Best way to build first RE website

[Michael King]

I am looking to launch my first website for my 9 SFH rental portfolio. The options I have looked at are using a pro developer for a custom website, building it using Wix or a WordPress built site with a hosting company, REI Blackbook for an all-encompassing approach. At the moment what I need is a website where I can list all my vacant properties, create workflows for rental applications, automated payments and ideally a website that can be an API for my Rent Manager database. I guess I could also use some the standard site such as Rent-Redi or Tenant Cloud and just forego a separate website altogether. The bottom line is that I want to automate everything a landlord needs so that I can grow my portfolio without being overwhelmed with administrative details.

Second, I would like that when I am ready to get into other areas of real estate investing like wholesaling, flipping I can build on what I already have in my initial website. This is of secondary importance at the moment.

My question is this, what approaches have people used for establishing a real estate website that would take you from a small portfolio to one consisting of let's say 100 units?

Thanks in advance for any ideas or comments,

Michael King

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Michael King:

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. A free software like TenantCloud will handle 90% of what you need and you can fill in the gaps with a spreadsheet or something.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. All you need is a single place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, and a few other things. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet and it will take less time to track than it would to find and learn a new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it.
2. Software does have extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. But do you really need that for your one rental?
3. There's no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws or you'll salivate over a feature that shows up in other software.

Some common names you'll see thrown around a lot: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend you search for each of those apps online and see what they offer, how much they charge, etc. Make a simple spreadsheet or written list with the features of each and see which ones appeal to you most. Try to narrow it down to your top 3-4. Once you have a short list, get an account with each one and run them through the wringer to see how they really function. Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.

• Load a property with pictures and details.
• Market that property.
• See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
• Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
• Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
• Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, attach a fake invoice.
• Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
• Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
• Sign documents electronically.
• Run owner reports.

After testing a few apps, one of them should stand out for you. Choose that one and use it. No system is perfect, so don't waste your time chasing after the next shiny object. You should only have to change when your current software has a flaw or lacking feature that is causing you to spend too much work on a work-around. Then you can consider researching and finding something that meets your needs better.