Top Choices for DIY Property Management Software

[Ryan Denman]

Hi All,

I currently use Apartments.com for managing my two long term rental units in Colorado, and I want to know what other small time landlords use.  What software/website offers the best:

-Tenant screening

-Listing syndication

-Electronic signatures for lease documents

-Tools for after a tenant has moved in (maintenance, call service, renter's benefits packages, etc.)

-Accounting

Can one site/software do all of these things really well?

Ryan

[Ryan Thomson]

@Ryan Denman

Screening - apartments.com or myrental.com

Listing - Facebook, Apartments.com, Craigslist

Electronic signatures - doc hub. 5 free/month

Tools after tenant moved in - having a good handyman

Accounting - I use quicken to track all my expenses. I have a separate bank account for my rentals. 

[Yael Lederman]

Buildium is a great tool that can do most of what a landlord needs. They have tiers so a basic tier might work best for your needs. 

[Vicki X.]

Quote from @Ryan Denman:

Hi All,

I currently use Apartments.com for managing my two long term rental units in Colorado, and I want to know what other small time landlords use.  What software/website offers the best:

-Tenant screening

-Listing syndication

-Electronic signatures for lease documents

-Tools for after a tenant has moved in (maintenance, call service, renter's benefits packages, etc.)

-Accounting

Can one site/software do all of these things really well?

Ryan

@Ryan Denman

I've been managing my local single family houses myself and am testing remote self-managing. Tools for you to consider:

• PM software (rent collection, screening, lease, workorder included. Listing case by case): Azibo, Avail, Innago, Apartments.com, Hemlane, Turbotenant, Rentredi, Tenant Cloud, eRentpayment, Zillow rental manager
• Rental accounting tool: Azibo, Stessa, REIHub, Quickbooks (not specifically for rentals and pricier though)
• Rental banking: Azibo, Stessa
• move-in/move-out inspection: rentcheck

Hope it helps! I’ve used a few and tested many. DM me if you’d like to learn more about the pros and cons.

[Nathan Gesner]

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.

[Nathan Murith]

@Ryan Denman, very common question in the forum and will really all depend on what you need. There are many great options out there, including free ones.

Some front runners in the forums are Avail, Azibo, Innago. BP also has a deal with Rentredi I believe. 

You also have options like Hemlane that are somewhere between self-management and having a property manager.

This site has a ton of resources on property management and self-management options: https://everyreitool.com/categ...

[Ryan Denman]

Thanks All!
Especially:
@Ryan Thomson, I have not heard of doc hub before, I'll check it out.

@Nathan Murith, great link for the REI tools!

@Nathan Gesner, good idea to run through the whole process on both the tenant and landlord sides of a new software.  I'd like to switch to a better platform, but did not want to toss existing tenants into a new platform that I was not familiar with.  My goal with my rental business is to build the systems that can be scaled now, so as I grow I don't need to continually need to reinvent how I run my business.  I also work a full time job, so the more I can make managing my rentals automated and outsourced, the more units I can manage.

[Wally Burbage]

I have been managing 24 doors with Buildium for the past year. Very happy so far. Tenant screening, payments, e-lease, and work orders are all features I use. 

[Ryan Thomson]

@Ryan Denman you are welcome!

[Tommy Parker]

I know this can be an overwhelming process but just narrowing down 3 software's you'd like to use makes it easier. I went with Innago and don't regret it at all! It is free, simple, and great for small to mid-sized landlords like myself. I can do it all on here and my Innago rep is supper knowledgeable. 

[Vicki X.]

Quote from @Ryan Denman:

Hi All,

I currently use Apartments.com for managing my two long term rental units in Colorado, and I want to know what other small time landlords use.  What software/website offers the best:

-Tenant screening

-Listing syndication

-Electronic signatures for lease documents

-Tools for after a tenant has moved in (maintenance, call service, renter's benefits packages, etc.)

-Accounting

Can one site/software do all of these things really well?

Ryan

 PS: as of today, no single software can do it all. 

Azibo: listing and maintenance/work order are missing but will become available soon
Innago: offers basic manual expense tracking. accounting is missing.  I haven't tried their e-signature
Hemlane: very similar to innago but they offer a bit more PM services