Property Management System

[Andy Algreen]

What is your go to property management software for rentals?

[Thomas Talbert]

Appfolio, Rentvine, Buildium are the 3 big players in the market. All are priced about the same but there are some cheaper options like rentmanager, promas, or doorloop. 

[Michael Smythe]

@Andy Algreen for how many units?

You can get RentRedi for free when you sign up for BP Pro membership.

[Dave Spooner]

Hey Andy! I could talk for hours about this. Happy to answer any questions you have to find one that does it all as I know one! Feel free to DM me if you want to schedule a chat.

[Sandeep Shukla]

Quote from @Dave Spooner:

Hey Andy! I could talk for hours about this. Happy to answer any questions you have to find one that does it all as I know one! Feel free to DM me if you want to schedule a chat.

 Would you mind sharing to help everyone here?

[Sandeep Shukla]

Quote from @Sandeep Shukla:

Quote from @Dave Spooner:

Hey Andy! I could talk for hours about this. Happy to answer any questions you have to find one that does it all as I know one! Feel free to DM me if you want to schedule a chat.

 Would you mind sharing to help everyone here?

 While researching for the apps I guess I know now which company you are referring to :)

I will keep Innago in mind. 

[Dave Spooner]

Hey Sandeep, for sure! I just DM'd you

[Andy Algreen]

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Andy Algreen for how many units?

You can get RentRedi for free when you sign up for BP Pro membership.

 I chat with a decent amount of investors and get this question every so often. Essentailly, any where from 1-50 units.

That is good to know about RentRedi!

[Tim J.]

Do not use RentRedi.  I tried it and it is awful.  

[Sandeep Shukla]

Quote from @Tim J.:

Do not use RentRedi.  I tried it and it is awful.  

 Hi Tim - what do you use?

[Prabhu Kumar]

It depends on the number of Units, Residential or Commercial, Apartment Complex or mix of Single Family and Multifamily.

Under 25 unit  - Tenant Cloud, Rentech
Under 100 - Then Doorloop/Buildium.

100+ - AppFolio, Yardi, Rent Manager.

Apartment Management : Yardi seems to be wildly used

Single Family ( Mixed ) - AppFolio seems to be popular

Rent manager has a good customer support team. If you need  a lot of support and hand holding.

[Tim J.]

Quote from @Sandeep Shukla:

Quote from @Tim J.:

Do not use RentRedi.  I tried it and it is awful.  

 Hi Tim - what do you use?

I use Stessa and Buildium

[Brad Hollatz]

I am just starting out with my first single family home.  I am currently using Avail which I found to be a very intuitive light weight platform to get started.  The price is extremely low, but I needed to supplement it with other platforms at times.  Marketing example - Avail is aligned with Realtor.com,  I also used Zillow as well as Marketplace to list the property for rent because they provided more traffic.  The accounting module is adding capabilities and can get you ready for tax season, but by no means has the capabilities of larger platforms that are more expensive.  I am an Enterprise Architect for my day job.  My suggestion is take the time to research the platforms and try them out.  If you are just starting out and learning the business , Avail is a great starter platform for single family homes.  When I first started doing research I was looking for the perfect platform where I was really over architecting my personal need.  I am growing slowly and the larger platforms were creating unneeded complexity and cost for my business needs.  I hope my post was helpful and I wish everyone the best.

[Nathan Gesner]

Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. You only need a place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, etc. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet, and it will take less time to track than finding and learning new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it. Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.
2. Software has 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. Do you need all this for a couple of rentals?
3. There is no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws, or you may salivate over a feature that appears in other software.

Some familiar names are mentioned frequently: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend conducting thorough research on each app online to understand their offerings, pricing, etc. Create a simple spreadsheet or written list to compare the features of each and identify the ones that align with your requirements. Try to narrow down your options to the top 3-4. Once you have a shortlist, sign up for an account with each one and test them extensively to see how they function. Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.

• 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, and 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 should clearly stand out. It's important to choose that one and commit to using it. Remember, no system is perfect, so avoid the temptation of constantly chasing after the next shiny object. You should only consider switching when your current software has a significant flaw or lacks features that force you to spend excessive time on workarounds. At that point, it's worth researching and finding a solution that better meets your needs.

[Mike Frazier]

Quote from @Dave Spooner:

Hey Sandeep, for sure! I just DM'd you

 Can you DM me as well please?