“Property management today is largely reactive; you wait for a problem and then tackle it,” Zenplace CEO Rahul Mewawalla told LTP. “Our view is that it needs to be proactive and should be able to mitigate issues before they happen. Currently, management companies are indeed reactive in nature, they wait for a problem to appear and then deal with it.”

San-Francisco-based Zenplace is an actual full-service property management company  (BRE license #02030521) with a staff of professional property managers. The goal is to provide clients with higher returns, lower costs and an overall better owner experience, and the motor is powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning and chatbots.

Investors include those who supported companies like Facebook, YouTube and PayPal; its team comes from such tech giants as Google, Nokia, Microsoft, NBC, CBRE and Realtor.com.

Property management fees are as low as a flat 5% of rent. The property management provided is full service, including screening and selecting tenants, lease agreements, rent collection, property maintenance, and monthly and year-end statements, as well as other services.

“Property management and the owner and tenant experience is already three times-better today than it was some years ago, and in another five years will be ten-times easier and better than today,” Mewawalla told Forbes.

For maintenance and repair, Zenplace selects and screens vendors and maintenance teams based on price, performance, speed of responsiveness and quality of delivery. Attention is paid to vendor reviews from owners and tenants; vendor selections are updated in real time. An expense threshold is set so that, at a certain point, the property owner will be required to complete the maintenance or repair.  Zenplace provides information on the work that needs to be completed, as well as a short list of estimates and recommendations.

Annual inspections can also be completed, as well as additional inspections that are required by state law or during tenant turnover. They may be completed during the performance of a work order. Zenplace can also regularly inspect devices such as smoke detectors, as allowed by law.

Zenplace utilizes -- at its discretion -- smart and artificial intelligence (AI) devices such as Amazon Alexa, and Google Home on property-related issues. If called upon to manage eviction, the platform works in accordance with all local and state laws, and works with the property owner, local attorneys and tenants to bring closure to the matter. The property management team is licensed and works in compliance with local laws and ordinances.

The team can also handle marketing across all channels and over 100 property rental listing websites. These are the same technologies and techniques used at companies like Google and Facebook. All leasing agreements and documents are online, mobile enabled, and available for e-sign.

“By knowing your property’s components and referencing with manufacturer’s recommendations and real-world conditions, issues can be resolved before any possible expensive problems occur or replacements are needed,” Mewawalla told LTP. “This can help property owners and landlords save billions of dollars a year, better protect and maintain their properties, and result in a greater cap return, higher return-on-investment [ROI] and peace of mind for owners and a truly enjoyable and hassle-free experience for tenants.”

Click here for more information on Zenplace.

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