It's 10:23am on a Monday. Tom is in the office looking at the property listing for 42 Oak Street. Jane is out doing a viewing, also looking at 42 Oak Street on her phone (landlord just called asking about availability).
Tom updates the property status from "Let" to "Notice Given" (tenant handed notice in this weekend). Clicks "Save."
Jane is still looking at her screen. It still says "Let." She doesn't see Tom's update.
Landlord asks: "So is the tenant still there?"
Jane: "Yes, property shows as Let."
Landlord: "That's strange, the tenant texted me this morning saying they're moving out."
Jane (confused): "Let me check with the office..."
Five minutes of confusion later, Jane refreshes her browser. Now it shows "Notice Given." Tom updated it 5 minutes ago, but Jane's screen didn't update automatically.
This is the multi-staff collaboration problem in property management software: Two people looking at the same property. One makes a change. The other doesn't see it until they manually refresh the page.
This week, we fixed this in LetAdmin. Changes appear instantly for everyone viewing a property—no refresh button required. Tom updates property status, Jane's screen updates automatically within 1 second. Upload a photo, it appears in everyone's view immediately. Schedule an inspection, all staff see it instantly.
No more "wait, refresh your page." No more giving landlords outdated information because your screen hasn't updated. No more accidentally overwriting someone else's changes.
This article explains why real-time updates matter for multi-staff agencies, how it works (you don't need to do anything—it just works), and what it means for collaboration, data integrity, and landlord communication.
The Problem: Multi-Staff Agencies Working Blind
Most property management software works like this:
- You load a property page (it shows the data as it existed when you loaded the page)
- Someone else updates that property
- Your screen doesn't change
- You're now looking at outdated data
- You only see the update if you manually refresh
This creates four problems for agencies with multiple staff:
Problem 1: Giving Landlords Outdated Information
Scenario: Landlord calls Jane asking about property status while Tom is updating it in the office.
- 10:23am: Tom updates property from "Available" to "Let" (applicant just paid deposit)
- 10:24am: Landlord calls Jane asking if property is still available
- Jane looks at LetAdmin on her phone: Still shows "Available" (page loaded at 10:15am, hasn't refreshed)
- Jane: "Yes, still available. Would you like to arrange a viewing?"
- Landlord: "Great, I'll come by this afternoon."
- 2:47pm: Landlord arrives for viewing. Tom: "Sorry, that property was let this morning."
- Landlord (irritated): "Why did Jane tell me it was available 4 hours ago?"
Problem cost: Lost landlord trust + 1 hour wasted time + embarrassment.
Problem 2: Accidentally Overwriting Someone Else's Changes
Scenario: Tom and Jane both have the same property open. Both make different changes. Whoever saves last wins (the other person's changes are lost).
- 10:23am: Tom opens property 42 Oak St (to add inspection notes)
- 10:25am: Jane opens same property (to update rent amount)
- 10:27am: Tom adds inspection notes, clicks "Save"
- 10:29am: Jane updates rent amount, clicks "Save" (overwrites Tom's inspection notes—they're gone now)
- 11:14am: Tom looks for his inspection notes. They're not there. "Did I forget to save? I definitely saved..."
Problem cost: Lost work + 10-15 minutes re-entering data + confusion.
Problem 3: Photo Upload Confusion
Scenario: Tom uploads 8 photos to a property listing. Jane has the property open reviewing the listing before publishing to Rightmove.
- Jane's screen shows 12 existing photos
- Tom uploads 8 new photos (total should be 20)
- Jane's screen still shows 12 photos
- Jane: "Tom, did you upload those photos yet?"
- Tom: "Yes, 10 minutes ago. You should see 20 photos now."
- Jane: "I only see 12."
- Tom: "Refresh your page."
- Jane refreshes: "Oh, there they are. Why didn't they show up automatically?"
Problem cost: 5 minutes confusion per photo upload + workflow interruption + "did you refresh?" conversations.
Problem 4: Inspection Scheduling Conflicts
Scenario: Tom and Jane both scheduling inspections for the same property. Neither knows the other is also scheduling.
- Tom schedules inspection for Tuesday 10am
- Jane (screen not updated) doesn't see Tom's inspection
- Jane schedules another inspection for Tuesday 10am (different tenant)
- Tuesday 10am: Two inspections booked for same property, same time
- Monday 4:47pm: Jane calls Tom: "Are you doing the Oak St inspection tomorrow?"
- Tom: "Yes, 10am."
- Jane: "Wait, I also have an inspection scheduled for 10am."
- Problem cost: 15 minutes sorting out conflict + rescheduling one inspection + calling tenant to apologize.
How LetAdmin Solves This: Instant Real-Time Updates
LetAdmin now updates your screen automatically when anything changes—no refresh required.
