Landlord Software | Avail

10 Best Multifamily Property Management Software Platforms

Kaycee Jackson — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:22:02 +0000

Managing a rental property is no small task, but a property management software platform can help simplify the process. The same can be said for managing multifamily properties — but how do you know which platform to pick?

We’ve looked at the 10 best multifamily property management software platforms designed for landlords to help you determine which option is right for your needs.

What Is Multifamily Property Management Software?

Property management software is designed for landlords and property managers to help simplify day-to-day tasks related to managing rentals. With the right software, you can stay on top of your rental properties, manage tenant screening and applications, collect rent payments, and more.

Multifamily platforms are specifically tailored with features to help you manage multifamily properties, such as duplexes, townhomes, or apartment buildings with fewer units.

How to Choose the Right Multifamily Property Management Software

The right multifamily property management software provides the most effective solutions for your needs. As you explore the multitude of options, here are some important details to consider:

Ease of use: Is the software easy to use? If you need to bring on a property manager or want to invite your tenants to use the platform, a good property management software option should be easy for them to understand.
Available features: The right software will have the right features based on your needs. If you want to collect rent online that allows you to automate late fees, look for an option with a reliable rent collection feature.
Cost: Property management software should fit comfortably within your budget, while still providing the solutions you need. Research if platforms have an onboarding fee, a monthly subscription fee, and one-time fees for certain services.

Keeping these details in mind will make finding the right multifamily property management software easier.

What Is the Best Multifamily Property Management Software Platform?

Here’s a list of 10 of the best multifamily property management software platforms available in 2023.

1. Avail (Part of Realtor.com®)

Avail (part of Realtor.com®) is a rental property management software that lets landlords advertise rental listings across a dozen sites, screen tenants, request background checks, create state-specific leases, collect rent, manage income and expenses, and more from one convenient place.

This software platform is designed to manage single-family homes and multifamily properties for free. After adding your building to your dashboard, you can create and view details of each individual unit, such as the timeline of the unit and a summary of recent or pending payments. Additional features include creating a listing for that specific unit, managing applications, and reviewing leases or other documents, payments, or maintenance requests specific to that unit as needed.

There are two account options to choose from. You can access a deep feature set with a free Unlimited landlord account — list your property across the most popular listing sites, screen tenants with credit and criminal background checks, create leases from state-specific and lawyer-reviewed templates, and manage your tenant’s rental experience with online rent collection and maintenance tracking.

To access features like next-day payment processing, customizable leases, waived ACH fees, and the option to create your own custom marketing site for your property, upgrade to an Unlimited Plus account for just $5/unit per month. The easy-to-understand design of the platform makes it an excellent choice for managing properties without worrying about a hefty price tag.

For all things landlord-related, the Avail Resources page gives you access to rental forms, educational articles, legal pages, guides, and research. You’ll even be able to access the Avail Community Forum to connect and interact with fellow landlords.

Core features include:

Listings across the top 12 rental sites
Rental applications
Tenant screening
Lease agreements and amendment templates
Online rent collection
Maintenance tracking
Rent price analysis
Property accounting

Avail pricing:

You can create an Unlimited landlord account for free, with no restrictions on the number of units you manage. Avail also offers an Unlimited Plus option for $7/unit per month.

2. DoorLoop

DoorLoop is a robust property management solution for managing residential and commercial properties, student housing, mobile homes, self-storage units, and more. With this platform, you can screen tenants, manage your accounting, respond to maintenance tickets, and complete other important landlord tasks.

To use DoorLoop’s feature set, you’ll need to choose from the following plans: Starter, Pro, or Premium. Each tier varies in available features, which is something to consider. Each plan’s pricing increases depending on your portfolio size, but you won’t have to worry if you’re managing fewer than 20 units.

Core features include:

Property accounting
Maintenance tracking
Online rent collection
Tenant screening
eSignatures
Document storage

DoorLoop pricing:

The Starter plan begins at $59/month, the Pro plan is $119/month, and the Premium plan is $179/month. You can switch to a yearly billing cycle and save up to 20%. A free trial is also available if you want to test the platform first.

