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55 access to the property—no one else has to be there. ey can digitally sign any documents. ere doesn't need to be any physical contact." ere are also technologies that enable a prospect tenant to virtually tour a property, an advantage for anyone moving in from a remote location. It's critical to have a comprehensive solution, said Inaas Arabi, VP of Single- Family Rental for RealPage. at software should enable the user to list and lease vacant properties, screen tenants and vendors, manage assets and tenants, accept payments and manage maintenance, offer financial reporting, and handle any additional property management needs. ere are a host of different property management software programs available, designed to help SFR owners track leases, residents, and maintenance tasks, as well as collect rent and manage finances to reduce costs and streamline operations. Some are designed for single-family properties and may be preferred by owners of different types of properties. Arabi added that some larger SFR owners may opt to buy different "point" solutions for to handle collections, property management, etc., but it can be hard for those different solutions to communicate with each other unless the property management platform supplies an open application programming interface (API) as a communication bridge. Scottsdale REI is ready to launch the beta test of its own proprietary software, REIBLADE, this month, which is designed to help investors outperform at what Scottsdale REI considers to be the six "success activities" of real estate investing—acquisition, capital raising, investor management, asset management, analysis and performance, and property sales.. Investment management software can also help SFR owners with financial reporting, Raghavaraju said. Arabi added that having automated financial reporting and records makes it much easier for a borrower to receive credit approval for property loans. Automated rent collection, through a comprehensive program or through a point solution, enables a tenant to log in to make an electronic payment, providing the SFR owner with immediate access to funds rather than waiting for "a check in the mail," while also providing automated ways to charge late fees and a paper trail for collections, evictions, etc. Technology provides SFR owners with transparency when examining vendor pricing for services such as electrical work, plumbing, etc., said Roman Rusev, CEO of Field Complete and Founder of U.S. Legacy Development. is way, owners can see how a contractor's prices stack up against the average for a given market. Owners can also see online reviews of contractors to help determine if they have a track record for good work. Beyond online ratings, Rusev said that owners should look for contractors who provide detailed line pricing for different jobs, not just a total price. "Otherwise it's a fire just waiting to happen; that means they don't know how to price the job." Rusev added that owners now look for multitrade contractors who can provide an array of services, rather than one contractor for plumbing, another for electrical work, another for heating, etc., even if a particular job is expected to need only one of those disciplines. Finally, "Smart" appliances, particularly thermostats, are starting to make their way into SFRs as tenants look for things that can simplify their lives. ese devices can also help building owners determine when connected appliances like furnaces need attention. Reporting capabilities in property management portals can similarly help determine if an issue is a nuisance (i.e., a pinhole leak in a water heater) or an emergency (i.e., a much larger leak in a water heater), Rusev said. OUTLOOK FOR 2021 ough there is some caution due to the many unknowns involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, most SFR stakeholders expressed optimism for next year because the underlying factors boosting the market in the last few years will continue to be prevalent—renters looking to move out of multifamily housing; millennials, particularly those with children, becoming a more prevalent portion of those needing affordable housing; and an ongoing shift of construction with more devoted to build-to-rent properties. Homeownership rates to continue to decline as people look for more flexible housing arrangements, Offutt said. "People are less inclined to be tied down [to a house] today. ey want flexibility so that they can move without complications," he said. However, Butler has a more muted outlook. He said that he expects the economy, and therefore, the SFR market, to soften into the election as enhanced unemployment benefits end. Recovery could take a while, so some landlords might need to decrease rents slightly. Phil Britt started covering mortgages and other financial services matters for a suburban Chicago newspaper in the mid-1980s before joining Savings Institutions magazine in 1992. When the publication moved its offices to Washington, D.C. in 1993, he started his own editorial services firm and continued to cover mortgages, other financial services subjects, and technology for a variety of websites and publications. "The biggest concern that capital has with rural areas is the lack of comparables for appraisals." —Alex Offutt, Managing Director, Constructive Loans