Here's what happens:
When Tom Updates Property Status:
- Tom opens property 42 Oak St, changes status to "Notice Given," clicks "Save"
- Within 1 second: Jane's screen (also viewing 42 Oak St) updates automatically showing "Notice Given"
- Jane sees the change highlighted briefly (visual feedback: "this just changed")
- No refresh needed. No manual sync. Just works.
When Someone Uploads Photos:
- Tom uploads 8 photos to property listing
- Within 2 seconds: Jane's screen (viewing same property) shows all 8 new photos appearing in gallery
- Photos appear with brief animation (visual feedback: "these just arrived")
- Jane can immediately review photos, reorder them, publish to Rightmove—no refresh needed
When Someone Schedules Inspection:
- Jane schedules inspection for Tuesday 10am
- Within 1 second: Tom's screen (viewing same property) shows new inspection in list
- Tom sees "New inspection: Tuesday 10am" indicator
- Tom doesn't accidentally double-book same time slot
Everything syncs instantly. Everyone sees the same data. No refresh needed.
Real-World Example: Before vs After Real-Time Updates
Before (manual refresh required):
- Monday 10:23am: Tom marks property as "Notice Given"
- Monday 10:24am: Landlord calls Jane asking about property availability
- Jane looks at LetAdmin on phone: Shows "Let" (loaded at 10:15am, hasn't refreshed)
- Jane: "Tenant is still in place, no notice given yet"
- Landlord: "That's strange, tenant just texted me about moving out"
- Jane: "Let me check with the office..." (calls Tom)
- Tom: "I just updated it to Notice Given 5 minutes ago. Refresh your page."
- Jane refreshes: "Oh, I see it now. Sorry about the confusion."
- Total time wasted: 8 minutes + landlord confusion
After (real-time updates):
- Monday 10:23am: Tom marks property as "Notice Given"
- Monday 10:23am (1 second later): Jane's screen auto-updates showing "Notice Given"
- Monday 10:24am: Landlord calls Jane asking about property availability
- Jane looks at LetAdmin: Shows "Notice Given" (auto-updated)
- Jane: "Yes, tenant handed notice in this weekend. Property will be available in 8 weeks."
- Landlord: "Perfect, keep me updated on viewings."
- Total time: 2 minutes, accurate information, happy landlord
Time saved: 6 minutes per call.
Landlord trust maintained: Priceless.
What Agents Will Notice
In The Office:
Multiple people can work on properties simultaneously:
- Tom updates property details
- Jane sees updates instantly on her screen
- No "refresh your page" conversations
- No accidentally overwriting each other's work
On Mobile Between Viewings:
Information stays current:
- Office staff updates property while you're out
- Your phone screen updates automatically
- You never give landlords outdated information
- No awkward "let me refresh and check again" moments
When Uploading Photos:
Photos appear for everyone immediately:
- Tom uploads 8 photos from viewing
- Jane (reviewing same listing) sees photos appear instantly
- No "did you upload them yet?" confusion
- Publish to Rightmove immediately (no waiting for refresh)
When Scheduling Inspections:
Everyone sees the schedule:
- Jane books inspection for Tuesday 10am
- Tom's screen shows it instantly
- No double-booking same time slot
- No conflict resolution conversations needed
Why This Matters for Small Multi-Staff Agencies
If you're running a 2-5 person letting agency, real-time collaboration prevents daily workflow friction.
Common scenarios in 2-person agency:
Scenario 1: Office staff + agent in field
- Agent out doing viewings (using LetAdmin on phone)
- Office staff updating properties (using LetAdmin on desktop)
- Agent needs current information to answer landlord questions
- Without real-time updates: Agent's phone shows outdated data, has to call office to confirm
- With real-time updates: Agent's phone auto-updates, always shows current data
Scenario 2: Multiple staff scheduling
- Two people scheduling inspections and viewings
- Without real-time updates: Accidentally double-book time slots, waste time resolving conflicts
- With real-time updates: Everyone sees the schedule instantly, no conflicts
Scenario 3: Property marketing workflow
- One person updating property details
- Another person preparing Rightmove listing
- Without real-time updates: Marketing person works with outdated photos/description, has to manually refresh
- With real-time updates: Marketing person sees updates instantly, publishes correct listing first time
How It Works: Automatic Background Sync (No Refresh Needed)
You might wonder: "How does my screen update automatically?"
Here's what happens behind the scenes:
- You open a property in LetAdmin
- Your browser establishes a live connection to LetAdmin servers
- When anyone changes that property, LetAdmin sends update to all connected browsers
- Your screen updates automatically (1-2 seconds after the change)
- You see visual indication of what changed (brief highlight)
You don't need to do anything. It just works.
