How I’m keeping things simple while building tools for my rentals

[Parris Taylor]

I’ve been testing out a lightweight assistant (built on Telegram) to help me manage leases, send rent nudges, and coordinate maintenance for my rentals.

My goal from day one: keep it stupid simple.

No portals. No dashboards. No “log in to see status.”

Just a message that says “done.”

But this week, I caught myself sketching out a dashboard again—habitually. And I had to stop and ask: Who is this dashboard really for—me, or the tenants and vendors using it?

That’s when it hit me: Simple systems aren’t simple by default. They’re a daily fight against overcomplication.

So I scrapped it.

Would love to hear from other self-managing landlords or small-time operators: 

- What tools have actually saved you time (not added another dashboard)?

- Any low-tech or no-tech systems that just work?

[Mohammed Rahman]

Totally feel you on this. I’ve gone down the same rabbit hole—thinking I needed “just one more tool” when really I just needed less noise. 

The Telegram setup sounds solid. I’ve heard a few landlords say WhatsApp groups or even shared Google Keep notes have worked wonders for keeping track of maintenance or lease dates, especially if the team is small.

For me, Google Calendar reminders + pinned texts/emails + a dedicated email label system have surprisingly carried a lot of weight. No dashboards, no learning curves.

Also—one guy I know uses a shared voicemail inbox for tenants to report issues. He gets a transcript via email and replies by text. That’s it. Clean and done.

Simple ain’t easy, but it sure is powerful. Curious what others are doing too.