All Forum Posts by: Derek Vander Veen

I signed up for Cozy to try it out the same time I tested TenantCloud, and while Cozy was nice, it wasn't as robust as I was looking for in a property management software. A couple features that TenantCloud offers that tipped me in their favor were: lease and notice templates with auto fill features, electronic signatures, extensive property and equipment detail, accounting feature and reporting, and a mobile app. Side note, they also have a podcast I've gotten value from and would recommend subscribing to. 

I agree with @Dakota Wilde. TenantCloud has a great functionality / price ratio. I like that it has a mobile app which can be used by landlords and tenants. Tenants can pay rent, view their lease, submit maintenance requests and more directly from the app.  TenantCloud also has a podcast that I've enjoyed listening to. They're 15-20 minute long episodes with helpful DIY landlording advice.  

I spent a lot of time reviewing the different PM softwares, and agree, TenantCloud had a great functionality  / price ratio.  I built systems around using the accounting feature in TC to keep everything in one place and to leverage automated transactions to avoid manual entry wherever possible. Either way works, it's just whatever works best for you. 

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I've been using TenantCloud for the past few months and have been impressed with what they offer for a free / very inexpensive property management software. It has all of the features you listed above and more.  Other things I like about TenantCloud not listed above include: electronic signatures, an accounting feature, robust mobile app, and great reporting features. I've not used Buildium or Appfolio, but know others who have and have great things to say about both. The only issue with these two options for smaller scale DIY landlords is that they're designed and priced for larger property management operations and are therefore cost prohibitive.

I don't have experience with any third party property managers in the Des Moines metro, but have heard Top Shelf Management is good. I currently use TenantCloud property management software to self manage our handful of units, but would like to outsource to a property manager at some point after we've acquired more units.  I look forward to seeing others responses. Thanks for asking the question!

I've been using TenantCloud for the past few months and have been impressed with what they offer for a free / very inexpensive property management software. What I like about TenantCloud over something like Cozy.co is that it has automated template leases / notices, electronic signatures, an accounting feature, a robust mobile app, and great reporting features. I have out of state properties that are third party managed, and I track payments, expenses, maintenance, etc on TenantCloud along with several local rentals I self manage with the software.

I couldn't agree more with @Nathan G. about not getting too bogged down in trying to find the perfect system, and that finding a system that meets most of your needs and developing systems around the rest is the right way to go. 

I've been using TenantCloud for the past few months and have been impressed with what they offer for a free / very inexpensive property management software. What I like about TenantCloud over something like Cozy.co is that it has automated template leases / notices, electronic signatures, an accounting feature, robust mobile app, and great reporting features. I've not used Buildium or Appfolio, but know others who have and have great things to say about both. The only issue with these two options for smaller scale DIY landlords is that they're designed and priced for larger property management operations and are therefore cost prohibitive.

I've been using TenantCloud for the past few months and have been impressed with what they offer for a free / very inexpensive property management software. What I like about TenantCloud over something like Cozy.co is that it has automated template leases / notices, electronic signatures, an accounting feature, and great reporting features. I've not used Buildium or Appfolio, but know others who have and have great things to say about both. The only issue with these two options for smaller scale DIY landlords is that they're designed and priced for larger property management operations and are therefore cost prohibitive. 

Hi Adri,

I'm currently in trial periods for both Avail and TenantCloud, and am curious which you decided is a better solution for systematizing your property management functions.  I echo most of what you say about both systems, and agree that while I like Avails interface and user functionality, TenantCloud seems to have more detail and has more scalability at a lower price.  

I have six units today, which fits Avail's model well, but have plans to acquire more properties and eventually make this a full time focus of mine.  This makes me think TenantCloud may be the better long-term choice for me between the two options.

Any additional thoughts after spending some additional time researching would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Carl. I'm in a similar position. Self manage my properties in the Des Moines area, but am starting to look to outsource maintenance work. I'm also looking for a reliable contractor who could perform rehabs for newly acquired properties. I've had similar luck so far in that everyone is booked a week out. I'll let you know if I end up finding someone reliable to contact.