Would You Try This? Rent Collection & Tenant Messaging Without Apps

Question

Hey everyone - I’m working on a simple, app-free tool for small landlords managing 1-10 units, working 9-to-5 jobs, or renting out properties on the side. The goal? Make rent collection & tenant communication as simple as possible, without forcing tenants into another app.

Rent collection via text – Tenants tap a secure, branded payment link sent via SMS (powered by Stripe w/ 2FA) - no app, no login, just tap, pay, and get an instant receipt. Auto-pay is available, + an optional portal for those who prefer that method.

Automatic text message logging – No in-app messaging required…every rent reminder, payment, maintenance request, and general conversation via text is automatically saved and searchable by tenant and property in a centralized location. No more lost texts, scattered conversations or he-said, she-said…resolve any potential disputes quickly and have a history of all messages. Even if you delete the text messages from your phone, they’re still logged.

Call & text forwarding – Keep your personal number private with a dedicated business number for tenant calls and messages you can use for your rental properties. Forward texts & calls to a property manager (or trusted friend/contact) when needed while still keeping a full message history.

Why?

• - Over 95% of texts are read within 3 minutes - reduce late payments by having another easier method for tenants to pay rent.
• - ~60% of renters want to communicate with their landlord/property manager via text message.
• - Easier adoption for tenants – no need to require tenants to download another app or set-up an account, just to pay rent or submit maintenance requests. This keeps it nice and simple, especially for small landlords who use texting as their primary method of communication.

By removing forced apps & logins, rent payments become easier for tenants, especially for non-tech-savvy or older renters–leading to fewer late payments and improved communication & record keeping.

Would love your feedback - would you try a tool like this? These features are for an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), with more capabilities in the works.

Thank you so much and look forwarding to discussing!

Drew Sygit · Answer

Thanks for clarifying!

We currently use Stripe as a payment option for debit/credit cards and tenants do NOT have to set up a Stripe account.

We have integrated RingCentral into our business as it has one dashboard for: slack-type internal chat, phone, text, fax, video calls. EVERYTHING is recorded, accessible by management.

We do NOT allow our staff to use personal cell phones as can't track or record. RingCentral has mobile app they use to access the system on their cell.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Chandler Hall you didn't mention the biggest reason this may work - tenants changing/losing their phones, which causes them to lose their app passwords:(

While this makes great logic on the tenant-side, don't see how it will work on the landlord-side?

DIY landlords should be able to "set & forget" these SMS messages to send on a monthly basis. They'll also want to track which ones are accessed and then which ones are used to pay rent.

Landlords will probably need to set up their own Stripe accounts.

What SMS system are you planning on using? Many PMC tools use Twilio, which seems to have less mass-text restrictions than other providers. So, DIY landlords will need to set up an SMS account somewhere.

If there's no app, where are landlord & tenant going to be able to search the history? Just on their phone?

If a DIY landlord is using Stessa, RentRedi or other cheap/free DIY platforms, how will you integrate this?

Otherwise, you'll only be targeting DIY landlords that are only using spreadsheets or their memory to manage their tenants.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Chandler Hall yes, as I already stated:)

The tenants that will appreciate this the most will be Class C and below tenants. Everyone else will be familiar with online options.

Many Class C tenants won't have a credit/debit card to use with Stripe.

So, you'll want to conside integration with Zelle, Venmo and other payment options.

Chandler Hall · Answer

@Drew Sygit Got it! I actually use RingCentral for my day job, so I know what you're talking about...sounds like you have a solid system in place. For property management firms like yours, tools like RingCentral make sense to provide centralized control across multiple team members which is definitely important at scale.

One last question if you don't mind - do you think any of your tenants would prefer the option to pay rent via text with a one-click secure link instead of always going through an online portal? I’ve found that some tenants, especially those who aren’t as tech-savvy, struggle with portals, forget passwords, or just prefer something faster and simpler.

Chandler Hall · Answer

@Drew Sygit - thank you for your detailed response and questions! You bring up some great points. Let me try to break your response down and clarify a few things.