No refresh button clicking. No "sync now" commands. No manual updates.
Technical note (for curious agents): This uses WebSocket technology (same technology that powers live chat apps, real-time sports scores, and collaborative Google Docs editing). It's fast, efficient, and works on desktop and mobile.
Time Savings: Stop Manually Refreshing
Before real-time updates (typical 2-person agency workflow):
- Refresh property pages 20 times/day to see if office made updates: 5 min/day
- Call office 5 times/day asking "did you update X yet?": 10 min/day
- Fix conflicts from accidentally overwriting each other: 15 min/week
- Apologize to landlords for giving outdated info: 10 min/week
- Total: 20 min/day = 73 hours/year wasted per person
With real-time updates:
- Refresh property pages: Never (auto-updates)
- Call office asking about updates: Never (see updates instantly)
- Fix overwrite conflicts: Never (see who's editing what)
- Apologize for outdated info: Never (always showing current data)
- Total: 0 hours/year wasted = 73 hours/year saved per person
For a 2-person agency: 146 hours/year saved.
Visual Feedback: See What Just Changed
When updates arrive in real-time, LetAdmin highlights what changed:
Property Status Change:
- Status badge briefly highlights (yellow → green flash)
- You see what changed without hunting through the page
- After 2 seconds, highlight fades (but change remains)
New Photos Uploaded:
- Photos appear with slide-in animation
- New photo indicator: "New" badge for 30 seconds
- You immediately know which photos just arrived
Inspection Scheduled:
- Inspection list updates
- New inspection highlighted (green background)
- You see it without scrolling through list
Why visual feedback matters: Without it, updates would happen silently and you might not notice. Brief highlights make updates visible without being distracting.
Common Questions
"Does this work on mobile?"
Yes. Real-time updates work identically on desktop, tablet, and mobile phone.
If you're on your phone between viewings and office staff updates a property, your phone screen updates automatically.
"What if I'm on patchy mobile signal?"
LetAdmin handles this gracefully:
- Strong signal: Updates arrive within 1 second
- Weak signal: Updates arrive within 5-10 seconds (as soon as connection stabilizes)
- No signal: Updates queue up and arrive when signal returns
- Connection restored: All updates since last connection arrive automatically
No data loss. Updates always arrive eventually.
"Can I see who made the change?"
Yes. When property updates, you see:
- "Updated by Tom 3 seconds ago" indicator
- Brief notification: "Tom changed property status to Notice Given"
- Full audit trail in property history
You always know who made which changes.
"What if two people edit the same field simultaneously?"
LetAdmin detects this and prevents overwrite conflicts:
Scenario: Tom and Jane both editing property rent amount.
- Tom changes rent to £850/month, clicks "Save"
- Jane (who had page open before Tom's change) tries to change rent to £875/month
- LetAdmin shows warning: "This property was modified by Tom 30 seconds ago. Your changes might overwrite his. Refresh to see current data before saving."
- Jane refreshes, sees Tom changed it to £850, decides whether to override or keep Tom's change
No accidental overwrites. No lost work.
"Does real-time sync work for all features?"
Currently real-time for:
- Property details (status, rent, availability, description)
- Photos (uploads, reordering, deletes)
- Inspections (scheduling, updates, cancellations)
- Property notes (additions, edits)
Future enhancements: Real-time for tenant applications, maintenance requests, landlord communications.
What This Means for Small Agencies
If you're managing 50-150 properties with 2-5 staff, real-time collaboration eliminates coordination overhead.
Big corporate agencies have formal processes: "Only the office manager updates property statuses. Field agents call in updates. Weekly sync meetings."
Small agencies can't afford that overhead. You need everyone to work simultaneously without stepping on each other's toes.
Real-time updates give you enterprise collaboration with zero process overhead:
- No refresh button gymnastics
- No "did you update it yet?" phone calls
- No accidentally overwriting each other's work
- No giving landlords outdated information
- No coordination meetings required
Just everyone working together, seeing the same data instantly.
We'd Love to Hear from You
How do you currently handle multi-staff collaboration? Phone calls asking "did you update X?" Frequent page refreshes? Dedicated "data entry person" to avoid conflicts?
How many times per day do you refresh pages to see if anything changed? Be honest—most agents estimate 15-30 times/day.
What collaboration problems drive you crazy in your current property system? We're building this based on real agency needs.
Get in touch: paul@letadmin.com
LetAdmin is in active development, built by letting agents for letting agents. This real-time collaboration system is being used at Phillip James (370+ properties) with 5 staff members and refined based on real-world multi-staff usage. If you're interested in seeing how it works or want to join the priority list, we'd love to hear from you.