3. Stessa

Stessa is a software platform that lets you focus on the financial side of your rental property investments. Regardless of the number of multifamily properties you own, you can run reports in a single click for a snapshot view of your portfolio, and simplify your rental property tax preparation.

This platform doesn’t neglect aspects of rental property management, though. With this software, you can also manage rental applications, screen prospective tenants, and collect rent seamlessly.

Core features include:

Property accounting
Rental applications
Tenant screening
Rent collection

Stessa pricing:

There’s no cost to create a Stessa account.

4. RealPage

RealPage is a cloud-based software that can help landlords manage a variety of property types, including multifamily homes. Features like online rent collection and maintenance tracking will make managing any number of multifamily properties easier, but RealPage can also help with vacancy management. Thorough analytics and reporting can help you optimize pricing based on market data to attract tenants quickly. To make your listings stand out, you can create virtual tours.

Additionally, the resident portal makes it easy for tenants to submit maintenance tickets and request a lease renewal.

Core features include:

Reporting
Maintenance management
Accounting
Billing and invoicing
Leasing
Online rent collection

RealPage pricing:

RealPage pricing isn’t listed publicly. Contact RealPage directly to learn more about the pricing model.

5. Entrata

Entrata incorporates your property accounting, leasing data, and more into a comprehensive property management software platform. There are multiple versions for different types of rental properties, including student and military housing.

Features for leasing, rental management, accounting, financial reporting, and more are available to Entrata users. Additionally, a resident portal and mobile app let tenants easily submit maintenance requests, pay rent, and communicate with you or your management team.

For even more convenience, Entrata has a number of third-party integrations. If you have other systems or products you’re already using, you may be able to connect and use them through Entrata.

Core features include:

Leasing
Online rent collection
Maintenance tracking
Accounting
Document storage
Open API and third-party integrations

Entrata pricing:

Entrata pricing varies depending on the software package you select. The exact pricing isn’t public, so you must contact Entrata directly for a quote.

6. AppFolio Property Manager

AppFolio Property Manager is another cloud-based property management software that offers a suite of features to help manage your rentals. Optimize occupancy with AppFolio’s marketing and leasing features, keep your tenants informed with communication features, and access key performance insights.

This platform is intended for landlords who manage 50 units or more, but it may be a worthwhile resource if you own multiple apartment buildings or condos.

Core features include:

Listings
Online rent collection
Leasing
Tenant screening
Maintenance tracking
Accounting

AppFolio Property Manager pricing:

Pricing for this platform is based on the types of properties you manage. The community associations core plan is $.80/unit per month. The residential core plan charges $1.40/unit per month, and the commercial plan costs $1.50/unit per month. Each plan also has a minimum monthly fee of $280.

7. Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct is a property management software platform for landlords who manage a limited number of properties. You’ll have many tools to access that can improve your management process. Handle operations of your rentals through your owner portal, and unlimited user accounts mean your whole management team can access the software securely.

The system makes it easy to input multifamily properties like duplexes or apartments. Separating these units allows you to manage specific requests and transactions.

Core features include:

Listings
Online rent payments
Tenant portal
Owner portal
Property accounting
Maintenance tracking

Rentec Direct pricing:

There are two plans offered by Rentec Direct. Rentec Pro for landlords and investors begins at $45/month for 10 units or fewer. Meanwhile, Rentec PM for property managers begins at $55/month for 10 units or fewer. You can choose to pay monthly or save through annual billing.

8. ResMan

ResMan provides tools for different aspects of property management, including marketing, maintenance, and more. Create custom websites for your properties, track leads through a full customer relationship management system, process online applications, and manage maintenance requests in one place.

You’ll also have a robust accounting program that will let you automate your accounts receivable and track expenses and inventory. Meanwhile, you can use the automated budget tool to manage your cash flow.

ResMan offers different versions of its product to best suit your needs. The Multifamily version is designed for conventional multifamily properties, and the Affordable version focuses on affordable housing management.

Core features include:

Lease management tools
Online rent collection
Property accounting
Budgeting tools
Maintenance tracking
Reporting and analytics

ResMan pricing:

To learn about ResMan pricing, you’ll have to contact their sales team.

