Specialist · Crossville, TN · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 27 votes
Has anyone used Buildium landlord software? What do like like and dislike about the software? I am considering switching over to the software and would like to hear everyone’s input!
Investor · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 149 votes
6y
@Jaret Walker What are you using now? I think prop mgmt software really depends on how many units you have, how many features you'd like (expense tracking, chat, just rent collection, accounting, maintenance requests, etc), and whether or not you want to pay for the software.
For me, I was looking for something that supported multiple users (so my husband mom and I can all manage the rentals together), had chat built into it (again because my family co-manages it's a lot easier to keep everyone on one page here), and also had payments for rent and reimbursements. I didn't want to have to have separate apps for rent and accounting and expenses. It's a lot easier for me to have it all just in one place and have the numbers automatically tracked. I also really valued a professional mobile app -- some of my younger tenants have said that they wanted that and that it'd help them pay more on time. So I ended up choosing Tellus and it's been great! Free and every feature I'd need, there are a lot of features I haven't even used. I recommend checking them out.
I think if you're managing hundreds of properties that AppFolio is a good choice. I've heard that many professional managers use them and that the software is more intuitive than some of the older options. It also lets you have a white listed portal on your own property management website I believe where you can use your own logo so that your clients see that you're investing in the tenant experience.
Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 5 votes
6y
@Jaret Walker I have used Buildium for the last 5 year with my property management company and I think it has some good features but it also has it's limitations. I would definitely recommend researching other software programs. If you are looking for something that is cost effective and doesn't need too many bells and whistles, then this could work well for you.
The customer support is very hit or miss if you need assistance when you call or submit a claim ticket. We are currently in the process of switching platforms as well because we are expanding our portfolio and will need something that is a little more streamlined and doesn't require so much manual entry. I wish it had more ways to help automate some of the daily functions that are used in property management and more so on the tenant portal side of things. Some of the investors we work with have a lot of trouble as well with the owner portal and accessing ledger data. This is the number one reason why we are looking for other solutions.
Some other issues we experience are on the accounting side of things. The system can be very glitchy and can take quite a long time to notify us of issues.
Specialist · Crossville, TN · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 27 votes
6y
@Christopher Sanchez @Connie Chan
Thank you for the input! I am self managing 16 units and I am growing fast. I am using old school spread sheets and I am out growing that fast. I would like whatever program I go with to allow online payments, maintenance requests, basic accounting, online applications, and reasonable priced. I have looked at other programs and they are either more than I need right now or does not offer enough. Are there any other software companies that you would recommend looking into? I need it to scale with me and I don’t want to out grow it but I also am only managing my properties so I don’t really need a program that is more designed for property managers with 1,000 units.
Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 5 votes
6y
@Jaret Walker Since you are self managing your own properties, I honestly think that Buildium would be good for you. You shouldn't have to worry about the owner portal issues I have been experiencing since you own the properties and will have direct access to anything you need. The program works well for online payments for the tenants normally but starting in January, there has been an issue with the login for the payment side of things. We have been having to send each tenant a new login for the payment site because of an issue Buildium. We manage over 150 properties so that has been tedious. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Good luck and great job with acquiring 16 properties and self managing!!!
Specialist · Crossville, TN · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 27 votes
6y
@Christopher Sanchez
I will continue to weigh my options but like you said Buildium seems to be pretty good for owner/managers. I appreciate the input from actual users on how well the system performs. Thank you for everything!
Investor · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 149 votes
6y
You're welcome! Those features you listed are all in the Tellus app, their online tenant applications are free too so you can maximize the number of leads that you get :) Although I know some people want to charge an application fee to "filter" out tenants. Since it's free I'd check it out first before paying for something that you might not like.
Thank you for the input! I am self managing 16 units and I am growing fast. I am using old school spread sheets and I am out growing that fast. I would like whatever program I go with to allow online payments, maintenance requests, basic accounting, online applications, and reasonable priced. I have looked at other programs and they are either more than I need right now or does not offer enough. Are there any other software companies that you would recommend looking into? I need it to scale with me and I don’t want to out grow it but I also am only managing my properties so I don’t really need a program that is more designed for property managers with 1,000 units.
Realtor · Washington, DC · Member since 2013 · 91 posts · 32 votes
6y
@jaretwalker I agree that Buildium seems to fit well with your needs described above. I used it for a few years to manage 19 or so properties, some of my own and some for clients (stopped recently). I was very pleased with the online payments, record keeping, and maintenance request alerts. Most of my tenants were able to use it very easily and preferred it to any other mode of communication or payment. I don't even think I utilized all of the features, but it was very good for the basics I needed it for. I think the software could be improved for vendor payments and tracking, but that wasn't a huge issue for me.
Specialist · Crossville, TN · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 27 votes
6y
@Ryan Hehman
That is good to hear your experience! My only concern with the online payment is that several of my tenants are older and still pay in cash. Is it very difficult to record cash payments in the system?
Realtor · Washington, DC · Member since 2013 · 91 posts · 32 votes
6y
No, it's very easy to record cash payments (as well as add/delete/edit entries) on the tenant ledgers. You just have to do it manually. So you can have tenants paying in different ways and it doesn't cause any hiccups. (Even one tenant paying cash one month and online the next etc.) I had a couple tenants as well who were older and didn't want anything to do with the internet. They paid in cash for rent as well as utilities and there were no issues.
You can also set it to auto-fill the monthly rent charges on the ledger, or other recurring charges, for all tenants regardless of how they pay. On the ledger Buildium automatically records only the online payments made through the tenant portal. Sorry if this is too much info. Buildium has a bunch of great tutorial videos available through the dashboard that show you step by step how to do everything on the platform. You can feel free to message me for more specifics if you like!