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Rentec Direct Property Management Software: BiggerPockets Review
May 28, 2020
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Rentec Direct is best for real estate investors who own at least ten rental properties and need to track and automate most landlording functions, from tenant screening to collecting rent and bookkeeping.
Rentec Direct provides property management software for property managers, real estate investors, and landlords.
Rentec Direct provides property management software for property managers, real estate investors, and landlords.
Rentec Direct offers three versions of its software: Rentec Basic, Rentec Pro, and Rentec PM. The features and prices vary for each. All three are mobile-friendly web application, although Rentec Direct does not offer a mobile applications. However, Rentec Pro and Rentec PM do have mobile apps that landlords can provide to tenants.
Quick facts
Rentec Direct’s property management software has three tiers.
Rentec Basic
This program is designed for landlords with fewer than ten properties. It lacks most of the features of the other two tiers, Rentec Pro and Rentec PM.
Here’s what Rentec Basic includes:
- Tracking a property’s income and expenses
- Securing storage of important documents, such as lease agreements
- Reporting and monitoring of a property’s performance.
Rentec Pro and Rentec PM
Both Rentec Pro and Rentec PM provide tools for managing rental properties from listing a unit to collecting rent. The most significant difference between the two is that Rentec Direct built Pro for landlords and Rentec PM for property management companies.
Rentec Pro is for landlords with ten or more rental properties. It has the same tools as Rentec Basic, but with more features, including tenant screening and online rent collection. Here’s Rentec Pro includes:
- Accounting and record-keeping to track income and expenses and generate ledgers and reports
- Online rental applications and e-signing of lease agreements
- Tenant screening, including a credit report and background check
- Property advertisement on websites such as Apartments.com
- Online rent payments through ACH or credit and debit card
- Unlimited recurring expenses
- Mobile app for tenants to use in paying rent and submitting maintenance requests
- Maintenance issue tracking
- Accepting cash payments at 20,000 PayNearMe locations
- A built-in check-printing system
- Enforcing rental insurance requirements—or letting tenants buy rental insurance through the application
- Inspecting rental properties.
Rentec PM comes with the same features, but with two additions specific to a property management company’s needs:
- A portal for property owners to access information about their property
- The ability to create roles for those accessing the software within a company, such as maintenance or marketing managers.
Both Rentec Pro and Rentec PM let customers collect rent online or in cash at a PayNearMe location. Landlords can give tenants the ability to pay via bank transfer (ACH) or by credit and debit card. Rentec charges a 2.75 percent fee for each credit or debit card transaction. The company does not charge for ACH transactions.
Landlords can provide their renters a Rentec Direct-supported mobile application through which they can pay rent, submit, and track maintenance issues. There’s no extra cost for the mobile app.
Pricing
Rentec Direct offers three tiers of software: Basic, Pro, and PM. Rentec Basic has a limited number of features and is only available to landlords with 10 or fewer properties—but it is free.
Rentec Pro and Rentec PM have the same features and functions, but PM has a few tools specific to a property management company’s needs. Their pricing structures are similar, too, with PM costing about $5 to $10 more per month than Pro.
The number of units a customer manages determines exact pricing. For example, managing 11 to 25 properties with Rentec Pro costs $45 per month and $50 per month with Rentec PM. Both Pro and PM come with a two-week free trial.
Rentec Direct doesn’t charge for ACH or bank to bank transfers. The company does charge 2.75 percent per credit or debit card transaction. And Rentec Direct lets landlords accept cash payments from renters. They do charge a $200 fee for setting up that system, and tenants have to pay $3.99 per cash transaction.
PROS
- Detailed financial tracking and reporting
- Ability to oversee hundreds or thousands of rental properties in one interface
- Secure document storage
- Streamlined advertising of available units
- Safe online rent collection and ability to accept cash payments
- Tenant-facing mobile application
CONS
- Charges a transaction fee for credit and debit card processing
- Accepting cash payments requires a setup fee
- Can take time to get set up on the system
Rentec Direct and real estate investors
By offering three versions of its software, Rentec Direct attracts many types of real estate investors. But most of its investor customers own at least 10 rental properties and use Rentec Pro, which is tailored for their needs.
Along with serving investors with many rental properties, Rentec Direct can be a smart choice for investors with varying ownership of their units.
Daniel Dietz is an investor in Reedsburg, Wisc., with 40 rental units owned by more than one person or business. “We have been using Rentec Direct for a little over a year and really like it,” Dietz says.
Jason Hartley of Vancouver, Wash., owns about 80 rental properties. Hartley says Rentec Direct helps him more efficiently manage his rental business. “Between the tools they give me for screening applicants, and the ACH/CC automated payments, my business takes less than half the time it used to regarding tenant management."
Rentec Direct boasts a long list of features and options for investors. But it can take time to customize and set up the system to each landlord’s needs, so Rentec Direct may not be the right choice for investors who own a small number of rental properties. Instead, investors with at least ten units may find Rentec Direct helps them stay organized while running their business.
Rentec Direct not for you? Read more property management reviews.
Learn More on BiggerPockets:
- How to Become a Landlord: Managing Rental Properties for Real Estate Investors
- What Does a Property Manager Do?
- How to Run a Tenant Background Check
Our editorial team’s recommendations are a result of their independent and vigorous research. Our writers and editors are never made aware of which companies have established partnerships with our business team prior to writing their reviews.