Appfolio: good or bad?

[John Hagen]

I currently manage 9 units and expect to double if not triple that by the ended of the year. I am looking at software to help. I read all the previous discussion and saw a lot of recommendation. Appfolio caught my eye and was looking for personal testimonial good and bad.

Thank you for your help!

[Adrienne Henley]

Hi @John Hagen, 

Looking into software to help you manage your units is very beneficial. However, I would be careful with the minimum and on boarding fee. 

If you want to send me a PM I could let you know about a more affordable option. 

Best of luck and hope to chat soon!

-Adrienne

[Gita Faust]

Appfolio is great. Only think I miss it the ability to print vendor checks to print, reconcile bank accounts and view financial reports.

Correct me if I am wrong.

[Cornelius Dudley]

@Gita Faust Appfolio does allow you to print vendor checks, reconcile bank accounts and view financial reports.

[Cornelius Dudley]

@John Hagen as far as testimonials for Appfolio you could look for reviews online.  If you use Google then just type in "Appfolio reviews -site:appfolio.com" without the parenthesis.  This will give you reviews that are not on the Appfolio website.  Appfolio can be very expensive for smaller landlords and property managers.  There is a base monthly price regardless of how many units you have.  

There are several software packages that do what Appfolio does.   I perceive from your initial post that you are a third party property manager (you manage properties for others).  What will be good is to make a list of all the things that you would like to use a property management software to automate.  Don't just limit yourself to what a property management software company says they can do.  Remember property management software companies have to make their product look good.  You have to make sure that the property management software works for you.  

You can PM me if you have other questions or just post them here so everyone can profit from the conversation.  

[Kim Meredith Hampton]

John Hagen I have used Appfolio since 2009, and absolutely love the program and all the features and efficiency it has.
On your problem with cost, Appfolio has a flat fee for 100 units, even if you only have 10'or 20. Having said that, the money that you save it time may be worth it! There is Buildium and RentManager that may fit your budget. Check out affiliate/vendors with NARPM

[Cornelius Dudley]

@Kim Meredith Hampton It is a $250 minimum now.  It costs 1.25 per unit.  So they price it at 200 units minimum.

[Brian Phelt]

Hello John,

We use Appfolio as well and it's great.  Like others have mentioned, you will be paying more per door than other softwares out there (initially).  This is not a bad thing if you plan to scale over time as indicated.  If not, I would recommend Buildium, as they are almost identical to Appfolio but offer two pricing tiers.   Feel free to reach if you have any questions.

Best of luck.

[Austin Fruechting]

@John Hagen - 

It's been a few years but I loved appfolio when I was building my property management business.  Everything just seemed "tight" from the website, to the generated adds for places like craigslist, to the back end.  It was the cleanest program top to bottom IMO when I was searching.  I'm sure some others have improved since, but zero regrets with appfolio.  The people that bought my business continue to use it to this day.

Whatever you choose, don't worry about an extra $100-200 now.  If you go with a clunky system because it was cheap, you'll probably want to upgrade later.  Imagine the time and headaches associated with trying to make sure everything transfers over cleanly at that point.  Tough to say that's worth the $1,000-2,000 you saved a year.  

Especially if a slicker system could have helped you grow faster.

You are building a business. Get the system you want for the long haul. From the backend accounting, to the ads created, to the web presence. A polished system is also great marketing and one more thing to sell your services to owners. It makes you seem much more advanced and professional.

[Jonathan McKay]

We use AppFolio for 72 units across 9 buildings that we own. It has been helpful in professionalizing our property management, although has not replaced quickbooks for accounting. As others have mentioned in this thread, it helps tremendously with scaling, and I imagine we will continue to use it at least through 1000+ units.  The $250 a month is definitely worth it for me.