9. Yardi Voyager

Yardi Voyager lets you centralize operations for your entire portfolio in one place. The base product lets you set up and track the financial performance of your properties and includes accounts receivable and accounts payable functionality so you can track late rent payments and handle any third-party invoices you may receive.

You can extend the platform’s capabilities with products from the extensive Multifamily Suite. Use tools to market a vacancy at one of your units, screen applicants in-platform, and continue collecting rent from existing tenants at your quadplex without missing a beat.

Core features include:

Leasing
Operations management
Reporting
Tenant and investor services

Yardi Voyager pricing:

Yardi Voyager pricing isn’t available online. Contact Yardi directly for pricing information.

10. MRI Living

MRI Living is a flexible multifamily property management software platform that lets users pick only what they need from its extensive feature set. For example, you can select tools to help through the entire rental process or only spring for the online rent collection feature.

This platform also integrates with other property management systems like AppFolio Property Manager, Entrata, RealPage, and more.

Core features include:

Lead management
Operations management
Financial reporting
Tenant screening
Online rent collection

MRI Living pricing:

MRI Living does not post its pricing online. Contact them directly for pricing details.

Get the Best Multifamily Property Management Software With Avail

Investing in the right property management software for multifamily properties can help you save time and money. With Avail, you can manage various processes for all your units in one platform. Market your properties, and manage them by unit with ease, stay on top of your accounting, and improve your tenants’ rental experience with online rent payments, maintenance tracking, and more.

Whether landlording is your side job or you’re a full-time rental property investor, Avail helps you save time and money on your multifamily rental property management tasks.

Create an account or log in to start managing your rentals today.

The post 10 Best Multifamily Property Management Software Platforms appeared first on Avail.

DoorLoop vs. Avail: What Are the Differences?

Alondra Segoviano — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 18:31:24 +0000

DoorLoop and Avail are two property management software platforms designed to help landlords handle various parts of the rental process, from tenant screening to tracking rental income. While both options work to achieve the same goal, you may be wondering how these two differ from each other on a feature-by-feature basis.

We compare the different features DoorLoop and Avail offer and their pricing model to help you determine which option is best for you.

How Do DoorLoop and Avail Compare?

DoorLoop can be used by property managers, investors, and landlords and manage properties across the world, not just in the U.S. Below is an outline of how DoorLoop compares to Avail on a feature-by-feature basis.

1. Rental Listings

It’s important to post your rental listing across multiple sites that prospective tenants use to avoid long vacancy periods.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop allows you to post your rental listing across Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, StreetEasy, RealEstate.com, and Apartments.com in minutes. However, this feature is only offered for Pro and Premium subscriptions, users with a Starter account will need to manually post their listings on popular rental sites.

Avail: With Avail, you can syndicate your rental listing to the top rental sites, such as Zumper, Apartments.com, PadMapper, Rentable, Apartment List, Doorsteps, WalkScore, and Realtor.com®. You can also share your listing on Facebook and other social media platforms with a link to your listing to increase visibility and the chance to generate more tenant leads.

2. Rental Applications

A great way to learn about a prospective tenant’s rental history, credit habits, and income is by requesting an online rental application and tenant screening reports allowed by your state.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop makes it easy to request online rental applications from tenants and learn more about their renting habits, employment history, and current income. You can also add custom questions, a TransUnion credit check, eviction check, and a background check to the application for $39.99/per tenant to ensure you gather all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Avail: With an Avail rental listing, prospective tenants can automatically apply for the rental once submitting an inquiry or wait until you request a rental application from them. Our rental application makes it easy to get comprehensive information on an applicant’s rental history, employment, and income. If you’re looking to get more information on a prospective tenant, you can upgrade to Unlimited Plus to add five custom questions to your rental application.

