Buildium ups prices by over 50% for little-guys - so, tell us what you're using and why?

Question

I just got a note telling me my monthly cost for Buildium's services will climb from $25 to $40 a month. This is significant to me since, I only have 3 units to begin with and I will be paying as much as if I had them helping me with 24.

I am sure I am not the only person who will be shopping around and trying other services out so my question is - what cloud-based property management software are you using now, what is the monthly rate, how many units do you manage, and what are your likes and dislikes? I know there are a lot of opinions and threads out there on this very topic, but I started this one assuming a) a small-time landlord or PM, and b) recent comparison as both Buildium and others have been adding features lately.

I am both looking to be as paper-less as possible, and I like to access the service from a tablet on the go. I also live out of state from my properties but coordinate closely with a single on-site maintenance person, so I am predominately looking for the web/cloud based services that we can both log into and interact with, and not a quickbooks style solution.

Ryan Swan · Answer

@Michael Monteiro Thanks for chiming in.

While we have your ear, I thought I'd ask a couple questions:

1) You claim you are constantly adding features, but it seems Buildium is  extremely slow in implementing new features that your CUSTOMERS ask for the most. Looking at the "customer ideas" suggestion center in Buildium, there are literally dozens upon dozens of requested features with hundreds of votes that have not been implemented. For example, the top requested feature "ability to customize reports" was posted in May 2011 and has 844 votes and 98 comments, yet it still hasn't been implemented. I sure hope part of the increased monthly dues will go towards hiring more developers to implement these requested features (features that many of your competitors already have).

2) A few months ago, the way rental listings are displayed on the public website seemed to change arbitrarily and without notice. At first I thought there was an error with my own page, so I contacted support. They told me this was the new intended functionality. I was surprised and angry that you made a change that affected my LIVE public site without so much as a heads up or warning. I used to work in web development and I can tell you a client would have fired us if we made a significant change to their public site without notifying them it was coming.

Michael Monteiro · Answer

Hey guys,

Michael here. I'm the CEO and co-founder of Buildium.

First, let me say we lost a lot of sleep over the last several months thinking about pricing. No one likes it when their price increases, including me.

So I get it.

It's a sensitive topic, but the truth is our old pricing wasn't sustainable for our company. At $25/month, it takes us nearly two years to break even. That's not our customers' problem, but it's a reality we could not continue to ignore.

Even with the increase, though, we believe Buildium is still a great value when compared with other comprehensive solutions that include accounting, e-payments, tenant screening, rental listing syndication, maintenance, and other integrated services.

I know there are other options like Cozy and Rentalutions, but I don't know them well enough to recommend them.

Please let me know if anyone finds a less expensive option that meets their needs. We would love to recommend an alternative to folks who determine Buildium provides more than they need.

Michael

Mark Houston · Answer

Buildium has directed this price increase squarely at the little guy by removing the 25 unit category.  Anyone with 1 to 30 units is going to be much worse off than before. I personally have 21 units and am looking at a 250% price increase when (if) I come to renew.

Buildium has been inviting to the small property manager over the past several years with reasonable pricing, and decent/fair software and service offering.

They got us hooked by having us invest our time in learning the package and getting everything setup properly, as well as our money in setup fees etc.

While I can imagine Buildium's new venture capitalists are putting pressure on Michael to maximum their return on investment, making a decision to focus on the big guys and openly show the small guys the door is both shortsighted and a real slap in the face to those who onboarded early and built  Buildium to what it is today.

Really sad to see a great company make such a stupid decision.

Jeff Blanchard · Answer

I think Buildium's change in pricing accurately reflects the complexity & cost of developing and supporting software like this. You're trusting sensitive and work-critical data with people who should be justifiably skilled. A single high-level developer in a tier-1 city may make $100k/year or more; the work is difficult, very detail oriented and often stressful. Then you have technology costs, legal, security... just keeping the lights on is not cheap.

Having said that, I don't like changing pricing on existing customers. But inflation doesn't pass over people in the programming industry...

John Chapman · Answer

Yeah, I saw this and was a little disappointed as well.  However, I really like the system and will probably stick with it.

I guess I would first ask, why do you even need a software like this for only three rentals?  You would probably be fine just using excel and email.  I signed up for buildium once I hit 19 doors because my system was strained, and have been very pleased so far.  I doubt I would have appreciated all the benefits when I only had a few units.

My guess is that like most landlording expenses, a decent, cloud-based, property management software is going to be relatively expensive when you are just starting out but will become more reasonable once you've achieved scale.

Account Closed · Answer

@Paul J.

I saw this price increase hit my inbox this morning and had the same disappointed reaction that you are experiencing.

I joined Buildium two months ago and prior to signing up I conducted some relatively thorough research and Buildium was by far the best bang for the buck. In fact, it was far less expensive than nearly everything out there. I am sure that is why they are upping the price.

Aaron Mazzrillo · Answer

Quickbooks is all you need. It's who everyone else is trying to be anyway so just go with the real McCoy.

Ryan Coon · Answer

Michael - thank you mentioning Rentalutions.  I can empathize with the hours of thought that goes into pricing. It's not fun.

Mark Houston · Answer

Has anyone tries sparkrent (by intuit) for ACH and CC rental payment ?

Susan Gillespie · Answer

@Paul J. I've always had hybrid property management (multiple PMs) due to having in- and out-of-state rentals. I don't want to recreate what full service PMs provide, but I do monitor my portfolio.

I nearly always have my tablet with me, so expect cloud-based service. I'm trying to move to a paperless/anywhere office as much as possible.

Have you taken a look at Structure.PM? I just started testing it out (learned about it via BP), so don't have an in-depth review, but I like several things:

• integrated views of properties, key lease info and high level status
• can save and integrate vendors, make and track repair requests, email them, etc. 
• standard form letters built in; also code for craigslist
• easy to get started and is streamlined overall
• price is free or minimal ($9 per month) depending on users/units

I used to track some of this in Excel, but it doesn't work well with iPad.

I tried Quickbooks online, but it seemed like overkill. I already have an accountant.

My impression is that there's a market opportunity for an easy, online PM offering that focuses on the management aspect, and Structure fits the bill. I'm interested to hear if others have tried it.