Property Manager · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2019 · 574 posts · 350 votes
4y
Congrats on your investment!! You might look at Stessa or Tenant Cloud. I think you can manage one property there for free. Make sure to set up a seperate bank account for your rental property to keep from comingling your personal and business funds.
Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 941 votes
4y
@Iliana Oudom I get by without using an app. I save all my receipts and input them into an excel. When I scale I'll begin looking for ones but for right now it's not worth it. I do use Apartments.com to write the leases.
Property Manager · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2019 · 574 posts · 350 votes
4y
Congrats on your investment!! You might look at Stessa or Tenant Cloud. I think you can manage one property there for free. Make sure to set up a seperate bank account for your rental property to keep from comingling your personal and business funds.
Denver, CO · Member since 2022 · 200 posts · 77 votes
4y
There are lots of great property management apps, so it depends on what your priority is. For example, some of them have more comprehensive accounting features and others focus more on tenant management. It's worth having a look around to see which one would suit you best.
Property Manager · Oklahoma City · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 20 votes
4y
Before I started my own management company I used Cozy (Now apartments.com) Easy set up and free rent collection with a brief hold period (7 days I believe) You don't need anything too robust with just 1 property. Keep it simple!
Lender · Texas; Arizona · Member since 2019 · 276 posts · 282 votes
4y
I've used several. None are perfect, but the one I like the most is Hemlane.com. I used to use innago.com and still do for a few tenants. I keep both accounts open, so if tenant is having issues with one I switch it over to the other.
Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 731 votes
4y
@Iliana Oudom, congrats! How exciting to get your first property. Let the wealth fun start!
There are several ways to go about apps. There's professional software and then landlord software, which sounds like your preference.
Some tidbits:
Cost: There's generally two types: transactional vs. monthly membership. For one unit, I'd look at the transactional types.
User Limits: With landlord software, it's generally capped at 1. And you should never share access to your account because it connects to your bank. However, if you have a partner or use somebody to help manage (i.e. co-manage) then this would need to be determined before selecting which platform.
Features: Apps are generally built with the same core 3rd party apps for rent payments, screening reports, etc. The user experience may be the biggest difference but some offer more accounting power. Users either love or hate that extra accounting power, some say it complicates the experience and not needed.
Peer Apps: Your tenants will prefer Venmo or Zelle; vast majority do. It's easiest for them. Stick to your guns and require them to use your desired landlord software for payments. Venmo/Zelle don't know what rent is, just what payments are. Compared to landlord software which does know what is rent, when it's due, if/when to add late fees, if/when to send automatic email reminders, etc.
As you see, I'm a nerd about this stuff. Happy to answer any questions!