We live in the era of the connected customer thanks to technology transforming the world around us. The buy-to-let sector is no exception. Technological improvements are making it easier to find, buy and manage a rental property. Essentially, technology can now drive your buy-to-let investment.
From online property listings that provide virtual tours and detailed neighbourhood information, to digital mortgage platforms streamlining the application process, technology is helping to make every step of the buy-to-let journey more accessible and efficient.
Here, we take a closer look at how technology helps with buy-to-let investments and makes your life that little bit easier.
The digital transformation in buy-to-let property investment
There is no doubt that the property investment landscape has undergone a profound shift in the last 10 to 15 years. Driven by digital transformation, the sector is moving from traditional, often time-consuming methods, and towards more streamlined, digital platforms. Some aspects, like online banking and lettings platforms, have happened sooner than others, but we’re now at a stage where almost every point of buy-to-let – from mortgages to managing a property – can be digitised.
These platforms leverage the power of technology to simplify and speed up the investment process, with the aim of making it more accessible to a broader audience. By automating processes and providing real-time data, these platforms can also empower investors to make quicker, more informed decisions.
The rise of digital platforms has democratised property investment to some extent. Easy access – be it property data, trends or real-time market insights – have given more people swathes of information at their fingertips. You could argue that technology has levelled the playing field, allowing a wide variety of investors to enter the market with increased confidence.
How does technology help with buy-to-let investing?
Digital platforms have revolutionised the way investors find, buy and manage properties. Instead of spending countless hours on property searches, mortgage paperwork or administrative tasks, investors can now accomplish these tasks much faster and efficiently online. This can save valuable time and allows investors to act swiftly on investment opportunities, giving them a competitive edge in the fast-paced property market.
In the digital age, information is power. Digital platforms provide investors with a wealth of information at their fingertips. From property listings and market trends to neighbourhood demographics and rental yield data, investors have access to a wide range of real-time information. This increases confidence, with access to data aiding in decision-making and allowing investors to make informed choices that align with their investment goals.
Technology has also transformed the mortgage approval process through automated decisioning. By using algorithms to assess risk, digital platforms like Molo can make mortgage approval decisions quickly and accurately. Not only speed up the process, but it also eliminates the potential for human error and ensures that decisions are fair and consistent.
Technology can significantly reduce the costs associated with buy-to-let investments. For example, automatic property valuations can be cheaper than sending a specialist to visit the property in person, while online letting agents typically offer their service for lower fees than traditional agents. This cost-effectiveness can help make buy-to-let investments more profitable in the long run.
Five companies that have helped transform buy-to-let with technology
Rightmove
Rightmove has revolutionised the buy-to-let market since its inception in 2000 by making comprehensive and up-to-date property data available to everyone. It’s so much more than a property portal to find your next home or investment. Rightmove offers a vast database of property listings, allowing potential investors to easily compare and analyse properties based on various factors such as location, price and size. This access to real-time data has made the property search process more efficient, transparent and user-friendly, enabling investors to make informed decisions quickly and confidently.
Molo
Molo is at the forefront of leveraging technology in the buy-to-let market. As the UK’s first fully digital lender, we provide a seamless and transparent way to secure a mortgage entirely online. Using this approach cuts the paperwork and uses real-time data to provide faster decisions. At Molo, we offer a range of specialised buy-to-let products for investors, including mortgages for individual and limited company buy-to-let, holiday lets, portfolio, HMO and multi-unit freehold blocks.
75 LTV mortgages
- Borrow up to 75% of the property’s value
- Get a mortgage as an individual or limited company
- An online mortgage application that takes place entirely online.
GetGround
GetGround automates the creation and management of limited companies for buy-to-let purposes. Its platform programmatically incorporates the company, sets up a linked bank account and generates ongoing accounting and legal documentation. This gives landlords a consolidated and consistent view of their investment property, making the process more efficient and accessible, and significantly reducing costs compared to traditional methods.
Loft
Buying furniture online is hardly a new concept, but landlords don’t have much in the way of choice when it comes to furnishing a property. Sure, there might be websites where they can purchase furnishings, but Loft offers a full-service that includes design and furnishing for individual landlords, build-to-rent and HMO. There’s never been an easier way to style your buy-to-let thanks to Loft’s services.
FixFlo
FixFlo has revolutionised buy-to-let by streamlining property management processes. It offers a digital platform for handling property repairs and maintenance, which significantly reduces the time and effort traditionally required. This not only enhances the experience for tenants, who can report issues quickly and easily, but also for landlords and property managers, who can manage and resolve these issues more effectively.
Propflo
Born out of a need for more transparency and insight into properties, Propflo provides landlords with valuable information to make their homes more energy-efficient, including a retrofit tool. In a landscape where more demands are placed on property investors to have energy-efficient homes and an EPC rating by 2028, Proplo removes the barriers to making buy-to-let investments greener.
How is AI helping with your buy-to-let investment?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly influential role in pretty much every sector of life, including buy-to-let property investments. New AI tools will be able to offer a range of benefits that streamline processes and enhance decision-making.
Even more basic AI-powered models like Chat GPT have the ability to analyse vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, providing investors with valuable insights. In the near future, it’s likely that we’ll have specific AI tools designed for everything to do with property, from values to rental yields and market trends – all of which can be done in just a couple of seconds.
AI will also be able to transform the tenant selection process in the future. By analysing a variety of factors, including credit scores, employment history and previous rental behaviour, AI can help landlords identify reliable tenants and reduce the risk of rental arrears or property damage.
It’s also helpful with administrative tasks associated with property management, such as scheduling maintenance, tracking rental payments and even responding to tenant enquiries. This automation not only saves time but also reduces the potential for human error.
We are still in the early stages of integrating AI into our everyday lives, but the potential is there to significantly enhance the investor experience across all touchpoints of renting out a buy-to-let.
Final thoughts: technology and buy-to-let
Technology has proven to be a game-changer for buy-to-let investment properties. It increases efficiency, provides access to information, automates decision-making and speeds up the entire process. What’s more exciting is that we’re only at the start of this technology-driven journey that is helping shape the way buy-to-let investors purchase and manage a rental property.
