RentCafe Tech: How to Manage Your Apartment with Zero Face-to-Face Interaction

Who would have thought that such a harmless-sounding term as “social distancing” could pack such a punch into our daily lives? We can’t go out to eat or have a drink. We can’t get together with our friends, family or neighbors. We had to move our office into our bedroom (now that’s an adjustment!). All the different ways in which we recently had to adjust our lives to observe social distancing can be stressful, confusing, and challenging. But in all fairness, some changes are easier to take on because they are facilitated by technology, the one big advantage of living in the modern world (Amen!).

If you are fortunate to live in an apartment community that uses RentCafe resident services, there are many wonderful tools and features available to you, so you don’t have to step out of your apartment (unless your dog is begging you, then you may not have too many options, I’m afraid). Let us remind you to take advantage of these cool tools:

Paying your rent

1. RentCafe Resident App

If you haven’t installed the RentCafe Resident App, now’s the time to do it. Rated 4.6 in Google Play Store and 4.8 in Apple Store, this app will be your most-trusted assistant in managing your rental while stuck inside, including paying your rent in a quick 3-step process. You can login with touch ID or face ID, you can check your balance, you can choose to pay with debit or credit, and it’s the fastest way to pay your rent, period.

2. Your apartment community’s website

Apartment communities that use RentCafe services have a resident platform where each tenant has their own account set up to manage their apartment, from making rent payments, to sending and receiving messages, to submitting maintenance requests, to renewing their lease — a one-stop-shop that comes in handy when you have to keep your distance from others. In case you really miss talking to a human being, some properties have a live chat feature set up.

3. Alexa

Did you know that the lovely Alexa can help you pay rent, check your balance, and more? Next time you go on amazon to put in a new order of dryer sheets and laundry detergent, be sure to also enable RentCafe Resident Services on Alexa. Ah, the beauty of living in the 21st century…

4. Text to Pay

Opt-in for SMS/text alerts on your property’s portal website to take advantage of this fun feature. Once you opt-in, you’ll receive a text for confirmation, you reply Y to confirm, then it will take you through action steps, like type BALANCE to check your balance, PAY NOW to pay your balance and confirm your payment in a couple of easy texts.

Submitting maintenance requests

All of the above tools are also capable to accept your maintenance requests. However, in the spirit of minimizing social interaction, only request service for urgent maintenance issues. If your pipes broke, that qualifies as urgent. If a cabinet door doesn’t close properly, it can probably wait. It is also important to let your building management’s office know if you have reason to believe you were exposed to the Coronavirus, such as by traveling recently, meeting someone who has recently traveled, or you have flu-like symptoms.

Communicating with your property manager and your neighbors

Wondering if you can still receive deliveries? Not sure if the fitness center is open? Be sure to enable email notifications, push notifications and text alerts from your apartment community to receive and stay up to date with important messages. You may do so either in the resident app or on your community portal website. Check out your community’s online bulletin board for news and important messages, or even to send a message to a neighbor. We’re all in this together and staying in touch — from a distance — will make it easier to deal with.