Best Landlord App on the market

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Best Landlord App on the market

Henry Hogeterp
Flipper/Rehabber · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 8 votes

I’m just beginning my real estate investing journey and about to close on a duplex where I’ll live in the smaller unit and rent the other unit out, gradually upgrading both units to build equity. Excited and worried all at once! Can anyone recommend a solid app for landlords for collecting rent etc?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
5y

Many people are complaining about Apartments.com because it utilizes a lease agreement that can't be edited. Regardless, you should look at a few options and choose the one that works best for you.

Go to Google and search for "free landlord software" and you'll find options like TenantCloud, Innago, Rentec Direct, Apartments.com, etc. See what they offer, sign up and take them for a trial run, then settle on one. I know TenantCloud lets you manage up to 75 rentals for free and for just $10 a month you can manage up to 150 rentals, accept online payments, e-sign documents, and much more. 

Here's just one example: when you market a rental on apartments.com, they only share it with a few other websites that I think they control. When you market on TenantCloud.com, they share it with a lot of rental listing sites, including apartments.com! You also get a free website for your rental that can be shared on facebook, email, or whatever.

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  • Stan Holmes
    Rental Property Investor · Elizabethtown, KY · Member since 2017 · 45 posts · 16 votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp apartments.com is a great app for a landlord in my opinion. It also allows tenants to add maintenance request as well.

    1Reply
  • Henry Hogeterp
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Stan Holmes Thanks Stan!

    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    5y

    Many people are complaining about Apartments.com because it utilizes a lease agreement that can't be edited. Regardless, you should look at a few options and choose the one that works best for you.

    Go to Google and search for "free landlord software" and you'll find options like TenantCloud, Innago, Rentec Direct, Apartments.com, etc. See what they offer, sign up and take them for a trial run, then settle on one. I know TenantCloud lets you manage up to 75 rentals for free and for just $10 a month you can manage up to 150 rentals, accept online payments, e-sign documents, and much more. 

    Here's just one example: when you market a rental on apartments.com, they only share it with a few other websites that I think they control. When you market on TenantCloud.com, they share it with a lot of rental listing sites, including apartments.com! You also get a free website for your rental that can be shared on facebook, email, or whatever.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7243 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    15Reply
  • Stan Holmes
    Rental Property Investor · Elizabethtown, KY · Member since 2017 · 45 posts · 16 votes
    5y

    Nathan I will check that out as well. Always looking to improve my system. Can my tenants also, do maintenance request as well.

    1Reply
  • Amy Raye Rogers
    Real Estate Agent · Minot, ND · Member since 2021 · 131 posts · 223 votes
    5y

    I use Zillow's rental manager.  It's the most effective tool in my market for listing to quality tenants and the easy enough for setting up rent payments.  The downside is that it does not have a maintenance request feature.

    2Reply
  • Stan Holmes
    Rental Property Investor · Elizabethtown, KY · Member since 2017 · 45 posts · 16 votes
    5y

    @Amy Raye Rogers that maintenance feature works well for both parties. It allows the request to remain open until completed.

    0Reply
  • Scott M.
    Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    I have to admit I am jealous of all the options out there today.  When I started out there was really only excel and maybe quickbooks, I don't remember.  And the generation before me didn't even have that.  So great there are so many options!

    2Reply
  • Nicholas Ludwiczak
    Rental Property Investor · Auburndale, WI · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 30 votes
    5y

    I have personally been using TenantCloud for 9 months and I like it. Been using the $9 version. I can't remember why I went from the free to the paid version but managing up to 50 rentals (I have 9 units

    ) for $9 is a great deal! I use it for the following: list my units on the TenantCloud provided website, it also syndicates the listing on a bunch of other listing services, digital applications (they offer screening services but I don't use paid screen services), digital lease signing, rent collection (half pay though this, half by Venmo), asset management (appliance model, serial, age, etc) and maintenance requests. I have been happy with their service and would recommend them.

    4Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp We knew we were planning to try to scale up quickly so we looked at full featured property management software from the very beginning. We ended up selecting Buildium and the software has really helped us grow our business. (no affiliation other than as customer).

    1Reply
  • Eddie L.
    Member since 2020 · 89 posts · 43 votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp I currently use Avail.co. The rent collection and listing options are nice. You can enter maintenance requests through their portal and it costs $5/unit. I have used NestEgg.Rent in the past. NestEgg now has nationwide maintenance scheduling and I may test them with a new tenant I am onboarding next month. I had challenges with their payment setup in the past. However, I do like their vendor management, scheduling and tracking of maintenance through their app. Avail does not have an app and you have to use their web portal. NestEgg charges a full months rent as commissions for filling a listing. Their is an addition fee for Zillow listing through Avail.

    2Reply
  • Henry Hogeterp
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Nathan G.Great stuff! I really appreciate it!

    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Eddie L.:

    @Henry Hogeterp I currently use Avail.co. The rent collection and listing options are nice. You can enter maintenance requests through their portal and it costs $5/unit. I have used NestEgg.Rent in the past. NestEgg now has nationwide maintenance scheduling and I may test them with a new tenant I am onboarding next month. I had challenges with their payment setup in the past. However, I do like their vendor management, scheduling and tracking of maintenance through their app. Avail does not have an app and you have to use their web portal. NestEgg charges a full months rent as commissions for filling a listing. Their is an addition fee for Zillow listing through Avail.