Depending on what your local landlord-tenant laws allow, you can add a TransUnion credit check, background check, and eviction check to your rental application for a one-time fee that either you or the applicant can cover. Once the applicant has completed the application and authorized tenant screening reports, their information will be available through your dashboard for 30 days. Tenants also have the option to create a Renter Profile with t

3. Online Lease Agreements

A lease agreement is a legally-binding agreement that protects both landlords and tenants during the lease term. For that reason, it’s important to get lawyer-reviewed and state-specific templates for your rental.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop does not offer lease agreement templates, but you can upload your documents to sign online with their built-in eSignature feature. The completed agreement is then stored in both parties’ dashboards to access at any point of the lease term easily.

Avail: Avail offers free state-specific and lawyer-reviewed lease agreements to customize with Unlimited Plus or use as-is for your rental. Our system will automatically include locally required clauses, rules, disclosures, and attachments to ensure your lease is compliant with local regulations. Both parties can sign the lease online and access the completed lease agreement through their dashboard.

However, you can also upload your ready-to-sign documents to sign online through Avail with tools powered by HelloSign at no additional cost. Once signed, both parties will have access to this completed document via their respective dashboards.

4. Online Rent Collection

Using rent collection apps specifically designed for landlords versus other payments platforms makes it easier to track rental income, charge late fees, and more.

DoorLoop: Tenants can pay rent online with a credit card or debit card for a 2.95% processing fee or ACH payments for a flat fee of $1.99 per payment using RapidRent, powered by Payrix. However, a one-time and non-refundable fee of $49/per bank account is required to accept rental payments with DoorLoop to cover the cost of application processing, underwriting, and account setup.

Once you’ve set up online rent collection, you can add late fees, set up automated rent reminders, and track your rental income. It’s also important to note that payments can take up to three business days to enter your bank account.

Avail: Avail offers tons of benefits that can easily streamline the rent collection process and take the stress out of collecting rental payments. Tenants can pay their rent online from any device, leverage Autopay to have funds automatically withdrawn each month, and report on-time rent payments to TransUnion with CreditBoost.* They also can pay rent with a credit card or debit card for a 3.5% processing fee or with ACH payments for a $2.50 processing fee.

For landlords, you can schedule upcoming rental payments so tenants know when the next payment is due. Our system automatically sends payment reminders a day before the payment is due to avoid late payments. But if a payment is late, you can set up automatic late fees (if allowed) to be charged to the tenant’s account to pay. Once a payment is submitted, the tenant will receive a payment confirmation and receipts for future reference.

Payments generally take up to three days to process, but you can upgrade to Unlimited Plus to take advantage of FastPay to deposit rental income to your account as fast as the next business day. Upgrading to Unlimited Plus also waives ACH fees, removing the fee from your tenants.

5. Rental Property Accounting

Rental property accounting can quickly become overwhelming, especially if you own more than one rental. But landlord software is designed to help simplify the process for when you’re completing your taxes or analyzing the profitability of your rental.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop offers a variety of features that can help manage and track rental property accounting. You can run custom reports, track your cash flow, and create a customizable chart of accounts. They have the option to integrate QuickBooks with the Pro and Premium subscription, which can be beneficial if you currently use them to track your rental property-related finances.

To export the dashboard to a spreadsheet, you’ll need a Pro and Premium subscription, which requires a monthly subscription ranging from $99 to $139. If you go with the starter subscription that costs $59/month, you will only be able to export the dashboard to a PDF file, making it harder to customize further.

Avail: Each transaction will automatically populate the rental property accounting dashboard when collecting rental fees and log maintenance requests through Avail. This makes it easier to see how much each rental property generates in income and the costs to maintain. Each transaction includes information on the payer, the total amount, the date, and the type of transaction. The dashboard can be exported as a spreadsheet to share with tax professionals or further customized for free. If you collect more than $600 in rental payments, you will also receive a 1099-K form to help you complete your taxes each year.

6. Maintenance Tracking

Maintenance issues are bound to happen during the lease term, so it’s essential to have a maintenance tracking system to help.

DoorLoop: With DoorLoop, you can create unlimited accounts for vendors that help with maintenance issues to assign the work orders. You can also create automated workflows to see the current status of each maintenance issue and how much the repair costs to fix. Tenants will also be able to see the current status of the maintenance ticket and receive a notification once the issue is resolved.

