November 2024 Updates: Smarter Tools for Landlords

We’re excited to share the latest updates and announcements about our products. These improvements are designed to make property management more efficient and user-friendly, addressing feedback from our valued customers.

AI Inventory: Enhanced Efficiency and Usability

Our AI Inventory tool has received excellent feedback, and we’re thrilled to announce updates that enhance its value:

Key Improvements

• Image Analysis Credit Reduction:
  • The credits required for image analysis have been permanently reduced from 20 to 12 per image—a 40% saving for users. This is a long-term change, not a promotional offer, and will remain as long as it is viable.
• Bug Fixes:
  • A technical issue affecting a small number of users, in which final rooms failed to save or blank rooms appeared randomly, has been resolved. This issue mainly affected large inventory templates. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

The AI Inventory remains an indispensable tool. It allows users to add room images, generate itemised descriptions, summarise rooms, and produce a professional PDF ready for digital signing—all with ease.

Tenant Applications: Smarter Analysis Tools

Our online tenant application system has seen significant upgrades, providing landlords deeper insights into prospective tenants.

New Features

• AI-Powered Application Summary:
  • AI can now evaluate submitted prospective tenant applications, offering a summary of pros and cons tailored to landlords' interests. This free feature can be accessed via the “Analyse with AI” button beside the PDF export option when viewing an application form.
• Open Banking Integration:
  • Landlords can request prospective tenants to authorise Open Banking for a secure review of the applicant’s banking history for the past 90 days. This integration ensures a clearer understanding of tenants' financial stability. The AI will use these transactions when analysing.
• Custom Document Analysis:
  • You can upload supporting documents—such as references or self-employed applicants' accounts—directly into the system. These are analysed contextually, further enriching the AI evaluation.

These updates enhance transparency and help landlords make more informed decisions.

Tenancy Manager: Streamlining Portfolio Management

The Tenancy Manager is now available for general use. Designed for landlords with portfolios of 10 or more tenancies, it simplifies rent tracking, inspections, and tenant communication.

Who Benefits from the Tenancy Manager?

• Ideal for portfolio landlords managing multiple properties or HMO landlords with multiple individual tenancies.
• For smaller portfolios, existing accounting software or spreadsheets may suffice.

Key Features

The Tenancy Manager is packed with tools to streamline daily tasks:

• Effortless Tenant Communication:
  • Copy tenant contact details (phone/email) with one click.
  • Batch email tenants using comma-separated email lists.
  • Export tenant lists for mail merge correspondence.
• Arrears and Payments:
  • Filter tenancies in arrears with a single click.
  • Send quick email reminders about overdue payments.
  • Add payments and track rent arrears easily.
• Inspection and Compliance Tracking:
  • Monitor gas and electrical safety records and upcoming inspections.
  • Track sub-meter readings and automatically generate invoices.
• Tenancy Management Tools:
  • Add notes to tenancies.
  • Record rent increases and display a graph showing when increases were last applied.
  • Automate rent invoices per tenancy, ensuring timely reminders.
• Multi-Landlord Support
  • Manage properties under different ownership structures within a single system, such as joint names or limited companies.

We are actively working on expanding the available support documentation and creating tutorial videos to make the Tenancy Manager even easier to use.

Looking Ahead: Roadmap

We are committed to continuous improvement, with key developments planned:

• Server Upgrades:
  • Ensuring faster and more reliable service.
• Team Functionality for Tenancy Builder:
  • Sub-users will soon be able to share data across Tenancy Builder, AI Inventory, and other tools, enhancing collaboration for larger teams.

These updates demonstrate our commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions for landlords and letting agents. We are excited about the improvements and look forward to helping you manage your properties more effectively. Feel free to reach out for any questions or feedback—we’re here to support you!