property. You can offer your customers a virtual tour of your property. You can upload videos of the property and can involve 3d to have a better look at your property. In this stage, you can leave this work to a Property Management Company, they will manage the customers and provide the customers with the required details and seal this deal for you.

3. Assess the customer

Before all this, you should assess your customer if they already have the finances ready.

4. Conduct Property Inspections

You should conduct property inspections where a property inspector will check for the quality of the property, the property’s interiors, plumbing, paint, textures, etc., and provide a written report. This is a very important step if you are selling a property and if permitted a property management company can do all that for you, and you will not even have to step out of your house and worry about anything.

5. First Impression counts

The first impression is all that matters. Make sure to impress your customers the moment they see your property. Paint it. Do interiors. Keep many open areas like gardens and balconies.

6. Do you have access to a Property Management Consultant?

A very important part. If you already have teamed up with a Property Management Company or a Property Management Consultant it is fine.

But if you haven’t yet, please rope a Property Management Company as the acting owner or agent for your property.

CLOSING POINTS:

While it’s still not safe to sell a property, you can employ Property Management Applications to get your property the desired exposure online.

There are some reputed online Property Management Companies in Bangalore such as Ownerstown who are in the business of real estate for a really long time. These Property Management Portals will help you with the two-way service.

“Check Ownerstown/Property Management company today to have one less thing to worry about.”

How will Real Estate Start Recovery after COVID-19 in India

Ever since the Coronavirus outbreak started, the country has been brought into its nationwide lockdown. The national lockdown is mainly imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus where the pandemic has shocked each and every business in India, barring most of the essential services.

Real estate is one such business that got hit badly due to the pandemic. Also, the dimensions of the effect are unknown. This makes it even more difficult for the real estate owners to predict the damages that this pandemic is going to rest at their door.

Some real estate owners hire a Property Management Company to untangle the issues and foresee the problems that may come their way.

The Coronavirus Pandemic - an opportunity?

With every problem comes an opportunity.

Clearly, this is a very tough time but, in this phase, you can focus on the funds, and luckily you also have enormous time now. Besides, this is also a good opportunity for real estate holders in India. The crisis began not today, it’s been hitting the real estate sector for like a year now with various factors.

However, the prices of the properties are likely to go high irrespective of the current situation due to the pandemic.

Effects of Covid19 on the Real Estate Sector

It has not been a great time for the Real Estate Industry since the complete nation went under lockdown with severe restrictions in March due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus.

The most important factors of the Real Estate sector are as follows,

●     Manpower

●     Funds

●     Demand

Real Estate is said to be one of the sectors where the demand for manpower is high. The main problem that the real estate sector foresees is that there would be no manpower. Initially, the workers would have started working for the company under a contract, now that there is no work, there is no money for them to even feed themselves. So, the workers have started going back to their hometowns in large amounts. It’s going to be very difficult to pull the workers back again.

Even the well-funded projects are facing delays due to the absence of liquidity. There are around 4.66 Lakh units across India that are yet to be completed will face severe delays. If you think about the current situation, new launches may also face a severe hit and witness delays. The demand has got slightly reduced over time. In times of these crises, a Property Management Company is one of the much-needed supports to fight back the problems that you already have and the problems that are yet to come.

Is recovery going to be difficult for Real Estate post Covid-19?

As we all know that the Real Estate Industry is one of the most affected sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic is still on its roll and we have no idea when is this even going to come to an end.

The effect of Covid-19 may stand still and may take years together for recovery, they say. Also, this could also be a part of us now and can be called the “new normal”. The Real Estate Industry should foresee the problems and invent innovative and productive techniques to overcome the crisis. At least enough to meet with the new requirements. Since the real estate sector needs new ways to cope up with the prevailing situation, a Property Management Company is expected to come up with new techniques to improve the situation of the real estate owners. 

Employing a Property Management Application is considered wise during this situation. 

You must have understood from the points mentioned above that the recovery is going to be a lot more difficult than you thought it would be. 

In order to protect you from the potholes ahead on the road, guidance from the Property Management Consultants are very important. Professional Consultants are totally aware of the current situation and are already helping many property owners with their properties. This makes it easier for them to assess the current situation and give you the desired solution for the safety of the property.

