Rental Property Management Software for Landlords is the most affordable rental property management software on the market, helping landlords save time and money. Our easy-to-use, comprehensive rental management system will keep your rentals in compliance with important codes and laws while making sure that your tenants are paid on time, every month. That means less stress for you and more profit for your company!
The Best Property Management Software for Landlords There must be many questions popping in your mind. The first one may be, why do I need to use property management software while managing a rental property? Let me throw some light on it. A bulk collection of information is the reason why you have to use a property management software.
Rental property management can be a large task for any landlord. Whether you have one property or dozens, managing your property can become a full time job. Rental property management software for landlords allows you to save time and money. This article will help you understand why rental property management software is so important and give you insight into the best property software for landlords.
Rental Property Management Software for Landlords is a complete system for managing rental properties, real estate and portfolio investment. This rental property management software for landlords can help you save time and money.
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.
BEST OVERALLBuildium
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 14-day trial. Pricing is based on the number of units you manage and starts at $50 per month for the essential plan. The more units you have, the lower the cost per unit. However, your total cost will be higher, obviously. 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, 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.
BEST FREE OPTIONTurboTenant
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 Facebook Marketplace, Realtor.com, Rent.com, Apartments Lists, Rent Path, 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 made through ACH are free, but credit card payments incur a 3.49% fee.
Although it’s a free, cloud-based platform, it has been featured and praised by Forbes and Inc.com. 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, primarily from four main firms, totaling over $10 million.
BEST FOR ADVANCED FEATURESAppFolio
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
- Plans for residential landlords, community associations, and commercial real estate landlords
- 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 a wide range of features for landlords who need to operate and grow their business remotely, earning our top vote for best for advanced features.
AppFolio has two different plan tiers for residential landlords as well as plans for community associations and commercial landlords. The plans have a cost per unit, but a minimum applies. For residential landlords the minimum cost is $280 a month for the core plan.
To set up an AppFolio account, you would need to pay an onboarding fee, after which the cost of each property is as follows:
- Residential Core: $1.40 per unit monthly (min $280)
- Residential Plus: $3 per unit monthly (min $1,500)
- Plans for community associations and commercial landlord are also available.
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.
Advanced features include a leasing assistant powered by artificial intelligence, professional websites for your properties, premium leads, tenant screening, proof of insurance tracking, 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. The company continues to grow with over six million units managed on the platform and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ.
Benefits
Rental property software offers benefits such as cost and time savings, real-time data access, security and scalability. Landlords who are busy or reside at a different location can use these systems to manage multiple properties from their smartphones or laptops.
The software can be installed on-premise, hosted in the cloud or used on a mobile application. Cloud-based solutions and mobile applications enable owners to monitor their properties from any location. Using a single application, owners can check on multiple properties, review tenant complaints, accept payments and receive property alerts online.
Rental property software keeps a record of all communication and transactions made through the application. This can help prevent disputes between tenants and owners in situations when property owners forget to keep records about payments due, excess amounts paid previously and lease termination dates.
Rental property software also enables tenants to submit requests and track their status online. They can print and download documents, such as lease agreements, rent receipts and other account information by logging in to the client web portal. The online payment processing feature saves time and effort, both for tenants and landlords. Users can also add notes and details about offline transactions.
Finally, these systems can alert owners about issues such as pending tax and insurance payments, incomplete maintenance jobs and document renewal. This helps landlords remain compliant with all federal regulations and standards.
Conclusion
Property Management Software for Landlords is a free solution for small landlords who manage one or two rental properties. The software tracks rents, leases, and other property-related data so you can stay organized and in control of your properties.
When you own rental property, it can be tempting to just treat the maintenance and upkeep of your investment as another bill. But this isn’t the case, since the success of any rental property is directly tied to the tenant experience. This means that being a landlord is a lot more than raising rents and collecting rent checks, since you’re responsible for minimizing tenant turnover and providing an excellent living environment for your tenants.