Owning rental properties is a full-time job. Our software is the ideal choice for busy property managers who want to stay on top of the day-to-day tasks. It’s packed with features that save time and boost profits. Propertyware maintains occupancy and profiles, optimizes rent collection, monitors work orders, and even provides tenant portals. It’s powerful software trusted by more than 8,000 companies.
Landlord property management software is designed for landlords to help them to keep track of rent collections, tenant information, maintenance issues and more. Managing rental properties can be a difficult, time-consuming process, so plenty of landlords are resorting to property management services in order to streamline the process. Here we have gathered some best landlord property management software/service which you can take into consideration when choosing the right package for your needs.
There are many software on the market that can help take the headache out of rental property management. From showing houses to managing tenants and collecting rent; most software programs can handle all or at least some of your needs. When it comes to choosing the right property manager software for you, there are several factors you want to consider.
Rental management software can help you save time and get better results from your rental properties. The good news is that plenty of great software solutions are available for landlords. The bad news is that many of them won’t be the best fit for your needs. To help you make your choice, here’s a list of software packages for landlords or property managers with enhanced functionality and flexibility.
What features should you look for in rental property management software?
It’s essential to keep in mind that not every rental property management tool is made equal (i.e., has the same features).
When deciding which software to choose, you should consider:
- What features a particular software has
- Of those, what features would be helpful to you
- And what features you need (i.e. the dealbreakers)
Depending on the software, you might only be getting the core features, while others offer additional features that can help you streamline and automate additional areas of your property management efforts.
Here are some features you should look for in good property management software:
1. Automatic rent payments and tenant portal
The #1 thing that rental property management software does for you is make it easier to collect rent and communicate with tenants.
The bottom line is most important, and having software that facilitates faster, reliable, and semi-automated rent payments is invaluable.
Many property management software solutions offer a complete tenant portal where you can collect rent and communicate directly with tenants.
Tenants can then handle rent and additional responsibilities through the portal, such as pet rent, parking fees, and even send in maintenance requests.
Talk about efficiency.
Rent– faster, more reliably, and with less work on your end? Perfect worlds do exist.
2. Manage maintenance orders
Juggling work orders between tenants and vendors can be a pain, following up with this person while putting in this order and replying to that vendor.
Another major area that online rental property management software helps with is streamlining your work order system.
With most property management tools, you can:
- Accept maintenance requests directly from tenants
- Create work orders and add attachments such as notes and images
- Assign that work order to a vendor
- Pay that vendor
- And communicate with tenants on that maintenance request for information and status updates
All your work orders in one place, with one central communication tool that helps you simplify and streamline the entire process.
3. Applicant screening and online applications
The best rental property management software doesn’t just help simplify and even semi-automate rent collection and maintenance orders, it also does the same to help you bring in new tenants.
Many property management tools offer features like:
- Online applications: Tenants can sign applications entirely online, and process their application fee. You can view the status of those applications with a few clicks.
- Applicant screening: To make the entire entry process even easier, many tools allow applicants to also request their own background check while submitting their application and process the payment.
4. Automatic vacancy listings
Need some help sooner in the pipeline too?
Vacant units are a missed opportunity and money that’s actively slipping through your fingers.
Fortunately, many rental management tools allow you to list vacant units on key property listing platforms automatically. No additional work is necessary.
That way, you have less downtime between tenants and can maximize cash flow.
Now that we’ve covered some of the key features in the average rental property management tool, let’s dive into the best software options available.
Buildium
Built by property managers for property managers, Buildium’s comprehensive service allows property owners to control every aspect of their business remotely, making it the best overall choice for both residential and association property managers.Pros
- Built by property managers for property managers
- Automatic rent collection through a tenant portal
- Online ticket support during business hours
- A lot of training materials offered
Cons
- Expensive pricing plans
- Some customer support complaints
- Not a fit for single property managers
Buildium, our overall best, is a comprehensive software that allows rental managers to control everything from online rent payments, vacancy management, maintenance cycles, and accounting. Through accounting, business operations, leasing, and community association management features, Buildium streamlines the whole property management process. It facilitates the lead-to-rent collection cycle through tenant and lease tracking, automated rent and fee reminders, complete general ledger accounting, and on-demand reports. Among its features, Buildium also has a specialized tenant portal that allows property managers to receive online payments automatically.
While there is no free version, they offer a free 15-day trial. Pricing is based on the number of units you manage and starts at $50 per month for up to 150 units. The more units you have, the lower the cost per unit with a maximum number of 5,000 units. Buildium also has a 10% discount for anyone that signs up for annual billing.
As it streamlines the whole process, Buildium is fairly simple to use, although basic users may not be able to maximize all of its features. To help users find their way through it easier, Buildium has a ticket-based customer support system, although there were some complaints about the slow responses clients received from it.
To support its features, Buildium integrates with several outside software platforms, including Apartment List, Apartments.com, Forte, HappyCo, HotPads, Lovely, TransUnion, RevSpring, MSI, Nelco, Tenant Turner, Happy Inspector, PayNearMe, Trulia, Zillow, and Zumper.
