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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  • Timmi Ryerson
    Property Manager · Ketchum, ID · Member since 2016 · 277 posts · 132 votes
    5y

    Smart Property Systems.  Has all features needed.  Easy to learn and use.  Affordable.  Great tenant portals.

    0Reply
  • Jeff Slipko
    Specialist · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 9 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

    Hey, Nathan! Jeff with NestEgg here.

    We have local leasing agents do all the work on the ground so landlords can be completely hands off every step of the way, including taking photos, building the listings, responding to inquiries, doing the showings, and handling the move in. The marketing done by TenantCloud is not comparable to ours since we provide on the ground support. TenantCloud only syndicates listings, leaving you responsible for handling every step, which can be incredibly time consuming for landlords that are juggling their investment properties with their day jobs.

    In the end, we believe it's great for real estate investors to have options based on how much time and expertise they have.

    Here to answer any other questions that may come up.

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  • Ed Walsh
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    4y

    I have found it a nightmare dealing with Apartments.com ever since the took over for  cozy.co about a year ago.  I am getting ready to fire them now and looking for a different app.  My tenant has also struggled with the app.  Both of us found it very counterintuitive to use.   Now the app says I have to put in my taxpayer ID in the system.  I have been struggling to figure out a way to do that and after an hour, I gave up. 

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  • Glen E
    Savannah, GA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    To those who have recommended particular rent-collection apps:

    @Nicholas Ludwiczak, @Jill F., @Andrew Freed, @Michael Valdez, @Shawn Elrod, @Hunter Beier, @Chico Sajovic, @Timmi Ryerson, @Jeff Stein, @Nathan Gesner

    Here is a main feature I'm looking for:

    I'm one of many who used to be on cozy and got migrated to apartments.com. I have eight units, and I tend to be busy and sometimes don't get around to checking promptly whether all the tenants have paid for the month.

    Cozy sent automatic emails for various tenant activity; in fact sometimes it sent almost too many emails, but I would rather have too many than too few. In particular, when a tenant went past a due date so their rent became late, or if a payment ever failed, I would get an email with the email subject clearly indicating what happened.

    Apartments.com does not send *any* notifications like that. I have to log in and check property-by-property to see if the tenants are up-to-date. I find it tedious to have to do that every month, compared to cozy which told me immediately when there was a problem.

    For those of you who have recommended various apps, do any of them give email notification of late and/or failed rent payments?

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  • Lorenzo J UribePro Member
    Investor · LOS ANGELES, CA · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    4y

    Hello Henry, 

    I used COZY.COM and was happy with it. However, it was later merged and bought out by Aparmtents.com. It was never the same. Since then I transferred my PM to INNAGO.COM. I am trully happy with it. I have used it for 6 months now and love it. I only received ONE (1) complaint for it and it was from a problematic tenant. Her complaint was that they were charging her. Nobody else had this complain. 

    I recommend it because it's user friendly, accessible to tenants (Phone APP), and it pretty much has everything you need. Especially for a beginner but also works for advanced. 

    Let me know what you decide/decided on. 

    -Zo

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  • Justin Fox
    Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
    4y

    I use Innago.com as well.  Their support staff is prompt and very helpful as well.

    0Reply
  • Adah N.
    Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes
    4y

    @Justin Fox @Lorenzo J Uribe

    I am planing to use Zillow for marketing and screening and then a different software for everything else. I am currently looking at TurboTenant and Innago.

    Downsides I've seen with TurboTenant are no autopay, no automatic late fee billing/collection and no mobile option. Everyone uses apps these days.

    Is it a problem Innago charges $2 for ACH and there is no charge free option for tenants to pay rent? Do your tenants object? Do you choose to bear the cost? I know Innago also offers offline payments but that would defeat the purpose of automating rent payments because you have to comeback to software/app to reconcile and manually update rent payments. 

    Another question - do they have comprehensive leases by state? And allow additional clauses, customization? Or do you have to create lease from scratch?

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  • Justin Fox
    Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
    4y

    @Adah N.

    I just eat the $2.00 fee for ACH payments.  I don't mind as it incentivizes paying online.  I just have their rent changed to [rent - 2.00] for the duration of the innago tenancy to account for it.  If they happen to pay any other way, it's 100% like normal, and then I have to add the payment manually.  

    Regarding the lease(s), I had to upload an un-filled pdf of my lease and drag/drop their landlord/tenant built-in fields and custom fields that I wanted.  You can preview it and all to make sure it looks okay when they're viewing it to fill out after you've accepted them.

    1Reply
  • Lawrence BriggsPro Member
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 367 posts · 377 votes
    4y

    @Justin Fox great info, are you only using the free version or have you used the paid one as well? For example, if the rent is $800, you charge them $788 Innago system to off set the $2 ACH fee?



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  • Justin Fox
    Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
    4y

    @Lawrence Briggs

    Innago is free for the landlord. They make their money from payment fees from what I can tell. I think their fee is 2.75% of the charge but the fee caps at $2.00 when the tenant pays with their bank account.

    In your example, the rent would be 800 and I would have their rent be 798 in Innago. That's just what I choose to do.

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  • Lawrence BriggsPro Member
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 367 posts · 377 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Justin Fox:

    @Lawrence Briggs

    Innago is free for the landlord. They make their money from payment fees from what I can tell. I think their fee is 2.75% of the charge but the fee caps at $2.00 when the tenant pays with their bank account.

    In your example, the rent would be 800 and I would have their rent be 798 in Innago. That's just what I choose to do .

    awesome, thank you for the update and also correcting my math LOL

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  • Justin Fox
    Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
    4y

    @Lawrence Briggs

    No problem!

    0Reply
  • Lorenzo J UribePro Member
    Investor · LOS ANGELES, CA · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Adah N.:

    @Justin Fox @Lorenzo J Uribe

    I am planing to use Zillow for marketing and screening and then a different software for everything else. I am currently looking at TurboTenant and Innago.

    Downsides I've seen with TurboTenant are no autopay, no automatic late fee billing/collection and no mobile option. Everyone uses apps these days.

    Is it a problem Innago charges $2 for ACH and there is no charge free option for tenants to pay rent? Do your tenants object? Do you choose to bear the cost? I know Innago also offers offline payments but that would defeat the purpose of automating rent payments because you have to comeback to software/app to reconcile and manually update rent payments. 

    Another question - do they have comprehensive leases by state? And allow additional clauses, customization? Or do you have to create lease from scratch?


     Sorry for the late reply. Hope you have this handled by now. But to answer your question- No complaints on the tenants side. And yes, you have a choice to pay for the tenant. You also have a choice to download your own contract and make it singer-friendly with their program. Example, if you have a contract, you already use (word or PDF) you can upload it in INNAGO and then choose what the tenant/applicant needs to fill out. They can then complete the application and or contract on their smart device! makes it easy. 

    Honestly, I would recommend to use whatever makes work more efficient and easy. What I tell those that I coach is to it keep is simple for you AND your tenants. 

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