All Forum Posts by: Howard Rubin

We have an apartment complex in a state where we are required to have tenants sign Window Guard forms and for the first time in decades, a tenant asked about getting window guards.  The issue is that we can't find window guards that would work/fit these windows.  

See photo below.  The large center pane is fixed, the left and right panes are horizontal sliders. We technically would only need to guard the left and right panes, but there is obviously nothing to affix a window guard to on the window itself. The width of the entire wood frame, left to right, is 106”. There is a second smaller window in the bedroom, that has the exact same layout (fixed center pane, horizontal sliders on the left and right).

Does anyone have any idea for a window guard that would work or how to secure a regular window guard with these types of windows?

Thanks!

ACH rent payments are free with Buildium at the "Growth" level - if you have more than 100 or 150 units (can't remember), you have to be at the Growth level.  Same for AppFolio from contact with them.

In terms of Accounting, I honestly have read that many people continue to use Quickbooks for accounting alongside Buildium and AppFolio.  Yardi Voygaer is just way too big and expensive for the level I am at.

Thanks both for your answers. 80% adoption rate is great!  Thankfully the software programs I am looking at don't have fees for online payments using ACH, so just thinking about maximizing adoption.

I thought about "polling" tenants, but in the end want to use the software for it's other benefits regardless so now trying to figure out how much incentivizing will be necessary and the various options to do so.

To my knowledge, in our state, we can't charge tenants more for paying via check, so I have read on biggerpockets of the idea to raise rents and give discount for paying online.

Just wanted to hear about other strategies to maximize tenants switching to online payments, as it will obviously benefit me! :)

Propertyware is for single-family not multifamily.  Apparently though, according to the reps from Buildium, RealPage they may be merging Buildium and Propertyware.

Is it possible to elaborate on what some of the actual benefits of AppFolio are over Buildium?  When I compare my 5-10 main objectives, it seems like they both do them relatively equally.  It's so hard to know without actually working in the software and so if anyone has experience with both and can give some specific examples, I'd greatly appreciate it!  I keep hearing AppFolio is better and just want to know why :)

Thanks for the comments.  

Simon, I looked into Yardi Breeze, but they charge $.95 for each ACH transfer for Tenant's to pay online... for 300 units, that's an additional $3,420 a year!!! Whereas Buildium and AppFolio are both free.  Even if we charged it to the Tenants, then it would presumably harder to incentivize them to switch to paying online with a fee.

Also, Yardi Breeze doesn't have a mobile app, that both Buildium and AppFolio have.

I know that Voyager is top notch, but from what I have read elsewhere, Breeze is trying to compete with Buildium and AppFolio, but just isn't there yet...

--

Would still love to hear from others why AppFolio is considered better as you scale!

Hi all, I own and manage 300 units (made up of a few large apt. complexes).  I am in the process of considering property management software and wanting to hear from others how they got a good majority of their tenants to switch to paying rent online instead of writing checks.

As we have rental offices at our properties, most tenants just drop off handwritten checks there (we even have a mail-slot for after hours), so there isn't that much work involved.  Our tenants are more blue-collar, some are older, some don't speak English, they aren't young tenants in the "luxury" market who are itching for this service, and just not sure how to know going in how many will actually pay online.

When speaking to the software companies, one salesperson sold the idea of being able to add an additional revenue stream by charging tenants a few dollars more for the convenience of paying online -but- I have seen people recommend, in other posts here, raising rents a little and then offering a $5-$10 discount to incentive them to save money and pay online (the completely opposite strategy).

Would love to hear from others, especially those at larger complexes, how difficult and challenging it was to convert a majority of tenants to pay online?  How long did it take?  Did you incentivize, charge more for convenience, etc.... would love to hear all experiences on this.

Hello all, I am looking at the various property management software companies and believe I have narrowed down to Buildium and AppFolio for my needs (also considered Yardi Breeze, Rent Manager, Rentec Direct).

I have seen multiple people post to go with AppFolio for a larger portfolio over Buildium, specifically have seen people say to go with it if your portfolio is 150 units+.  I currently own and manage 300 units (made up of a few larger apartment complexes) and want software that will work well if I were to double or triple to 600-1,000 units.  In comparing the two, it seems to me that Buildium has more to offer at a slightly lower price point and want to ask if people could please elaborate on why they feel AppFolio is better for a larger size portfolio?

The benefits I am seeing with Buildium include:

-Free Website (whereas you have to pay for one with AppFolio)

-Seems to be better accounting program, with transaction automatically synced with your bank at reconciliation

-Quicker rent deposit processing time (1 business days vs 2-4 with AppFolio)

-Cheaper onboarding fees

-Application fees can be paid by prospective tenants using ACH (not just CC)

Those pros at a cheaper yearly fee and so far haven't seen a benefit AppFolio has that Buildium doesn't.  Would love to hear the reasons why multiple people have said that AppFolio is better the larger you get as I want to see what I am missing in my comparison!

Thanks so much!