Top 11 FAQs: RemoteLock for Multifamily Properties
Managing a multifamily property presents unique challenges, from ensuring security to streamlining maintenance and managing turnovers. RemoteLock simplifies these tasks with powerful access control solutions that enhance resident safety, improve operational efficiency, and reduce the workload for property managers. We’ve compiled answers to the most common questions about how RemoteLock can address the specific needs of multifamily property management, focusing on key areas like security, access control, and property maintenance.
1. Who is RemoteLock?
RemoteLock is a founder-led organization based in Denver, Colorado, that has been a leader in the access control space since its founding in 2011. The company’s software platform manages over 100 million locks for 40 million users in 75 countries all over the world.
RemoteLock provides cloud-based access control software that empowers property owners and managers in multifamily and related industries to manage and control access to any space from anywhere in the world. RemoteLock’s multifamily customers include Redpeak, Ascend, and DR Horton
2. What is Access Control?
Access control refers to the ability to manage and control entry to properties. Typically, these properties are equipped with either wired doors connected to a control panel, smart locks, or a combination of the two.
3. How is the RemoteLock Software Used?
RemoteLock’s access control software unifies the control of these locks in one intuitive dashboard. From their smartphone or laptop, property owners and managers can:
- Add and remove locks from different manufacturers and at different locations
- Grant and revoke access to guests, housekeepers, maintenance, and staff
- Set up access schedules that dictate who has access to which doors and when
- Create door groups to manage different access privileges
- Track entry logs, monitoring who’s using which doors and how often
- Increase security and efficiency
RemoteLock’s API can also be integrated with dozens of multifamily management and payment software partners. When you connect RemoteLock to the software you already use, you can automatically generate codes when new residents sign leases, handle deposits and payments, and more.
RemoteLock’s software is completely cloud-based. Managers and users can log in, make changes, and monitor the status of their RemoteLock account from any internet-connected device, anywhere in the world.
4. How Do I Know Which Smart Lock Is Right for My Multifamily Property?
There are several factors to consider when choosing a smart lock for a multifamily property. One major consideration is the ease of use for your residents — a key fob is the easiest, but can still be misplaced, while a PIN code can’t be lost but can be forgotten or shared. Mobile credentials allow guests to open their doors using their smartphone, which they’re likely to have on them virtually at all times, but if their phone battery dies, they can be stranded. Many modern smart locks allow for multiple methods of verification so property owners can choose the one that’s most convenient for them.
Of course, you’ll also want a lock that’s durable enough to resist break-ins, last for many years, and offer your residents peace of mind. Battery life might also be a priority, depending on how often you or your maintenance staff are able to visit the location. Finally, consider the climate — if your residents’ doors face the elements, you might want to equip locks that are designed to handle ocean spray, humidity, or extreme cold, whereas if your property’s doors are all accessed from a hallway, weatherproofing is a lower priority.
5. Does RemoteLock Offer Support for Offline Access Control?
Yes. RemoteLock supports offline locks like Schloage Control ® and is able to offer access control management to multifamily properties without managed WiFi. These locks store their access credentials and schedules locally on the lock hardware itself, continuing to grant and refuse access in exactly the same way as a connected lock.
6. Can RemoteLock Support Self-Touring?
RemoteLock’s platform is perfectly suited to offer self-touring. Property managers can easily generate temporary access codes and send them to prospective residents, allowing them to tour model or available units at specific times without requiring the presence of a busy manager. This feature reduces the workload of your staff while simultaneously offering an appealing, convenient feature to those who may want to rent from you.
7. How Does RemoteLock Handle a Variety of Entry Points?
One of the most useful features of RemoteLock for multifamily properties is the versatility of the software. From one dashboard, you can control access privileges for unit doors, common areas, parking garages, elevators, and more. For example, multifamily customers can:
- Prevent residents from taking the elevator to a floor where they don’t live.
- Ensure that residents only use the facilities in their own building.
- Grant access for maintenance staff to all units during specific hours.
- Block access to certain areas from residents after hours, while allowing staff to use their codes around the clock.
- Grant access to parking garages to residents who pay for covered parking, using the same credentials they use to access their own front door.
8. Can I Manage Multiple Properties with RemoteLock?
Yes, RemoteLock is designed for users who need to manage access across multiple properties or locations. Whether you manage one building, several buildings, or multiple locations, the platform allows you to oversee all your properties from a single interface. You can grant access, monitor entry logs, and receive real-time notifications without needing to be on-site.
9. Can I Use RemoteLock If My Properties Have Different Lock Brands or Models?
Absolutely. One of the most useful features of RemoteLock is the ability to unify access control across multiple hardware options, at any number of doors, locations, and properties. You can mix and match any number of compatible locks from well-known manufacturers — Yale, August, Schlage, and more — and still create unified access rules, user settings, and schedules at all of your vacation rental properties.
RemoteLock can even handle control of more unorthodox access points — elevators, parking garages, wired common doors, magnetic locking glass doors, and more — so you can manage every point of entry to your property from one dashboard.
10. What is a Wired Access Control System?
Many multifamily properties have common doors to lobbies, pools, gyms, business centers, and other shared facilities that are used so frequently that a battery-powered lock will quickly run out of charge. In those cases, a wired lock is often a better option.
Wired locks are installed by professional installers and are powered by the building’s main power and connected to the internet via a control panel. These devices can also be managed by RemoteLock with the same features as unit door management.
11. How Does an Access Control System Improve Security?
Traditional physical keys can be easily copied, passed to unauthorized users, or lost, adding hassle and cost to your property management. They also afford owners zero visibility — there’s no way to see who used a key or when.
Smart locks paired with access control software don’t rely on physical keys. With RemoteLock, you can see who has entered your property and when. You can also set up alerts for failed access attempts. Best of all, you can easily revoke access in just a few clicks from your dashboard or set up codes to expire automatically as soon as your residents’ lease expires.
RemoteLock offers robust and adaptable solutions for multifamily property managers seeking to streamline access control and improve resident experiences. With its cloud-based platform, seamless integration with a variety of smart locks and property management systems, and real-time access management, RemoteLock provides the tools needed to maintain security and optimize operations. Whether you’re overseeing a single building or multiple complexes, RemoteLock helps you efficiently manage access and security from anywhere in the world.
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RemoteLock
Universal Access Control
We provide cloud-based, access control software that empowers those in the multifamily, vacation rental, commercial and related industries to remotely manage and control access to any space from anywhere in the world.