The imbalance during the pandemic is very likely to drive the potential buyers to go for nearly completed properties and not during the new launch, this won’t apply for the brands they trust. As already insisted, the real estate industry would need to work out and come up with new ways to effectively deal with the emerging requirements to sustain itself.

However, new launches will not come to a halt, but will definitely slowdown in the recovery state of the pandemic for a while. It is said that the demand for all the property in all the stages is going to be there and can see an increase over time. But somehow, the product and the factors that excite the potential audience shall be different from what we have today, for instance, if you are a buyer and you want to buy a property post the COVID pandemic, what will you check for? You will see if there are enough facilities for a person or a family, like open areas, recreation spaces, and also you will see if your property is at a considerable distance from the significant other property.  

As mentioned earlier, there could be a rise in requirements of the larger personal spacing and more open areas like balconies, this will push up the sales of new unit areas. 

In the same way for a residential space, the need for social distancing demands in redesigning the cubicles and workstations. Moreover, centralized air conditioning will also require technological interventions to curb the spread of viruses. In days ahead, there should be the need for the avoidance of touch controls for lifts, lights, etc., and regularise using voice-activated controls. 

The current real estate condition with a large number of delayed and unfinished houses makes the buyers go towards nearly completed projects, which will demand the builders to pool in much larger investments into their projects. Making ways for these increased investments would create an additional financial burden, which will require completing the projects in a very short time possible for them to sell their properties to the buyers in order to generate resources. Such cases can be dealt easily with the Property Management portals and release you from all the lead generation stress.

You can lessen the construction time if you start using construction technologies. The technologies for modular construction are already in use to some extent, but post-Covid this could become the new normal. 

The use of Property Management Applications could see an increased hike in terms of usage. The surge in the requirement of quality for the customers of today also requires industrialized construction in a big way. The ongoing COVID pandemic would definitely play a major role in the improved usage of Property Management Applications. 

CLOSING POINTS:

We have no idea as to when this pandemic is going to see it’s ending. But there is a hope that this will change the real estate sector for the better. This should be considered as the chance to reinvent techniques used by the Real Estate Industries all these years. This recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic may take months together and when it recovers, it employs new techniques and technologies and would also witness a hike in the sales thereby increasing the need for Property Management Companies and Property Management Applications.

To pay rent, or not? Top 5 ways to handle Tenant-landlord conflict during coronavirus outbreak

The worst time for all of us. Mainly to the renters out there who are struggling to bring food on their plate amidst the pandemic.

If you are a renter and you still think you can pay the rent and the income is normal as ever, you should pay the rent. But these unprecedented situations have affected the relationships too. Be it internal or social. Because the problem here is money! It will just get ugly and ugly if the conflict keeps on happening.

The best suggestion would be to take advice from a Property Management Company over the issue you are facing if you are a Landlord. Since landlords play the most part, it will be great if they get to know what is actually happening around them and what the Professional Consultants suggest.

What do you think, To pay rent or not?

If you are subjected to pay rent, then you should. You can request your landlord for a concession or reduction in the rent amount or wavering it until the situation gets back to normal.

But, it’s completely the decision of the landlord and you can’t do anything about it. And still, the landlords are surprisingly supportive for many renters, however, there is an exception.  Certain landlords can’t just be cool about it, there will be the problem of liquidity. So, if you could, please just pay the rent off. The landlords are equally damaged in a situation like this.

Having a Property Management Company or Consultancy can be very helpful in this situation. You can stay rest assured and they will take care of it.

To be on point, this pandemic situation is beyond anyone’s control, and the lockdown rules and the orders just add the pain. Facing reality, this is the time the banks have given us extra time to pay off the debts but the interest they impose on you is the ultimate use of the untimely pandemic.

Don’t you think this calls for someone who’s actually better at managing the property and can give us guidance? To put it straight, the Property Management Consultants are a straight away rescuer for you from all your property-related issues.

So, the bottom line is, if you could just afford to pay the rent, please pay them off! It later will add a burden to you!

