I recently had a conversation with the owner of several pieces of residential property in disparate locations in California. His portfolio is one that is the type that benefits from computerizing, as it includes two residential facilitates in another part of the state, as well as a number of smaller residential and commercial properties.
I asked him why he was considering changing from a manual system to a computer system; his response was that he felt it was important in today's business climate. I told him that it might not be appropriate for him to computerize right now.
There are several reasons to computerize:
Improve performance of the
business
This is the reason we typically are engaged in an assignment. The
work just is not getting completed effectively, or in a
timely manner. In the multi-site residential arena, one
of the options we often consider is decentralizing the
information processing, typically moving the entry of
transaction information from the home office, to the
site.
Facilitate sale of a property
The buyer of a property will want as much information as
possible, as soon as possible. A computerized system can
speed up the availability of information, and thus
improve the likelyhood of a sale.
Permit expansion without adding a
great number of personnel
We often see a growing business that looks to reduce the
need for additional personnel by installing a computer
system, or moving information processing to apartment
sites to take advantage of personnel already in place.
Recent years have seen a tremendous proliferation of computers caused in part by the (almost daily) reduction in prices. With the large number of inexpensive computers, software publishers rushed in to provide additional software, and consequently caused downward pressure on software prices. What all this means is that the decision to computerize is probably a lot easier to make today than ever, but the software and hardware configuration options have become more difficult to wade through.
by Howard Haberman, President, Howard M Haberman
Associates, Inc.
Copyright © 1996 Howard M Haberman Associates, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Revised: February 29, 2004.
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