Best Rental Software for Landlord with less than 10 properties Zilloe? Doorloop?

Best Rental Software for Landlord with less than 10 properties Zilloe? Doorloop?

Member since 2018 · 1 post · 1 vote

I only have 6 rental properties with little intention of buying anything else within the next 3 years. I really need to step up my rental game to the 21st century. Literally everything I do is in-person and on paper, i.e. my Application, Lease, Move-in Form, Move-Out Form, etc. In most cases, I bring a printed lease when I exchange keys for payment, have them sign it, go home and make them a copy, and then either mail them their copy or drive it back over. It's extremely inconvenient for both the new tenant and myself. I had 2 properties come up for vacancy recently and posted them on Zillow. The website was super easy to use and the prospective tenants were able to submit an application, which gave me their income, credit, and background information. I was also able to find a new tenant within just a few days in both cases using the $29.99 Premium feature (it's less than half of one days rent income). Those are the only features I have used so far. I still did a paper lease and other forms and the tenant was asking if they could pay online. Most of my tenants just do an ACH payment through their bank. I saw where I can collect rent payments on Zillow, but it didn't say anything about late payment fees, so I'm unsure how that would work. I also saw where I can upload my lease and have them e-sign, which would be amazing. That being said, I read some (old) reviews that said payments had been hung up (withdrawn from the tenant but not deposited into the landlords bank account longer than 10 days) and customer support was ZERO and their 'ticket' program kept automatically closing out the ticket request without resolution. So that's very worrisome, although I will say that was a 3yo comment. I started doing a little research and saw that Doorloop was a highly rated app, and has a ton of features like tenants ability to submit work orders for issues, collect rent with late payments automatically figured in upon payment, talk back and forth with your tenants, send out messages/notices to one or all tenants at once, sync with quickbooks, etc. Btw, right now I'm still using a self-built Excel spreadsheet that works just fine for me. But Doorloop is $49/mo, $600/yr whether you have 1 property or 100. Th just seems like a huge cost for someone like me with only 6 properties, no matter how many features it has. The things I want to do like applications, lease e-sign, and bill payments are available for free on Zillow. I'd love to hear your opinions and feedback and other software you use. Thank You.

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Investor · MI · Member since 2015 · 227 posts · 478 votes
3y
I didn't read that text wall, but Innago.
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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Mike Wells:

    Be careful of shiny object syndrome. You should use software to solve a problem. I don't see that you have any problems large enough to justify the cost.

    Tenants can set up direct deposit from their bank account to yours and it doesn't require any software. The only negative is that you have to check your bank account to see if the money has arrived. Software will add notifications for rent charges and late charges, but is that really worth $30 a month? You have to decide.

    Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

    1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. All you need is a single place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, and a few other things. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet and it will take less time to track than it would to find and learn a new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it.
    2. Software does have extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. But do you really need that for your one rental?
    3. There's no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws or you'll salivate over a feature that shows up in other software.

    Some common names you'll see thrown around a lot: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

    I recommend you search for each of those apps online and see what they offer, how much they charge, etc. Make a simple spreadsheet or written list with the features of each and see which ones appeal to you most. Try to narrow it down to your top 3-4. Once you have a short list, get an account with each one and run them through the wringer to see how they really function. Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.

    • Load a property with pictures and details.
    • Market that property.
    • See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
    • Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
    • Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
    • Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, attach a fake invoice.
    • Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
    • Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
    • Sign documents electronically.
    • Run owner reports.

    After testing a few apps, one of them should stand out for you. Choose that one and use it. No system is perfect, so don't waste your time chasing after the next shiny object. You should only have to change when your current software has a flaw or lacking feature that is causing you to spend too much work on a work-around. Then you can consider researching and finding something that meets your needs better.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7243 Reviews
  • Real Estate Agent · Morristown, NJ · Member since 2020 · 207 posts · 129 votes
    3y

    In terms of the showings/applications process, using the zillow $29.99 feature to find an applicant is $29.99 more than you'd have to pay if you listed with a realtor- in NJ.

    Being a "smaller" landlord myself, I use zelle for rent collection and it works just fine.  Note that my tenants are carefully vetted and my lease is extremely strong; which allows me to not have to use a paid site.

    I also work as a property manager in NJ so if I can be of assistance to you please feel free to reach out.

