A whopping seventy-one percent of apartment buildings in the U.S. are owned by individual investors, and if you are like most, your portfolio details are probably all over the place.
It is surprisingly easy to have multiple bank accounts, different insurance providers, numerous loans with varying terms, and of course a perpetually growing stack of paper mail that seems to have a life of its own. I personally have six separate bank accounts across four banks, countless loans with at least one warranting a refinance each year, a ridiculous number of utility accounts, and four different property managers who each provide reports in their own format.
Many investors, even some of the most sophisticated, only know whether they have made or lost money on their property investments one day a year, at tax time when they review their returns with their accountant. At the end of the day, real estate is an investment, and it pays dividends to stay on top things by becoming more proactive and less reactive.
The benefits of consolidating your information are as follows:
1) Efficient Portfolio Management
We all know the ludicrous amount of paperwork that comes with being a real estate investor. Every time I make a concerted effort to go completely paperless, I get another 100 page insurance document mailed to me or loan doc dropped, with a thud, on my desk.
I can’t tell you the number of times that I need to reference a declaration, quickly figure out gross receipts for a random city document, look up the last time a unit turned, or assemble a pro-forma statement. By keeping all your key details easily accessible in one place through technology, hours of paper shuffling and email searching can be replaced with just a few clicks.
2) Better Decision Making
Whether you have a single unit (condo or SFH) or a number of multi-family properties, you can dramatically improve your decision making when you have all the relevant information at hand.
By tracking all your key metrics in a centralized dashboard, you can quickly identify where there are opportunities for improvement and invest your time and capital in the areas with the most impact. Overlay market insights across your data, and you achieve a whole new level of transparency that has traditionally been elusive and/ or expensive.
3) Real-Time Updates
Move away from the static spreadsheet and take advantage of real time data analytics. With linked accounts, you can automate formerly manual updates and stay on top of the most recent developments in your investment property or portfolio.
Whether syncing your bank and mortgage accounts or linking your property management portal, you can let technology handle the tedious and notify you of issues such as a water bill spike, potentially signifying a water leak, before it causes significant damage.
4) Collaboration
Many investment property purchases are done with a partner, whether a business associate or family member. If you are investing as a team, why do everything yourself? By sharing the essential details of your shared assets, it is easier for everyone to stay on top of portfolio performance and make the big decisions together.
On a more somber note, having the details documented is also a great way to prepare for the thing that no one ever wants to discuss, transition planning. Owner collaboration can also be used to get your heirs involved today to make future transitions easier.
Everything in One Place
Stessa empowers you to bring everything together quickly and easily, resulting in a better managed portfolio. Don’t forget that real estate investing is a marathon not a sprint, and efficiency, informed decision making, real-time updates, and collaboration are all just stepping stones on the bigger path to real estate success.
Take that first step today by letting Stessa help you consolidate your portfolio details.
