All Forum Posts by: Kari Miller

Hi Lou! 

I'm actually from Rent Manager and can answer your questions.

The reason we do not post prices online is because our prices become very custom to fit your business needs and budget. Our starting price is $75 a month for 1 concurrent user for Rent Manager Online (RMO). We chose to use concurrent users versus per unit because we found it is much more cost effective for property management companies to grow with this structure. 

With RMO, you already start out with full accounting and reporting capabilities, financial tracking, a fully customizable customer relationship management system, a work-order management system, lease management tools, 250 built in reports (also customizable), and much more. From the starting price, you can pick and choose additional features such as Loan Manager for owner financed loans, Metered Utilities for tracking utility billing information, and our recently released API program which opens up the door for you to be able to work with many integrations across the property management industry.

If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a direct message. There is no pressure to buy and you can actually ask for a live demo right on the call.

-Kari

Hi Rameh,

For any emails unrelated to the company, I would stick with your gmail.com address. That can help keep the two entities separate. 

Instead of having to maintain two email accounts, you can actually forward your company emails to your personal account or vice versa. Gmail has a feature where you can respond using the email it was originally sent to instead of the one you actually use. I typically maintain 3 email accounts this way. 

As to where to get the email, any website domain provider (GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc) should also have email services available or use Gmail for Work. Both will have a cost associated with them. 

I would check out NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers) or NAA (National Apartment Association). Both have members that can help you determine which would be the best events to attend, even outside their organization specific events. They are also great for general advice or classes.

Full disclosure - my company is a sponsor or vendor at a few of these events. 

Hi @Atwan Kwan, definitely check out some property management conferences that come near Maryland. If anything, you can learn what's hot in the industry right now and get some new ideas of how to market your properties and run your business. It's also nice to have some friends in the business for when you have a tricky situation pop up and just need some advice from someone. 

As for which conference, I would attend one that is specific to your industry or there are HUGE property management conferences all over the US throughout the year. Conferences that are industry and area specific might be a little smaller and easier to network with people while on the flip side, the large national conferences have workshops you can attend and tons of vendors to speak with.

Hi @Rashad Jones Jennings, do you primarily have residential units, commercial, or a mixture? 

If you have residential, I agree with @Phil Earley and check out your local NARPM chapter. National Apartment Association (NAA) chapters are a great place to network as well. Both should have classes available where you can learn from property management companies in the area and possibly become certified in property management. That can help grow credibility as a property manager. 

My biggest tip for you is to be super organized and use software that can help you keep track of prospects, tenants, property information, legal documents, you name it. If you start off as organized as you can, that will help you greatly in the long run. 

Good luck with starting your company!

 Hi Tim! I'm glad you enjoyed the conference! Definitely give Patrick a call or email if you'd like to see some of the new features in 12 compared to Xi up close. He can jump on a demo call and walk you through everything 1-on-1.

Thanks @Tim Davis and @Derek Gendig for the Rent Manager shout out! Derek, you are correct that we are a per concurrent user vs per unit. We've actually found that it is cheaper for a company to be able to grow with their software this way. Your sales representative can help you determine the right amount of accounts you'll need to stay within your budget and have enough accounts for those working in the office that day. 

Good luck with everything!

I would also look into Rent.Com, Apartment Search and Apartment Guide. From a prospect's perspective, we're seeing more and more about these sites across most media channels and likely to view these sites as well for comparison.

Thanks for the Rent Manager shout out @Kim Younkin! 

Nathan, I highly recommend visiting some of your local property management organizations, such as any involved with NARPM or the NAA. If you are going to focus on the multifamily industry, the NAA has many state and local chapters which you can become a member of and learn from. Of those members we've met at industry events or they are our customers, they are always willing to give advice and love to talk about what they see currently happening in the market. 

From a data and reporting standpoint, collect as much as possible about your properties and future tenants from the beginning and continue doing so as you grow your business. This can be anything from unit specifics (description of unit, amenities, photos of the property) to market research on Charlotte renters. This will help you in the long run with marketing and it sounds like with your current research, you're right on track.

The last item to really nail down is your brand - how do you want future tenants to see your business? Having a really solid brand from your company name, logo, color scheme, even how you describe and position your company, can really set you apart from everyone else. Your web developer should be able to give you a few pointers on what they have seen in the industry that works well.

Good luck!

Hey Zeyad,

I may not know a lot about subprime lending but something to consider would be to take the questions answered by someone else and dig deeper. You can typically find areas that aren't covered as well or find research that conflicts with the responses in those other papers. I recently completed my MBA and this helped us narrow down our focus. Your niche thesis might just be buried in one of those questions!

Good luck!

Kari