  • Investor · MI · Member since 2015 · 227 posts · 478 votes
    3y
    I didn't read that text wall, but Innago.
  • Rental Property Investor · Russellville, AR · Member since 2014 · 688 posts · 509 votes
    3y

    I use Buildium and I only manage 2 units.  We intend to grow, but I've heard from others that Buildium is best for smaller portfolios.  A lot of the stuff I need to do is automated.  I could certainly get by without it, but I want to be familiar before I add several units.

    There are several out there and you should look into them to find one that fits your needs.  However, if you decide to go with Buildium, hit me up and we can both get a discount!

  • Real Estate Consultant · Bloomfield, NJ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Billy Daniel

    Hi. And thanks for the info on Buildium.

    Question - I see that it starts at $52/mo. can I add multiple users for free?

  • Rental Property Investor · Russellville, AR · Member since 2014 · 688 posts · 509 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ibrahim Hughes:

    @Billy Daniel

    Hi. And thanks for the info on Buildium.

    Question - I see that it starts at $52/mo. can I add multiple users for free?


     I'm not sure about the user limit.  I want to say you can add another for free, but don't quote me on that.  I'm the only person on my account.

  • Member since 2021 · 19 posts · 12 votes
    3y

    Hey @Mike Wells,

    If there is anything at all I can help with, please feel free to message me here at anytime.

    And yes, you can add as many users as you need on all plans, so you can invite your accountant for example at no cost.

    Hope this helps!

    -David Bitton, Co-Founder & CMO at DoorLoop

  • Property Manager · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2022 · 269 posts · 135 votes
    3y

    Please use Innago. I don't pay anything for its use. I highly recommend it! 

  • Member since 2021 · 19 posts · 12 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Tommy Parker:

    Please use Innago. I don't pay anything for its use. I highly recommend it! 

    Hi Tommy, care to englighten us with your affiliation to Innago?

    Out of your 119 posts on BiggerPockets, over 1/3rd of them mysteriously mention Innago.

    They all magically happen within the same 10 minute time-frame every week as well. And what a surprise, your headshot here is a stock image from Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/2E...).

    If you work for Innago and are just spamming the forum, at least be a little bit smarter about it :)

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 36 posts · 14 votes
    2y

    Additionally to the other comments, the decision to use management software relates to the cost of one's time; in other words, what opportunity cost is your time / money?  

    But in terms of time, experts e.g. property managers may underestimate the time it takes the amateur to (re)learn infrequent tasks. Since I list some of my (very few - I only have 3 residential units and my commercial ones are all managed by others) units every 2-3 years, I forget how to do it, and even standard operating procedures change a lot at that frequency, rendering them much less useful. For example, It may take me 10x as long to do the work of someone who does it every day. This applies to listing a unit for rent, qualifiying leads, the administrative side of showing property, screening tenants, and leasing. Well designed software for your problem would not only add tech, but process, and not only in the realm of time savings. 

    Good software, as one earlier poster wrote, can do it better. For example, syndicating your listings to a much broader audience, making the application faster, improving applicant experience, making maintenance requests get done more smoothly and quickly. This could result in higher quality tenants sooner and keeping them longer, all which have more than quantifiable effects. 

    But back to your question: I don't know. When I evaluate a software, I first build a list of the most time consuming aspects of my existing work process. Then I brainstorm options in a people/process/technology framework. Buildium at $55/month/$660/year is a relatively low cost threshold given opportunity cost of my time, so I'll likely consider that and if so, could report back.. 

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 36 posts · 14 votes
    1y

    Update: Rent Redi is not intuitive and therefore the inevitable errors that are made by tenants and landlords snowballs into a tangled mess that wastes countless hours correcting small problems. For example, my tenant mistakenly paid a month ahead. Rent Redi showed me how to refund it and I did. Then the next month the rent didn't show a charge, and so with Rent Redi help, I created a new charge. Then the original charge that was refunded reactivated and created a late fee. It's just an ongoing tangle from one one error. It's not obvious what to do, and if you don't choose correctly, it can easily eat hours of your time. I don't recommend Rent Redi. My tenants don't like it at several properties. 

  • Member since 2024 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    1y

    I use Innago for the 1 property that I have and have loved it so far! 

  • Member since 2021 · 19 posts · 12 votes
    1y

    Out of your 25 posts, 23 mention the company you're self-promoting. 

    Any admins here that can handle this?

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