Here are the things that a Landlord can do to ease the pain of a renter,

• Reduction in the rent.
• Wavering off the rents for a while
• Be there for each other
• Make sure to help a renter and don’t evict one because of the situation that is caused by the pandemic
• Relax the lease

I’m again stressing it out, while the landlords take risks to do all of these things for you, the renter, you should help them out too. You can pay the rent in divided amounts or be supportive otherwise. We can tell you some ways to handle landlord-tenant conflict during the Coronavirus outbreak.

However, the government and the other media houses are concentrating on the problems faced by the tenants and the landlord’s problems are just pushed aside.

Truth be told, the landlords are not just taken into consideration. So landlords are left with no option than to get adjusted to the situation whatever it is.

The tenant is also not at fault, after all.

A Property Management Company in Bangalore could deal with this problem, if and only if, the property of the landlord is under their maintenance. So, if you don’t have one, then it’s the right time to approach them.

The tenants will have a problem in the flow of the cash and rent becomes harder to pay so you may just have a word with the tenant as a landlord so that you can sort it out and not have a conflict. Unpopular opinion, you can make use of the property Management Applications designed by the Property Management Companies to help you.

Top 5 ways to handle landlord Tenant conflict during Coronavirus outbreak

Landlords who will be able to afford a total or partial wavering of rent may want to consider offering such steps since you can modify some things from the existing lease agreement.

Some modifications to handle the conflict between the landlord and the tenant may include,

1. Extension of the terms
2. Loosening some agreements from the lease
3. Reduction in the rent
4. Bring in a Property Management Company
5. Be a good negotiator

Let’s see how these modifications work and refrain problems from happening between the landlord and the tenant.

1.Extension of the terms

The best and the easiest way to contain the conflict from happening is that you can just extend the terms in the rental agreement. This could be a little difficult. But you have no other go. You must go past this situation without getting crushed. A Property Management Consultant will tell you how to do it without losing control over your property.

2. Loosening some agreements from the lease

You can go on to free some agreements from the lease since everyone is facing a difficult time.

3. Reduction in the rent

How about reducing some amount from the rent and just get off with the situation? Because the ultimate problem of a renter is to find funds for the rent during this pandemic. So if you could just consider it and reduce some, half of the problems would be gone. You may get a piece of productive advice on this issue from a Property Management Consultant about the percentage of the rent you can reduce. The Property Management Consultant being a professional can help you check the background of the tenant and suggest to you the percentage of waiver you can push on rent.

4. Bring in a Property Management Company

This is the best time to bring in a Property Management Company so that they can take charge of the properties. When they take charge of your properties, all the decisions and regulations regarding the property will reach the renter through the Property Management Company, themselves and it’s by far the best method to escape from the conflict with your tenant.

5. Be a good negotiator

If your tenant wants to start the negotiation about the rent, be considerate. You should be a good negotiator also the condition outside is worse, you can’t evict your tenant as well. So, try to get the best deal. Or leave it to the Property Management Consultant, your work here is done!

CLOSING POINTS:


These are some of the most effective ways to handle the landlord and tenant problems during this lockdown. Make sure to apply all of these. At least one or two of this so that you don’t have to involve yourself in a conflict. The best way is to make way for a Property Management Company to do its job. We hope you find this blog helpful.

How to Have a Fantastic Property Management During Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt to normal life, disturbing the way we used to live, and the way we conduct our businesses. These times are challenging particularly for landlords who are moving heaven and Earth to keep their properties and tenants safe from the virus. Many businesses have either temporarily shut down or have gone online to curb the spread of the virus. Important life events have been postponed and the entire world has come to a standstill.

The insufficiency in operations hasn't however stopped for landlords as their properties will need plenty of assistance from maintenance to repairs and regular housekeeping. Property management, on its own, has become a daunting task. At OwnersTown, we've come up with several Property Management tips that can help you manage your rental properties effectively as the COVID-19 rages on.

Tips To Be Better At Property Management During The COVID-19 Crisis

Communicate Virtually

It is necessary to practice social distancing to prevent infection and this makes tenant communication difficult. You will need to cut down on physical interactions with your tenants and switch to virtual interactions. Depend on phone calls and messaging platforms to converse with your tenants and if necessary, use video calls. If you need to address more than one tenant, think of a Smart Property Management Application that can help you to contact everyone simultaneously.

