How do you track your deals pipeline? Spreadsheet? CRM? Honest feedback needed

[Mohamed Zerhouni]

Hey everyone,

I'm a developer looking to build something useful for small real estate investors (1-10 properties) and I want to make sure I'm solving a real problem before writing a single line of code.

Quick question: how do you currently track your deals pipeline — from first contact with a seller to closing?

I keep hearing that spreadsheets are painful but full CRMs (like Salesforce or HubSpot) are overkill and expensive.

Specifically curious about:

• What tool/method do you use today?
• What's the ONE thing that wastes the most time in your process?
• Would you pay for something simpler? If so, what would make you switch from your current setup?

Not selling anything — genuinely trying to understand the workflow before building. Brutal honesty appreciated.

Thanks