TenantCloud users: do your tenants have setup/user problems?

Question

I am a new investor that just purchased an 11 unit building and I think I have decided on using TenantCloud to manage the property.  However, after reading a lot of the reviews on the iOS app store, it seems to get pretty mediocre review from tenants.   Most of the positive reviews on the App Store and this site are from landlords that seem to really like the features and functionality.  But on the App Store there seem to be a lot of bad reviews (as many 1 star reviews as 5 star) and they seem to be mostly from tenants that complain about the setup process, usability, reliability, etc.

My questions are for current users:

1. Do your tenants like the app and have a positive experience or is it difficult for them to signup and use?

2. What percentage of your tenants use the app to pay rent?

3. What percentage of your tenants use the app to submit maintenance requests?

4. Any other negatives you wish you knew before signing up?

Thanks in advance!

Ryan Hayhurst · Answer

@Pat Remi Thanks Pat!  That’s great feedback. It sure looks like a good system and would meet my initial needs, but I got a little nervous seeing a lot of the bad reviews on the App Store. I’m sure you’re right and it comes down to just how tech savvy the tenants are.

Dave Spooner · Answer

Disclosure: I work on the product team at Innago.

I use Innago with my tenants and they love the ability to pay rent online, maintenance tickets, communication, etc. So I think fundamentally, offering something like Tenant Cloud is a great step that your tenants are going to love. I can't speak directly to their functionality, but I wanted to offer three things I think matter most to a smooth transition from my experience both with my own units and with working with other landlords:

• Let your tenants know about the app and how the onboarding process will go. You don't have to give them much, even just "You'll receive an email from the program we use called Tenant Cloud, be on the lookout" will make a big difference.
• Hopefully Tenant Cloud offers phone and email support directly to your tenants. If they do not, make sure you have enough familiarity to do light troubleshooting. It'll save everyone headache.
• And of course you want the app to be easy to use. Sounds like you're doing your due diligence on this front!

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to offer any insight I can!

Jonathan Newsome · Answer

@Ryan Hayhurst

I’ve been having a few issues using Tenant cloud as of recent (within the past month). I’ve also tried contacting the support team via phone, but I’ve found in order to get ahold of someone there I have to “spam” call them quite a bit.

I’ve had trouble getting the PayPal api to link with the tenant cloud system. I then tried using Dwolla to reduce fees paid, but it appears as if there’s issues with that as well...

I may try out the cozy.co app or something else.

Julie Marquez · Answer

@Ryan Hayhurst That's a good question, it was two year ago exactly. I hope it's better now, it seems like a powerful tool and I haven't tried it recently

Ryan Hayhurst · Answer

@Julie Marquez Julie, thanks for the input. How long ago did you use TenantCloud? I’m wondering if these issues people are having are more recent or maybe a while ago and they could have worked the bugs out by now.

Julie Marquez · Answer

I found the site to be too buggy to successfully use, tenants complained about filling out applications and then losing all information and having to try multiple times. I just use Cozy.co and haven't had any issue with applications and rental collection. TenantCloud looks powerful, it just simply didn't work for me.

Pat Remi · Answer

@Ryan Hayhurst

I've been using TenantCloud for a couple of months already. I've basically created an account on BP to know more about the functionality and get recommendations from other users. I've also contacted TC support team from time to time.

Tenants: Most of my tenants are tech-savvy and could easily set up an account and navigate it. That's what they told me! :)

Payments and Maintenance: I receive all the payments online through the app due to the lockdown and stay-at-home orders. It's really helpful. But I didn't have a chance to test maintenance feature yet. Hopefully, no issues there!

I'm not an experienced landlord (only learning) but at this point I'm satisfied with the software.

Lee Ripma · Answer

@Ryan Hayhurst

I used TenantCloud when I self managed. They did have a little trouble setting it up. One thing that helps is you can do their application and screening on TenantCloud, that helps because then they are setup with account. Existing tenants will likely need some support to setup. Tenant cloud is glitchy but cheap. I think appfolio is the best once you have enough units.

TenantCloud users: do your tenants have setup/user problems?

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