5/26/10 Update: It appears that RentYield is no longer a viable website. I can’t speculate why, but if you’re interested in learning about other online property management platforms, check the link you just read past.
“An online base rental property management software that works like a desktop software. RentYield.com allows real estate investors and landlords to manage all financial aspects of their rental property, including expense and income tracking, tax information, tenant tracking and much more. RentYield also includes some fancy dynamic charts.”
I found this site while lurking around Digg.com. The site provides a barebones property management solution, allowing users to track properties, tenants, and vendors. The site has a nice expense & income report, but there is nothing on it you can’t find on any other basic property management software, web-based or otherwise
The company promotes their use of Web 2.0 technologies on the site, a hot trend over the past year. The use of Ajax (the programming language of web 2.0) doesn’t really add very much to this site’s functionality. Claiming Web 2.0 is just another gimmick for attracting visitors.
There are future plans for RentYield.com to let users compare with other investors how their properties are doing. I’m not sure about you, but it is no one’s business how my rental properties are doing. The premise of sharing my financial information, net worth, or rental property income is not something I plan on doing now or any time in the future. I realize some people think it is fun to compare themselves with others, but it gets scary when people know that much about you.
Overall, the best thing about the site that I’ve found is that it is currently free, but I could recommend quite a few web-based property management platforms that are much better then this one.
Related posts:
- Things to Consider when Interviewing Property Management Companies
- Property Management Survey
- How To Lose Money And Get Your Rental Property Trashed By Your Tenants
- Launch of a New Property Analysis Tool!
- Fair market rental value
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
i wouldn’t say rentyield is just trying to ride the web 2.0 wave. their product is very simple and nice and good starting point for some investors and landlords. remember different levels of investors/landlords need different types of solutions.
well that is when you are wrong, sharing info doesn’t me letting others see your financial
it could simply mean:
1. where does your property rank in profitability
2. how much on average are others getting comparing to your property
rentyield would not compromise any ones security or privacy.
Do you work for the company? It sounds like you have the inside scoop here. So . . . ?
I agree that the product is simple and nice, and is a good starting place for some landlords. I don’t debate that.
Ranking properties in terms of profitability is still a bad idea and no one’s buisiness, IMO. It breeds a feeling that people are competing with one another, when they are not.
Considering your point is that this site is for “different levels of landlords”, people need to worry about their own finances, not other peoples.
People are so obsessed with what they have compared to other people that they spend huge percentages of their incomes on homes and cars that they can’t afford. If people would stop breeding and reinforcing the idea that you need to compete with others, a lot of people would be better off.
i hear ya, i do have some inside relation with the company.
but i do understand your point.
but personally i find the community statistic usefull. As a investor i would like to see how much others charge and how well my property is doing comparing to others.
i doubt rentyield will do it in a way that will compromise security or privacy.
you can easily just provide something like
“Your property is in the 95th percentile in terms of profitability comparing to property of the same type in similar locations”
i don’t see how that will do any harm. i as a investor would love to see that.
Hey Howard. If they go the way you suggest:
“Your property is in the 95th percentile in terms of profitability comparing to property of the same type in similar locations”
I wouldn’t have any issues or problems.
I agree with Josh.
I’d like to see a list of average rents in the area I’m in. Maybe a who pays for what type of thing.
For instance:
Do you pay utilities for your tenants?
Do you have them mow grass and take care of weeds/flowers?
Do you provide a washer and dryer?
This type of stuff can have an affect on the rent in a certain area.
My rental is close to a college campus, so I can have higher rent for my area based on the proximity of my house to the school. I also provide a washer and dryer, since most students coming out of the dorms don’t have either one. Additionally, the tenants are responsible for mowing the grass. Each one of these traits has an affect on how much I can charge for rent.
Rentyield is a nice idea, but it doesn’t offer much more than I can do in a spreadsheet.
-Grant
TheCornerOfficeBlog.com
I have to ask, as a developer of online rental software – what would prompt you to join? We’re just starting our system, but I’d love to hear more landlords/property managers’ opinion on what makes it worth while to you.
WATCH OUT!!! There will be an application hitting the marketplace that will blow Rent Yield and their 2.0/AJAX configuraton out of the water. This new application will provide services and features that will make managing your own properties that much easier, and will be easy enough for the begining investor but powerful enough for the astute investor. By using rich internet applications, the possibilities with this product are approaching “limitless”!!
Stay Tuned!!!!!
“The Competitor” do you have a name for this other software you are talking about?
As for comparing rent within your area I have found this tool to be very useful with the area that I have investment properties.
http://www.rentometer.com/
I me know how this rate with your area.
I’m curious which other web based property management solutions people recommend?
.-= Brian Armstrong´s last blog ..Interview I Did For BuyersVote.com =-.