1. Tenant phone changes/lost passwords - totally agree, this is a common issue with app-based systems. Tenants often forget passwords, change phones, get locked out, etc. With the platform I'm working on, tenants don't need a separate app or login. They can simply text their landlord as usual, and their messages/payments are automatically tracked & logged. For rent payments, they'd still have the option to pay using the online portal if they prefer that method as well.

2. Set & forget - This platform will be designed to be hands-off for landlords

- Auto SMS reminders (similar to lots of other tools) for rent due dates, payment links, upcoming maintenance appts, etc.

- The tool will also provide text message tracking insights like which texts were delivered and led to rent payments.

- Auto-logging of all texts between landlords and tenants for seamless record-keeping.

3. SMS System - like you mentioned, we're integrating with Twilio for SMS and call forwarding. The platform will handle mass texting, auto-SMS reminders, and auto-logging of all text messages for future reference.

4. Where is history stored? I should've clarified this better in my post!

- Landlords will have an online dashboard where all messages, payments, docs, are stored and organized by tenant and property. Tenants get an "app-free" experience, but the landlord will still have a full dashboard to manage everything.

- Tenants will have the option to create an account and login into a portal to pay rent or view payment history, but this is not required. They will be able to pay rent and check payment history entirely via text message if they prefer (i.e. "text 1 to see your last 12 months of payment history")

- Like I mentioned to Chris in the other comment on this post, if a tenant texts me saying "the washing machine broken", the tool would auto-log that text under the tenant's and property's profile as a maintenance request in the landlord's dashboard - no extra steps needed from the landlord or tenant.

5. Stripe - rent payments will be processed via Stripe. Landlords & tenants will need to connect a Stripe account (many already use it, and for those who don’t, setup is quick & simple)

6. Future Integrations - At launch, the tool will be a standalone platform for small landlords who want a lightweight, easy-to-use solution that handles their core property management functions. Future integrations with other PM tools could happen down the road if we start to gain traction!

Curious - which tools do you use for your properties? Do you let your tenants text your personal phone, or require them to use an in-app messaging system?

If you use texting as a communication method, would it be helpful to have all messages automatically tracked and logged in a dashboard for record-keeping, alongside other core PM features?

Chandler Hall · Answer

@Chris Seveney first off, thank you for your response! You're right - there’s a lot of competition in the PM software space. But one of the issues I’ve seen is that most tools require tenants/landlords to communicate through in-app messaging to track conversations, submit maintenance requests, etc. If a tenant texts their landlord outside of the app, there's no way to easily track or manage those texts unless you're using an expensive PM tool built for large landlords/property management companies. Otherwise, these texts can get lost in your personal phone, mixed in with your family and friend's messages, or accidently deleted.

As a small landlord myself, I'd rather not force my tenants into an app - I’d rather keep it simple with texting while automatically logging those texts in a central place (landlord dashboard) for record-keeping and a clear paper trail. For example, if a tenant texts me saying the washing machine broke, this tool would auto-log that message under the tenant's and property's profile as a maintenance request in the landlord's dashboard without me having to do anything extra or have the tenants submit a request in an app.

That’s exactly who this tool would be built for - small landlords who prefer texting but need an easy way to stay organized, along with lightweight tools to manage other aspects of their properties. Most landlords I’ve talked to thus far love the convenience of texting but struggle with tracking these conversations, and tenants also overwhelmingly prefer texting over using an app which is the area I am trying to address.

How about you? Do you use PM software with in-app messaging to communicate with tenants (outside of email), or do you still rely on texting for most tenant interactions? If you still use texting as one of your communication methods, would you use a tool that auto-logs all those messages?

Chris Seveney · Answer

I am not sure there is enough demand as there is some pretty tight competition as most PM software now allows for this along with an app. Just my 2 cents - have you reached out to smaller owners to see if they would use this?

Would You Try This? Rent Collection & Tenant Messaging Without Apps

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