The Buyer's Guide to Real Estate Investor CRM

The real estate industry is hot at the moment. Data from the US Census Bureau shows that 74.4% of rental properties in the US are managed by individual real estate investors. Further, millennials are likely to form more than 20 million new households by 2025, which only goes to show that the industry is far from dying. 

Although the real estate industry is lucrative for many investors, it takes a lot for one to make a killing from it. One of the essential tools that every investor should have is a real estate investor CRM. 

If you haven't heard of this before, this article is perfect for you. This guide will highlight what a CRM for real estate investors is, why you need it, and what you should look for in one. 

So, buckle up, and let's get started!

What is a Real Estate Investor CRM?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Therefore, going by the name of an investor CRM for real estate is a tool that helps real estate investors to organize, follow-up, and manage their real estate investments. Commercial real estate firms use CRM software to manage their investors and meet their investment decisions. 

Real estate agents use CRM software to keep track of their customers. They can interact with prospective customers, bring in new leads, and retain the existing customers by tracking everything. The software also helps realtors collect essential data and analyse their performance over time. 

Besides client management, the CRM software acts as a list management tool and helps you keep track of every listing. You can quickly generate brochures and ensure that all your ads are well-managed. The software can also help you create reports, store contacts for follow-ups, and record your customers' feedback.  

What to Look for When Choosing an Investor CRM for Real Estate

Investor CRMs usually carry out several functions. For this reason, they come with different features, depending on what you'd like them to do. The variety of available features also means that there are other CRM software options. Therefore, choosing one option can be quite challenging. 

If you're not sure which is the best CRM for real estate investors, here are some factors to help you pick out the ideal option. 

Price of the Software

Obviously, you'll want to know the price of the software before cashing out on it. Most CRM software programs offer different pricing tiers. The pricing plans will come with various features, and you should choose the best one relative to your budget. 

The cheaper software may lack some crucial features, and the most expensive ones aren't always the best. 

When choosing your real estate investor CRM, go for one that offers a free trial or a money-back guarantee. This way, you're able to give it a test run and decide if the price is worth the benefits it offers to your business. 

Customizability

Most investor CRM for real estate will come with some standard features. However, if you're looking to gain the most out of the software, you should look for a program that you can customize. 

Every business is different, and your CRM software should cater to your unique business needs. The dashboard will be the core of the CRM, and you should be able to customize it and make it your own. The user interface should also come with features that you quickly customize, depending on what you want for your business. 

Features

The features available in your real estate investor CRM are crucial when deciding which one to buy. The available CRM programs offer different functionalities and will come with other parts. Choose the plan that provides the features that are most important for your business. 

That said, an essential CRM software should come with several features. For starters, it should be able to capture inbound leads, follow-up, automate the marketing, executes sales, and manages tasks for you. Other features you should be on the lookout for is seamless communication between the different departments and lead generation. 

Hosting

The CRM software can either be cloud-based or web-based. A web-based option will be more convenient and help avoid challenges by setting up the software for your business. However, a cloud-based system offers several other benefits. It helps cut down costs and ensures smooth operation. 

Often, cloud-based systems will come with accompanying mobile apps. Therefore, cloud-based CRM for real estate investors allows mobile access for realtors, even when they're on the go.

Compatibility

You'll probably need to use the CRM solution together with other previous business tools. When looking for a management program, you need to be sure that it is compatible with the existing system. 

Choosing a system that isn't compatible with what you have will only lead to further problems. For example, you may have to key in the data multiple times to use it across the different systems. Doing this will take up too much of your time and increase the chances of making errors, which only complicates everything. 

Support

It may not seem like a deciding factor, but do your research on the available support before buying a CRM program. You're going to rely on the program to manage all your clients' accounts and basically run your business. Therefore, you should be sure that the support team will help you if you run into any problems. 

The ideal choice for an investor CRM for real estate should provide different channels for users to get in touch with support. It should also provide a medium that offers 24/7 support to get immediate responses whenever you contact them. 

Parting Shot

With so many options for the real estate investor CRM programs, settling for one to help manage your business is not an easy task. The different features available for the various programs makes the decision even more difficult.

If you're wondering how to make that decision, it helps to know what to look for. Hopefully, our mini-guide has been helpful, and you know the most important factors for your real estate business.