Five Tools Every Real Estate Investor Should Be Using

When investing in real estate, it is beneficial to have a variety of tools on hand to help simplify the process. Not only will this help you save time, but it will also help you to make the best investments possible. To that end, here are five tools that every real estate investor should be using.

Online Property Finders

While you can still search for available properties through newspapers and other traditional methods, you will be missing out on many great opportunities if you don’t take full advantage of online property finders to assist with your search. Online property finders such as Mashvisor can help you narrow your search according to specific criteria and preferences, such as your target cap rate, your budget, your preferred rental strategy and your cash on cash return. LoopNet is a good resource for finding commercial real estate investment opportunities, while Auction.com offers foreclosure opportunities. MLS listings and even sites like Craigslist can also serve as good sources for finding potential investment properties.

Predictive Analytics Software

Predictive analytics can help you make better investment decisions by making projections on things such as cash flow, rental income, cash on cash return, cap rate and other forms of return on investment. Once again, Mashvisor can help with creating predictive analytics based on trends in historical data. A property management company or other real estate advisors can also assist you with crunching the numbers in order to make better predictions about properties before you make a purchase.

Investment Property Calculator

Also referred to as a rental property calculator, an investment property calculator can be used to calculate important figures such as rental expenses, rental income and the return on investment.

Tenant Screening Tools

Choosing the right tenants is one of the keys to having a successful investment property. To help streamline this process, consider using tenant screening tools such as the SmartMove tool. Tenant screening tools can provide you with rental reports as well as recommendations for potential tenants. These tools also allow you to complete the application and screening process online, giving you and potential tenants faster results in a secure fashion.

Smartphone Apps

As an investor, you likely already have a smartphone at your disposal, but you may be falling short of using all of the great apps that can make life easier. Some apps that can be helpful to an investor and a landlord include:

• Locking and Unlocking Doors: Apps such as Lockitron and Keycafe allow you to lock and unlock doors from afar, making it possible for you to tend to rental needs without being on the property.
• Spending Tracker: Apps such as BillGuard allow you to track your expenses while also organizing your spending records based on location, time and type. This allows you to more effectively monitor your spending and determine places where cutbacks can be made.
• Eliminating Paperwork: Apps such as SignEasy and dotloop allow you to go paperless when doing thing such as signing documents, closing deals and sending documents.

Of course, having a trustworthy and effective property management company on your side is also a great tool to have as a property investor. Contact us at Ankor Management to learn more about how we can help your business succeed.