    I would seriously consider shopping around. $5 per unit and a month of rent to market? That's more than most property managers will charge and the most expensive software I've heard of.  TenantCloud is $10 a month and allows you to manage 150 units without extra charges for maintenance or marketing. 

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    3Reply
  • Robert Bystrek
    Rental Property Investor · Hattiesburg, MS · Member since 2009 · 28 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    @Stan Holmes I am not a fan of the Apartments.com app. Very much so non user friendly.

    1Reply
  • Eddie L.
    Member since 2020 · 89 posts · 43 votes
    5y

    @Nathan G. I will checkout TenantCloud. I agree NestEgg’s tenant sourcing is very expensive. Thanks for the new platform recommendation.

    2Reply
  • Ron Brady
    Rental Property Investor · Burlington County, NJ · Member since 2019 · 540 posts · 771 votes
    5y

    We were transferred over from the shuttered cozy.co to apartments.com. Not liking apartments and thus are trying rentler.com with early positive results. We’d recommend others take a look.

    1Reply
  • Andrew FreedBusiness Member
    Investor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp Good question, having solid systems and being organized is key to being a successful investor. I use Rent Redi for rent collection which seems to do well. It is a small fee though. In addition, I use Stessa for my accounting software which is completely free and provides really insightful reports. 

    [email protected]781-964-3200Podcast Guest on Show 69 Doors from ONE Real Estate Deal Using Other People’s Money
    1Reply
  • Jeff Stein
    Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 138 posts · 52 votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp

    I used cozy.co for a while which is now apartments.com which I thought was really good

    1Reply
  • Michael Valdez
    Rental Property Investor · Oak Hills, CA · Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Nathan G.

    I’m using turbo tenant.com so far the experience has been phenomenal. In my opinion having the chat box to reach customer service has been excellent.

    2Reply
  • Shawn Elrod
    Rental Property Investor · Dayton, OH · Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp I’ve been using Rentec Direct to manage my portfolio and couldn’t do without it. I started using it around 10 doors and haven’t looked back. Tenants pay rent online, electronic signed leases, online applications (I still use Zillow for listing properties because I get better results) it’s my book keeping and it links with another site for sending out 1099’s. Software could be better on my phone but it works and they are supposed to be improving it.

    0Reply
  • Hunter Beier
    Rental Property Investor · Winfield, KS · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    You know, I hadn't even thought about using software/apps like this as a new RE investor. Glad you posted this.

    Also, I've been going through a bunch of them and 2 high rated apps seems to be nestegg and innago

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    @Henry Hogeterp - I use Buildium and really like it. Only disadvantage is it is not mobile friendly.

    0Reply
  • Nate Smoyer
    Specialist · Bellingham, WA · Member since 2016 · 100 posts · 46 votes
    5y

    @Nathan Gesner- I think you misunderstood the post. They were talking about Avail AND NestEgg as a comparison.

    Avail does not charge a full month's rent    . Avail never takes any amount out of rent collected by landlords. Avail can be used at no cost, for unlimite    d units or for premium features (customizable lease agreements, rental applications, and expedited payments) it's just $5/month per unit. 
    @Nathan Gesner

    Originally posted by @Eddie L. :

    @Henry Hogeterp I currently use Avail.co. The rent collection and listing options are nice. You can enter maintenance requests through their portal and it costs $5/unit. I have used NestEgg.Rent in the past. NestEgg now has nationwide maintenance scheduling and I may test them with a new tenant I am onboarding next month. I had challenges with their payment setup in the past. However, I do like their vendor management, scheduling and tracking of maintenance through their app. Avail does not have an app and you have to use their web portal. NestEgg charges a full months rent as commissions for filling a listing. Their is an addition fee for Zillow listing through Avail.

    0Reply
  • Chico Sajovic
    Member since 2021 · 17 posts · 14 votes
    5y

    @Nate Smoyer, i cant argue with value, but it is the one of the most expensive platforms. Innago, tenantcloud, rentredi, turbotenant, apartments were all cheaper. 

    I ended up with innago in part because they charged $2/unit vs avial’s $5/unit

    0Reply
  • Chico Sajovic
    Member since 2021 · 17 posts · 14 votes
    5y

    @Nate Smoyer, As a customer I found the features to be mostly comparable for my use with innago, tenantcloud and avail. with 60 units at $5/unit/mo, avail would work out to be more expensive than appfolio or buildium. in avail's favor I found the interface to be more polished than innago and more intuitive than tenantcloud.

    1Reply
  • Wesley Shi
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2021 · 1 post · 1 vote
    5y

    @Nate Smoyer

    I was using cozy.co and had no issues with them. Apartments.com was not user friendly in my opinion. I was going to use TurboTenant before their security closed my account for using a VPN to connect. Their support never responded so I moved on. I found Avail and tried them out.

    Avail is a great user experience except for the lease customization. You have to go premium to customize the lease and the user interface used is really bad. There are only text areas that do not accept any formatting. Custom leases look amateurish and are hard to read.

    Incorporating custom esign capability for addendums would go a long way to making this a powerful tool. Just my .02.

    1Reply
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