The popular blog, Psychology Today, states that video calling could be comforting to your tenants as they will get to see a familiar face and also that it’s more effective than voice calls, especially if you have older tenants. So, look into Zoom Duo, FaceTime, or even WhatsApp and connect with your tenants over video calls to address them of any updates or to simply check in on them.

Try Virtual Building Inspections

If you have an inspection coming up or if one of your tenants raises a maintenance ticket that will need an inspection, consider doing a virtual inspection. Firstly, ask your tenants to send photos via WhatsApp or email so that you can share it with your contractor. 

If you feel closer, real-time inspection is needed, use Zoom or Google Duo to organize a video call so that your tenants can show the affected or unaffected areas for you and your contractor to observe. With video calling, your contractor can also enquirer about things that may arise during the inspection. 

Show Mutual Understanding in Rent Collections

A majority of tenants – in most cities and towns - still pay rent by cash. This entails physical collection of rent which you must at all costs avoid. Suggest your tenants move to a digital form of payment to prevent both of you from getting sick. Be it internet banking or digital wallets, the options to pay rent are endless. Ask your tenant to transfer their monthly rent via net banking or popular digital wallets such as PayTM or Google Pay or PhonePe to your preferred bank account. 

If your tenant is employed, ask them about the current situation of their salary. A good number of companies have either terminated or furloughed non-essential employees and cut salaries for the rest. So, if your tenant has had a pay cut or been furloughed or terminated, it will be difficult for them to pay the rent as they normally would.

If a tenant is unable to pay the rent, discuss the situation with them and offer a discounted rent or think about a more flexible payment option. But, remember to not step in blindly as some tenants may make use of your good nature. Always insist on documentation that shows that they are receiving a pay cut or have been terminated. This way, you can help the ones who are really in need. Come up with a payment plan and agreement that your tenant can adhere to and enforce it until the pandemic has ended and their financial situation has improved.

Avoid Major Maintenance Works

Handling maintenance and service requests at your rentals will be near to impossible given the enforced policies of isolation and social distancing. Arranging for a service vendor comes with more caution as you have to ensure that the vendor is in good health, is wearing protective gear and, has all the required equipment and material so as to prevent visits to the hardware store while working in your rental property.

Get in touch with your contractors and ensure that their professionals are being tested daily and that they are in good health and have protective gear such as masks and gloves. With OwnersTown, you can find the right vendor from your mobile itself. Get a verified vendor with the best deal at any location.

You should also inform your tenants that there will be a delay in handling maintenance tasks as you need to handle only the essential tasks first. Paint jobs or renovations can be pushed to a date after the epidemic has ended while emergency tasks such as plumbing or electrical work can be done now.

Remember to practice empathy while communicating with your tenants on the postponement of the maintenance work. Your main goal is to keep your properties running smoothly. So, choose only the important tasks to work on and keep the rest in a backlog that you can get to when the lockdowns have been lifted and the pandemic has ended.

Close Down Common Area Amenities And Sanitize

Swimming pools, gyms, pantries, cafes, and other common areas need to be shut down to prevent the spread of the virus throughout your properties. Sanitize other common spaces that are a necessity, such as lobbies, stairwells, and elevators. Have a maintenance staff disinfect your properties daily and ensure that they are in good health and are wearing the right gear. Keep a copy of the WHO guidelines on how to use and dispose of the masks and gloves and ensure that they are done properly.

Conclusion

The pandemic has created both the worst and the best time for you as a landlord. Your actions and decisions during this time will determine your personality as either a helpful and smart landlord or an absentee landlord. It’s essential to keep all of your rental properties and your tenants in safe hands. Remember that even if one infected person enters your property, the whole building will have to be shut down and the tenants quarantined until it’s determined by medical professionals to be safe again.

By letting your tenants understand that you are there for them, you will create a better relationship with them and emerge from this situation stronger than before.

Stay Home Stay Safe!

