The Times Are Definitely Changing
Oxford thinks the internet is going to replace traditional real estate agents with AI solutions in the near future. If you work in this industry, watch out. If you’re looking to get the best deals on property, well, then you may actually be in luck. Still, faceless tech can’t give you the “buddy deal” of your real estate broker friend; but he’s likely scraping a little off the top for himself, if you’re being honest—so maybe this is a good thing!
All kidding aside, from inside and outside the real estate agency, it makes sense to get an understanding of that which defines modern real estate. In a word: it’s the internet. Organizations like Rentec Direct offer: “The highest rated and easiest to learn property management software [and it] includes free US-based support.” Inherent in the software is internet utility.
Solutions like this are especially tenable for those who are managing multiple properties. The internet and technology, in general, are acting as a middle-man eliminating agent. Ignoring this reality is a great way to lose money and face a bevy of otherwise avoidable struggles.
Yet there is this interesting facet of life: when one door closes, another door opens. Even though certain industries are being replaced by the technology of one kind or another, new ones are coming in to counterbalance this shift. Look at smartphones, as a for instance. Everybody’s got one, but so many users require requisite coverage.
Identifying A Need And Capitalizing From It
Requisite coverage requires infrastructure. It turns out that cellphone towers need to be installed in multiple areas, and in increasing numbers, for big-time communications companies to properly serve their target markets. It also turns out that, strategically, not all areas where a tower needs to go are on public or otherwise easily-accessible land.
With this in mind, many savvy property owners are looking into cell tower rates; according to the link: “New Verizon cell tower lease agreements typically come in two flavors: construction of a new tower or by adding small cell equipment or antennas to your building. If you are a property owner, they want to see if you are interested in leasing your property for the construction of a cell tower.”
You may get contacted by individuals working with cellular agencies like Verizon who are looking to establish better area coverage for their networks. You may also use the internet to search out and identify strategic areas of necessary coverage. All you really need to do is look up a coverage map and see if you have any properties in areas that will need expansion.
It also makes sense to know community trends. Sometimes one area of the community is set to expand one direction, sometimes another area will remain as static as it has been for a few decades to come. You need to know where your community leaders are taking your municipality in order to have the greatest leverage when dealing with cellular providers. This can help you achieve a leasing arrangement which is appropriate to the value you bring.
Rental Considerations
Another way technology is changing property is in terms of rental. If you own a home or building, you can set up an Airbnb account so that travelers can rent the space out under a “micro” lease, or what’s known as subletting. Sometimes they’ll come in for a day, sometimes for a month. If you own an apartment, you can rent it out.
As a property owner, you’re going to have renters in your building who sublet. That means you’re charging them rent, and they’re charging somebody else rent. You’ve vetted the lessee, but you haven’t vetted those they’re bringing in on the sly. While if you own property this can be a great way to maximize it through technology, if you’re renting to lessees, you may also see them put your property at risk through their exploits.
Thankfully, when one door closes, another door opens. There are now agencies which monitor certain sublet websites which potentially undermine property owners. One organization, Sublet Alert, points out: “As a landlord or property manager, your first priority is to provide a safe and comfortable environment for your tenants. At SubletAlert.com, we monitor Airbnb daily. If we find a tenant illegally subletting one of your properties, we’ll quickly notify you…”
Land Considerations
There are millennial property owners today who only actually own land. It may or may not even have a building on it—the land is a place to park a motorhome. Now, many communities have put certain legal arrangements into play which ban this kind of living; but it is on the increase, and there are places where it flourishes.
If you’re in property management now, you may want to look into branching out into its purest form: land itself. With the internet, people can live comfortably wherever they can park legally. Online jobs and motorhomes make it possible to comfortably travel as a lucrative nomad. In fact, this can be done cheaper than apartments in Springfield living in most places.
People have grown wise to the trend, and are following through on it. But the question becomes: what is there to do when the road turns blue? Eventually, roots have to be put down if only for a few months.
Sustainable technologies and off-grid living are also encouraging this land acquisition trend. If you’re an owner of property on what was a ranch or farm, but for whatever reason no longer functions in this capacity, you might divvy it up and sell it to people, or even lease it out to cell companies.
Knowing The Times
If you’re renting to people on your property, you can keep them from subleasing through online alert solutions. You can add cell tower equipment as well, and maybe even install a cellular tower. If you’ve got multiple properties, you can manage them online as well.
That’s quite a suite of real estate management solutions, and anyone in real estate should become familiar with these as even more applications are out there and will develop as time goes by.
