Handy apps for landlords
Chris Hogan, 1st February 2018, Landlords
With a smartphone or tablet in your hand you can run your property portfolio from wherever you are, as long as you've got the right apps.
We take a look at what's available for both Apple and Android to help landlords - you can find them on the iTunes App Store or Google's Play Store.
RentalStep
Having said you can find the apps on their respective stores, we start with a service that doesn't actually have an app, although the website is very well optimised for mobile use. It's a review system for both tenants and landlords that includes giving landlords access to verified tenants - avoiding letting agents' fees.
The free service includes referencing, credit scoring and tenancy agreements and RentalStep is launching a premium service that includes advertising on portals, rent collections, an online helpdesk and more. Find it here.
Pad
Launched last summer and claimed to be the "UK's first fully-mobile lettings ecosystem", Pad offers tenants homes without deposits or agency fees and landlords access to "amazing" pre-vetted tenants and the "highest possible returns".
Apartments are fully serviced by resources provided by Pad and cover provided by an insurance policy rather than deposits. Rental prices are moved up and down according to supply and demand, Uber-style. Could be worth investigating?
Landlord Property Buddy
Landlord Property Buddy
One of the best known portfolio management apps, Property Buddy handles all payments in and out with an intuitive dashboard that shows you the essential figures - proportion of properties rented, return, rental payment due and late and much, much more. Only available on iPhone and iPad at the moment.
Landlord Condition & Inventory
Available for Android users for £9.99 this app walks you through an inventory taking process, attaching photos to the property record. There is a limited free version you can use to try it out, but it's a bit too limited to test it properly so you might have to pay the tenner and take it on trust - the reviews are very good.
On the iPhone/iPad platform the Residential Landlord Association (RLA) has recently produced a similar app that will produce "industry compliant" inventories. An Android version is available now as well.
Property portals
Both the major portals - Rightmove and Zoopla - have apps for Apple and Android so that you can keep an eye on the market in specific areas. They both allow alerts to be set up so that you know when properties in your chosen area and price range come on the market.
Sold House Prices Land Registry UK
This app is available on both platforms and allows you to track the prices paid for residential property sales in England and Wales. The data comes from the Land Registry so it covers over 20 million properties and is as accurate as it's possible to get.
Rental Yield Calc
Work out yields on the go with this well-regarded calculator - £2.99 on iTunes. There is a free app with the same name for Android devices on Play Store but it hasn't been updated since 2013 and doesn't seem to be from the same company - others are available.
Personal Agent
Stamp Duty Calculator
There are quite a few stamp duty calculators on both Apple and Android stores but make sure you pick one aimed at the UK. London estate agent Chestertons has created a free one on both platforms although one review warns of the app's rounding tendency that gives slightly inaccurate figures, so be aware of the limitations.
Mortgage calculators
Mortgage Calculator UK on iTunes is free and gives you instant answers on how much mortgages will cost in real life. On the Play Store Android users can find an app with the same name and although it doesn't appear to be from the same developer, it has excellent reviews.
Take stock of what you need
As you can see there are quite a few apps on both platforms that will help you manage your properties and tenants. There's quite a bit of overlap with functionality in many cases, property and portfolio management in particular, so try a few different apps until you find the ones that suit you.
