Do I need to use a CRM?

Question

Should I use a CRM even if I have a PM?

I’m conflicted if I need to use a CRM as an investor even though I plan on having a PM. Some books I read state it’s a good idea but not necessary, others say its a very good tool and consider it to be necessary. Looking for thoughts and opinions. Thanks !

David M. · Answer

Account Closed

Put it another way, what are you tracking?  While certainly its "always nice" to have a full blown or even partial program, its not always necessary.  If its just your Property Manager's number, just program it into your phone.  Who else would you need to track?  Maybe you have a real estate agent and lender?  Its only a few numbers.

I self manage my rentals and I've just used my phone and jotted their numbers down on my spreadsheet corresponding to the property.  In the old days, I would put an "w" in front of their name so all the rental contacts would be in the same place.  Nowadays, at least with an iphone, you can put a note in the contact which will be pulled up when you search your list, e.g. "rental."

One needs a CRM, or any other tool, depending on your level of organization / sophistication.  Lets face it, some 10 or even 20 numbers you could just write it down on a piece of paper or an old fashioned addressbook...

You mentioned:  "I'm assuming PM collect the payments, manages the lease, track tenant activities etc."  All of those activities wouldn't be in a "traditional" Customer Relationship Management tool anyway.  For those activities, it really depends on how organizaed you are.  I know some people like what I am going to describe as "whiz-bang" webtools.  You could save yourself lots of headache just be starting a small notebook, to pick a somewhat extreme example (i just use spreadsheets).

Your profile says you are starting out.  So, I am figuring you do NOT have dozens of units.  other than rent collections, you really shouldn't have many recurring entries at all.

Hope this helps.  Good luck.

Mohammed Rahman · Answer

Yes correct - if you have a PM you wouldn't need a CRM Account Closed... the PM will likely have their own CRM.

Account Closed · Answer

I created a "test" account with Podio but I'm still getting the hang of how to use it for real estate purpose.

Patrick Jackson · Answer

One of my first investments when I started 18 years ago was to invest in a scalable , versatile CRM. Haven’t looked back since. It’s been my foundational platform.

Mohammed Rahman · Answer

Account Closed - CRM to do what exactly? Collect payments? Then yes that makes sense.

CRM to track a lot of tenants, when leases are ending, etc. makes sense depending on how many tenants you have total.

I use apartments(.)com

Account Closed · Answer

Hey ! Your post really helped me ! Yes I am starting out so this is why I don't see the need for a CRM especially if I plan to work with a PM to handle all aspects of the rental .. which a CRM wouldn't really "track"

Kevin Bartlett · Answer

Hey AnnMarie, I would invest in a CRM. It will really help in the long term!

Patrick Jackson · Answer

I’ve created my CRM using Podio by Citrix. It captures all my lead sources and catalogs them based on their origins. I  send out drip campaigns and also auto pull property vitals, financials and current owner info based on my integrations. This makes a good platform for a VA(s) to cold call potential leads.  When I started, I was just using it to collect contacts. Now it’s evolved into a fully functional system. Let me know if you would like for me to show it to you.

Patrick

Do I need to use a CRM?

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