Best property management software

[Kyle Andrade]

I just closed on my first 4 unit rental property and I have been looking online for the best property management software that I can use to keep everything organized and provide a one stop shop for all the information on my rental. I know a lot of them offer services as far as tenant screening, background checks, and even provide rent payments to the owner through their software.

Was wondering what other professionals use as there are a lot of products out there with different features and what their experiences are with them. I only have the one rental so far so I don’t need a $500 software unless it’s really worth it and would be better in the long run seeing as I do plan on growing my portfolio in the future.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance!

[Scott M.]

As a property manager with hundreds of units under our belt, thousands since 1999 I can tell you there is no best.  Not just my opinion, but that is the opinion of everyone I have spoken with on this topic for 2 decades.  I can give you the benefit of our experience though.

We started with excel, then moved to propertware then buildium and now with appfolio and we will probably stay with appfolio, not because we love them, but because moving is a giant PITA. 

Also, because we have learned there is no best.  Everyone has its plus and minus and you simply need to chose what you can live with.  And for us, we can live with appfolio.

After we made the last move I new that we would never find the perfect solution and instead we found solutions for the areas that appfolio lacks.  if I had to do it all over again I would probably have stayed where I was VS thinking the grass is going to be greener.  It won't be, just different problems.  So we built applications and use other software to help overcome the shortcomings in our main software.

They all offer free month or so, I would do them 1 at a time.  Don't listen to the BS on the sales call, get hooked up with rently or buildium or others for a month, really devote yourself to working with it, after you try several you will find one you can live with.  

Not trying to be a downer here, just being realistic that finding the best is like finding a unicorn.  But the 4 I mentioned here are the biggest in the industry, or at least among the biggest.