Effective Ways to Maintain Your Property While Social Distancing With Owners Town

Quarantine, lockdown, stay-at-home, and social distancing have become synonymous with our everyday lives because of the notorious Covid-19 that is spreading into the world like wildfire. Social distancing has become a major desperate measure during this desperate time. More and more awareness is being raised on how staying-at-home can curb down Coronavirus.

It is without a doubt that the economy has taken a huge toll amidst the lockdown. The government has stated that turning to technology is the best way to conduct business operations from home so that social distancing can be maintained effectively. While pondering on the different markets being affected in this pandemic, real estate is one such arena that has taken a massive blow.

Landlords and tenants alike are trying to make amends as much as possible since the main goal is to overcome the virus together. With this regard, property owners and renters can make the best of social distancing with Owners Town. Through our state-of-the-art online services, we make sure that tenants and landlords are comfortable and hassle-free in this lockdown.

So below is a detailed nitty-gritty on how Owners Town can help property owners and renters in this unfortunate epidemic.

This is how property owners can be a pro at social distancing with Owners Town

1.Online Communication

To maintain social distancing, online communication is the best way in this present situation. With our property management solution app, you can communicate with your tenant effectively once you have the tenants on board.

With our in-app messaging feature, you can respond to the renters anytime with the OwnersTown dashboard. You can be free from the hassle of a phone call or text messages where you can manage more than one tenant with ease. The renters can also easily express their issues and concern amidst the lockdown with the in-app messaging feature. After all, it is all about being there for each other yet apart in this pandemic.

Features of tenant communication app

• Notifications: With the property specific notifications, easy communications can be done where the owner and the renter can share information and news without any delays. Our platform provides in-app notification and system and user-generated messages so the communication is streamlined.

• Email: With regards to any tenant updates or email/phone verification, both tenants and owners will receive notifications simultaneously.

2. Catching up on document work

Pre-lockdown, you, as a property owner might have had more on your plate or you must have been wearing a lot of hats to not catch up on your property document work. But these stay-at-home days are perfect to pull up your socks and get on the piled up work. With the Owners Town application, you can sort all your documents in one place. You can have easy access to all your paperwork and take a quick preview where you will not have to open up each and every document. And without outgoing anywhere you can easily share your tenant-specific document in a click.

Features of our document management portal include:

• Drag and Drop: With our application, uploading documents has never been easier where it can be done in just 2 simple steps. All you have to do is drag and drop documents and name them
• Quick and easy sharing: With our portal, sharing can be done in a jiffy. You can download the document from anyplace since you have the amenity of property-wise access. Through the Owners Town portal, sharing of the document becomes convenient.

• Security: Property documents are important where their security is a major concern. With the help of our secure cloud repository, property owners can not only upload but also manage and share documents online in a safe and secure way. You will have full access to your documents where it is protected through encryption and the documents will not be shared without the owner’s permission.

3. Helping you prepare for the future

A lot of notions are being conveyed by the real-estate experts about the market and how the economy will be affected post-lockdown. Many people have opined that India might see a similar trend like China where the residential sector might take priority since office and retail projects might take some time to emerge from the stand-still. Having said all this, it is always better to prepare rather than regretting in the future. Property owners can be better at social distancing with Owners Town because through our advanced reporting feature, you can use the best of analytics to gain insight into the present situation and have an idea of the probability of the future.

The features of our custom advanced reports include:

• Rent reports: With the rent report feature, monthly comparisons can be made about your property or tenant where you can know which of your property has performed well and which has not. With this insight, you can prepare yourself post-lockdown.
• Keeping a tab on expenses: With the help of the maintenance report, you can know your maintenance expenses on any desired period so that you can manage your monetary expenses accordingly. Since everyone is trying to put as much halt as possible on their expenses, this specific feature can avail a lot of property owners effectively.
• Detailed analysis: In order to gain a vehement insight on tenant overturn or expenses, you can create an advanced report by providing adequate information. All it takes is just two steps, i.e. selecting a basic detail for the report and then running a report. You can have the analytics at hand and prepare yourself for the future vehemently.

This is indeed a difficult time for everyone but by using the time productively, property owners can be a smart owner while maintaining effective social distancing with Owners Town.