Options other than Rent redi?

[Erik Spell]

Hi BP,

Question for n how you manage your properties…

I was just trying out RentRedi and using their lease forms it sends an intro to the tenant to download their app. No ability to work in the website to complete the lease - it is only available to tenants through the app. A lot of great features but for short term rental, I don’t think tenants will want to complete and download an app just for a short term stay. Anybody have any other options you use online? To completely manage your properties…collect rent, analytics, bill, lease management?

[Joe Martella]

I currently manage 4 SFH rentals in addition to having a very demanding full time job. There are many free resources out there for smaller investors. I am going to list them:

• TurboTenant
  • It is completely free to advertise your rental, screen your tenants.
  • You upload your pictures, write a description and it posts to 20+ websites for free
  • Takes about 24-48 hours for leads to come in.
  • Once you select a tenant, they pay for the background check, upload documents (paystubs, ID, W2) and it is all set to you.
  • It even helps you build a lease after you select a tenant (there is a $30+ fee for the lease)
  • My referral code (https://turbotenant.com/r/T3du... disclosure. I do not get any money from TurboTenant, nor am I an owner or investor in the company.
  • They have a referral program where they will send me a $25 home depot gift card for a referral - you don't have to use the referral code

• Stessa
  • Stessa is a website that I use to track all my expenses.
  • It is another free site and you can pull reports
  • You even can upload receipts.
  • Roofstock recently purchased Stessa
  • Completely free

• Zillow Rental Manager
  • I use this to collect rent.
  • Free for the landlord
  • Tenant only pays a fee if they use a credit card to pay rent. ACH is free
  • Takes about 5-7 days for the funds to hit your bank account
• Excel
  • I use an excel spreadsheet to track my check register. You can download a free template online

Other free websites I haven't used.

• Avail.co
• • This is another free website that I learned about this week listening to a podcast (may have been a BP podcast). I haven't used it and cannot speak to it.

• Zibo.com
  • This is another free website where you can collect rent electronically and have an interest checking account.
  • I am still looking at this, because not all my tenants pay electronically. 2 like to mail checks. I haven't looked at how to deposit those - I don't like mobile deposits.

There are many free resources to use before you start paying for services. Out of my 4 rentals, I have placed 2 tenants with TurboTenant - one tenant is on year 3 and the other tenant is on year 2. I listed the properties, took some pictures (they weren't the greatest pictures) and had it rented in a week. I was able to recycle the leases upon renewal and didn't pay any commissions for the rental, which is a savings of over $4,000 if you consider the rental commission to be 1 month rent. I highly recommend it.

Zillow, I have to wait 5-7 days for the money to hit my account. I don't mind it. For some that may be an inconvenience that they do not want.

Stessa - This is my first year using it. I haven't used any of the reports for the accountant, yet. We can see how that goes.

Property Management Software (biggerpockets.com)