The idea began between 2002 and 2003 when Michael Monteiro & Dimitris Georgakopoulos started their rental property business and realized they needed software that will help them manage their properties easier. In 2004 they founded Buildium, which quickly grew to 10,000 customers by 2014, receiving many awards and recognitions to date from G2, SoftwareAdvice, and Capterra.
TurboTenant
TurboTenant’s pricing model puts all of its costs on the tenants, making it the best free option for landlords.Pros
- Free regardless of the number of units managed
- Great for DIY landlords
- 24/7 customer support through phone and online
Cons
- Tenants have to pay for it
- Limited advanced features
A lot of rental property management software platforms have free trial options, but often for only a limited number of units or a limited period of time. This is not the case with TurboTenant, which will remain 100% free no matter the number of units you manage. While many free rental property management software platforms leave a lot to be desired, TurboTenant is pretty straightforward to use with a simple interface and setup.
While TurboTenant is free for landlords, tenants pay a fee of $45 for application and screening, a credit card rent payment fee of 3.49%, and an optional renters insurance monthly fee starting as low as $8. Landlords can purchase a few optional services for a one-time fee, such as state-specific lease agreements for $29, an unlimited number of electronic signatures for $9, and 32 common landlord forms for $99.
TurboTenant has several features designed to facilitate tenant management for landlords, including managing applications and screening tenants online, creating dedicated listing pages, and sending bulk tenant messages from one inbox. By integrating with Craigslist, Meta, Realtor.com, Rent.com, Apartments.com, and other rental listing sites, landlords can advertise a vacant property with a single click across multiple platforms.
You can then screen tenants through TransUnion, send and sign all documents online via the platform, and send payment and maintenance requests online. Payments are made through ACH with no fees or by credit card for a 3.49% charge.
Although it’s a free, cloud-based platform, it has been featured and praised by Reuters, USA Today, and Forbes. Considering there are over 400,000 landlords using their software, the reliability and support provided by TurboTenant’s online tools have been proven and endorsed since their founding in 2015.
The company’s strong reputation has earned them three rounds of venture capital investment from four different firms, totaling $10 million.
AppFolio
AppFolio, popular among landlords with large rental portfolios, offers the best advanced features to control your units remotely, and additional support and resources to grow your business and maximize its efficiency.Pros
- Pay only for the features you need and use
- Supports all types of units
- Has a mobile app
Cons
- Has a minimum monthly fee
- Not fit for a small number of properties
Besides supporting all types of units, AppFolio has developed à la carte features a landlord would need to operate and grow their business remotely, earning our top vote for best for advanced features.
Because it doesn’t have tiered pricing, but rather an onboarding fee and then a monthly fee based on the number of units, AppFolio is best for those that have multiple properties. Although each advanced feature is pay-as-you-go, there is a minimum monthly fee of $280, which means smaller property managers would have to pay a higher cost per unit if they manage fewer than 166 commercial units or 200 residential rentals.
To set up an AppFolio account, you would need to pay a at minimum $400 onboarding fee, after which the cost of each property is as follows:
- Residential: $1.40 per unit monthly
- Commercial: $1.50 per unit monthly
- HOAs: $0.80 per unit monthly
- Student Housing: $1.40 per unit monthly
AppFolio supports multiple property types, including residential properties, commercial buildings, student housing, and community associations. Each of the features is designed for the specific property type you’re using, so AppFolio has everything a landlord would need—accounting software, rent collection features, maintenance requests, marketing tools for multiple platforms, utility billing, and customizable online leases.
Optional advanced features include a leasing assistant powered by artificial intelligence, professional websites for your properties, premium leads, tenant screening, insurance for landlords and renters, online payments, maintenance contact center, utility management, automated accounts payable, and tenant debt collections.
Founded in 2006, AppFolio has over a decade of experience in providing property management services to clients. Their property management software was the first product they developed, so it’s what they take the most pride in and continuously develop. With over $140 million in revenue in 2017 and an additional $60 million of investment in 2019, AppFolio is confirmed to keep developing and growing in the future.
Rental Property Management Software Features
Most rental property management software will provide the following features and capabilities:
- Online property listing creation
- Vacancy postings
- Online applicant portal
- New tenant screening
- Lease contract creation
- Electronic document signing
- Rent collection and delinquency tracking
- Maintenance requests and cycle management
- Owner/administrator and tenant portal
- Document storage for leases, insurance, eviction notices, etc
- Reporting dashboard
- Insurance management
- Income and expense tracking
- Online payments
- 1099 e-filing
- Marketing capabilities
Conclusion
Tenants are the lifeblood of real estate. Without them, landlords have no revenue. To make matters even more difficult, it’s hard to attract new tenants without spending a lot of time on maintenance and advertisement. Landlords who choose to automate their tenant screening process will have an easier time finding quality tenants and rejecting bad ones.
Property Management Software at its best. Invest more time in growing your business and less time managing your properties. The all-in-one solution for your property management needs.