What DIY property management software do you use?

[Mauricio Quintana]

BP Community,

I am in the process of renting out a property that is 4 states over.  As you can imagine, scheduling people to see the property, answering the same questions over and over via email and trying to create a process has been quite a task.

Here's the areas I'm struggling with:

Applications:  sending out word or PDF documents has been tough as most potential tenants don't have a home computer or printer access.

Showings:  I'm in Houston and property is in Atlanta.... and we are in the midst of CV-19.  I have local contacts that can help me with showings.  I'm thinking an open house would be the best way to go.  Any thoughts?

Interested parties:  How do I weed out the interested parties with those who are just looking around?

Collecting rent:  Class C tenants, however most are technologically savvy.  What do you use to collect rent electronically?  How much do you pay for it

If anyone has thoughts on the above or a specific software/app that alleviates many of these headaches, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks!

[Kenny Dahill]

Hi @Mauricio Quintana,

Congrats on the property.  I would find a free software site since you only have 1 property.  Sites like Buildium / Appfolio are great and powerful, however they start at about $50 per month.  With only one property, that is a large monthly expense.  There are plenty of sites that focus primarily on landlords and free.

Some feedback on your issues:

• Applications:  You can try Google Forms.  Set up is simple and allows you to create any questions you want.  Send applicants a link and their responses will enter into a Google Sheets (i.e. Excel).  No printing.  No home computer needed, they can fill it out on their phone.
• Showings:  Open houses always work best.  It is bulking your tasks over time.  If you have a local partner, this will reduce their efforts as well.  Pick a good evening or Saturday morning.  Then send all interested parties the date and time.
• Interested Parties:  This is always tough because you can never truly know somebody's intent.  However, a sure sign is them responding to your open house schedule and filling out your Rent Application.  Even if you have 2 applications, a simple quick form to 'test' their interests and then a formal form that follows the standard questions.
• Collecting Rent:  Any landlord software will have rent collection available.  ACH or credit card.  Sites vary but most charge the tents $1-5 per transaction.  However, there are sites that offer free ACH for tenants.  Although PayPal and Venmo are great payment apps, I would avoid using them because they do not prevent partial payments.  In case you ever need to evict a tenant, limiting to full payments will reduce your risk.  I've stopped accepting Venmo for that very reason.

Best of luck and please let me know if you have any questions.