I just bought my first 11 unit and needed some software so I evaluated most of the free/cheaper options and decided on TenantCloud. A lot of these software packages (cozy, avail, innago, TC, etc.) seem very good and each seems to have slightly different pros and cons so I bet you could be happy with any of them. My priorities were online rent collection, online leases, tenant screening, maintenance requests, website listings and listing syndication. It seems like most of these had those features with slightly different quirks so why did I finally decide on TenantCloud? For me, it was something I haven’t heard mentioned anywhere on BP - the ability to have multiple Team members which TC offers. Here’s why.
When I bought the 11 unit, it needed some work and the broker who sold it to me recommended a property manager that also did maintenance and light rehab work at a reasonable cost. I interviewed him, really liked him, checked references and was ready to go with him, but he was old school, did paper leases, collected rent in person, etc. I want to be able to scale my properties and I’m a big believer in technology and processes so I needed property management software for all the things I mentioned above. I considered hiring a traditional property manager that does everything using their software and processes and just sends me a check each month, but I felt I needed to be more involved to learn and grow as a real estate investor. To me, I needed a hybrid between complete self management and traditional hands off hiring of a property management company. I want to be involved in the property management process to learn the business but I also wanted to hire a property manager to deal directly with tenants and be there when I can’t.
When I evaluated all of the software above and even the more expensive ones like Appfolio and Buildium they seemed to either be designed for independent owner landlords or property management companies, but not the hybrid I wanted. There didn’t seem to be a way that I could setup and control all the online payments, leases, tenant screening, etc. (since the PM I wanted to hire didn’t have that stuff) but then have my PM have a separate login and be the interface with the tenants. I wanted maintenance requests to go directly to him, but I also wanted to receive them to keep an eye on the process and to make sure everything was getting handled on a timely basis since that seems to be the biggest complaint when I talk to tenants. Plus I wanted to be there to handle requests when my PM took a vacation or got sick since he’s a one man operation. Maybe I’m wrong (and I want BP members to tell me if I am!) but none of the other software apps would allow me to do this hybrid system except TenantCloud.
Basically, TC allows me to add Team members that have their own rights. I have a login, my wife has a login and my PM has a login. I setup leases, online payments etc. but all communication with the tenants comes from my PM and not me. If I send an announcement, it can come from him or me. Maintenance requests go to him, but I see them as well and could assign them to outside vendors if necessary. If he completes a repair, he can add an expense and upload a receipt. But if I buy something for the apartment, I can add it in as well. From my basic research, TenantCloud was the only inexpensive software that would allow that. Please let me know if I’m wrong and others allow this as well.
Sorry for the long post, but needed to get that out there!
