Landlords have to deal with a lot more than just collecting rent once a month. As a landlord, you need to market your property to fill vacant units, screen potential renters, and approve people to move into your units. That’s just before someone moves into your property.
In addition to all that, you’ll want to make sure the rent comes in on time, attend to maintenance requests, and keep renters feeling secure. You’re not alone if that all sounds like a lot to handle at once. Property management software can help you streamline your operations, creating one place where you can track leases, schedule maintenance tasks, collect rent payments, and do so much more.
So, what is property management software?
Property management spans a range of tasks in addition to the leasing of residential and commercial property. If you’re managing a property, you will also deal with other tasks related to the property, including:
- Maintenance
- Marketing
- Operation
Whether you’re managing a residential or multifamily property, carefully maintaining it will preserve its value. Property management also helps to prevent injury and will help avoid liability due to lack of repairs. Finally, property management helps make sure that the renters pay their rent on time.
With so many different tasks to keep track of, it can feel like a challenge to oversee your property. That’s where real estate property management software comes in. Property management programs give you an easy tool to keep all your records in one place, streamlining the management process.
Property management software organizes everything you need to manage your property, such as:
- Lease templates
- Maintenance requests
- Rent collection
- Vacant unit marketing
Property management software also stores data and includes secure dashboards that allow renters to:
- Communicate with the property manager or landlord
- Pay rent
- Request maintenance
All in all, the best property management software can offer an end-to-end platform where you store documents, process transactions, and communicate with your renters.
Top 10 Property Management Software
Here are a few popular property management software options to try:
1. AppFolio
AppFolio offers cloud-based software that includes an app, allowing you to use all features from any device. Diverse features and compatibility with various property types make AppFolio a top property management software choice. You can use it to manage a range of properties, including condominiums, commercial properties, homeowners associations (known as HOAs), multifamily properties, single-family properties, and student housing. Useful features include accounting software, rent collection tools, customizable online leases, and more.
2. Buildium
Cloud-based Buildium offers an app, making managing properties on the go a breeze. The software focuses on residential property managers, specializing in affordable housing communities, student housing, and landlords overseeing 50 or more units. Features include leasing tools with auto-fill templates and e-signature leases that are accessible from any device.
3. MRI Software
Founded back in 1971, MRI Software has since grown into a global company with the purpose of helping property managers increase occupancy while cutting down on costs. Though this property management software company specializes in commercial properties, it also offers a great tool for managing residential properties, public and affordable housing, facilities, large investor portfolios, and international properties.
4. Planon Real Estate Management
Planon’s real estate rental management software offers user-friendly, centralized dashboards that are intended for medium, large, or global businesses. The helps landlords organize data, offering processes like transaction management while streamlining financial planning.
5. Propertyware
Geared for landlords who are renting single-family homes, especially those with portfolios of 250 or more homes, Propertyware offers a cloud-based platform with an app that’s less complicated than software for commercial properties. The service simplifies tasks such as tracking and following up with leads, maintenance requests, and more.
A landlord who managed properties with scrap paper started Rentec Direct to create a better system, leading to a top-rated cloud-based system that’s ideal for smaller landlords. Rentec Direct specializes in landlords and property managers with less than 5,000 units, self-managed HOAs, and landlords with 10 properties or fewer — it even has a free version of the software for those.
7. TenantCloud
Another cloud-based system with an app, TenantCloud is one of the best real estate management software platforms if you’re on a budget. The software even offers a free tier. In addition to offering a budget-friendly platform, TenantCloud works well for new landlords. Useful features include residential lease templates, market reports with data, and reminders for insurance, equipment, and service.
8. TRIRIGA Real Estate Manager
IBM created TRIRIGA Real Estate Manager, but brand recognition is one of many aspects of this platform’s popularity. TRIRIGA helps users get a better grasp on lease accounting, thanks to features like automated lease payment reconciliation and prebuilt lease accounting controls. The software also automates the process for creating real estate contracts, asset-lease contracts, and payment schedules.
9. Yardi Breeze
If you’re looking for real estate rental management software that comes with tons of features, Yardi Breeze should sit near the top of your list. Though it is a cloud-based platform, it doesn’t offer an app just for property management. However, it does offer perks like workflow sheets for move-in and move-out, state-based lease addendums and templates, and activity and task calendars. The platform works well for landlords managing small to medium-sized portfolios with residential, commercial, or mixed-use buildings.
10. Zumper
Free rent collection, tenant screening, and listing advertisement make Zumper one of the premier free solutions for small landlords. Get on-time, next-day, secure rent payments deposited into your bank account every month with zero hidden fees.
Property management software can simplify life for you, creating one place where you track residents, rent payments, maintenance, and more. Not only can property management software streamline your operations, but it can also help you cut down on costs and communicate more efficiently with your renters.
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