Using technology can make your life easier as a landlord and everyone prefers technology when it’s free! Based on my experience and research here are my top 5 free landlord apps that help with common landlord tasks.
Inventory, check-in/out reports
A great free app that should be part of your landlord toolkit is Reports2Go. This free landlord app allows you to create attractive inventory, check-in and check-out reports. Their predictive keyboard is a great time-saver too. This is what a sample report looks like. If you need to add your own logo or edit the T&Cs then there’s a small fee. Another free app for landlord inventory and check-in reports is called zInspector3, if you just want a quick and simple report then this is also worth looking at.
Odd jobs & general maintenance
For general tasks, the apps TaskRabbit and Airtasker allow you to post jobs and read reviews of those bidding on your job. Payment is handled through the platform which is a good advantage vs paying a handyman on-site. Some of the hourly rates look quite high, I put this down to posters underestimating the task time (which makes it cheaper) and the platform charging a fee. Therefore, it could be cheaper to get a quote from your local handyman on a more complex job. That being said, it’s not just handyman tasks you can advertise, for example, if you want someone to wait in for a delivery or for a boiler repair then that’s possible too.
Digital signatures
Getting paper contracts signed is a pain but there’s no need to do this since electronic signatures are legally binding in the UK and most other countries. Landlords will need to get tenancy agreements, check-in and check-out reports signed so using digital signatures will save a lot of hassle. DocuSign is used by many companies but it’s expensive, however, there are free alternatives. DottedSign is one of those alternatives and it allows you to import and scan contracts for inserting digital signature placeholders which can then be sent by email. If you don’t need an app, then SignRequest and EverSign are great web-based solutions too.
Advertising property
There’s no need to use expensive letting agents for finding new tenants. In fact, it can cost nothing if you use OpenRent’s free listing option. OpenRent allows you to advertise on their website for free, go here and open a “light advertising” account: https://www.openrent.co.uk/our-pricing
Another free option for advertising your property rental is Gumtree which is another useful, free landlord app.
That concludes my recommendations for the best free landlord apps, if you have any free landlord app recommendations, then please leave them below in the comments.