Avail: You can manage maintenance requests in the same platform used to collect rent, create lease agreements, and handle other tasks associated with your rental. With each request, you can upload images of the issue, log associated costs, and notes on the progress of the request. Your tenants will also be notified with updates on the request, so they’re informed on the process.

7. Rent Analysis Reporting

Rent analysis reporting can be a helpful tool for renting a property for the first time or planning on increasing your rent price.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop does not offer rent analysis reporting that can help you craft a competitive and fair rent price.

Avail: Avail offers a Rent Analysis report that offers comprehensive insights on rent price trends, the current demand for rentals in your area, and how much other landlords are charging for similar properties. Instead of manually sorting through listings online to gather rental comps, you can invest in a six-page report to help you determine how much to charge for rent or increase your rent price.

8. Landlord Referral Program

Referral programs make it easy to save on certain expenses by generating account credit for upcoming expenses.

DoorLoop: You can apply to become a DoorLoop ambassador to earn $5 for every person that signs up with your custom link and creates an active unit in the first 30 days of signing up. You can pay the amount you generate with PayPal or applied as a credit to your DoorLoop account. There are no limits on how much you can generate in commissions.

Avail: With the Avail Referral Program, you can earn up to $500 in account credit when you refer a landlord that creates an account. Each referral earns both you and the person you referred $50 to use on upcoming transactions like tenant screening expenses, the cost to upgrade to Unlimited Plus, or a Rent Analysis report.

9. Pricing

While various property management software platforms are available, they vary in pricing and feature offering.

DoorLoop: DoorLoop offers three subscriptions — the Starter plan for $59/month, the Pro for $99/month, and Premium for $139/month — that increase in cost the more units you have. If you opt for the yearly plan, the monthly average cost will go down by $10 to $20 dollars, depending on which plan you go with. This does not consider additional fees you will need to pay to add specific integrations through third party tools like Zapier.

Avail: Creating an account with Avail is free for unlimited units. With Unlimited, you can syndicate your listings, access our lawyer-reviewed lease agreements, collect rental payments, track maintenance requests, e-sign sign your leases, and track your rental income.

However, you can upgrade to Unlimited Plus for $7/unit per month to access FastPay, waive ACH fees, customize lease agreements and rental applications, and create a property website. Both options allow you to streamline the renting process at an affordable price.

Make Renting Easier With Avail

Becoming a landlord comes with various responsibilities, which can quickly take over your schedule without the right tools. But with platforms like Avail, you can save both time and money when managing a rental without hiring a property manager or additional resources to help.

Create an account today to set up all of your rentals, advertise your rentals, manage your rental income and expenses, access lawyer-reviewed leases, and more — all in one place.

*CreditBoost results may vary by individual.

The post DoorLoop vs. Avail: What Are the Differences? appeared first on Avail.

RentRedi vs. Avail: Which Is Best for You?

Alondra Segoviano — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:25:16 +0000

RentRedi and Avail are two landlord software platforms that have helped thousands of independent landlords make renting easier. From advertising your rental to collecting rent online, both offer benefits that can take the stress out of managing rentals and tenants.

In this article, we outline how the two platforms differ from each other with important information to be aware of.

How Do Avail and RentRedi Compare?

RentRedi is designed for DIY landlords and real estate investors that need help managing their rentals. Unlike Avail, RentRedi requires landlords to pay a monthly subscription fee ranging from $9/month to $19.95/month, depending on which package you go with. Avail, on the other hand, is free to use for all landlords.

Keep reading to see how else Avail and RentRedi compare to help you determine which platform is best for you.

1. Rental Listings

Posting your rental listing across multiple sites makes it easier to generate tenant leads. The more eyes on your listings, the more likely you’ll find your next tenant quickly.

RentRedi: RentRedi allows you to publish your rental listings across Realtor.com® and Doorsteps.com directly through the platform for free. If you’re looking to publish your rental on other sites like Facebook Marketplace, you can copy a shareable link of your listing to post online. Now that more tenants are opting for virtual tours, RentRedi makes it easy to add virtual tour options to your listing and schedule showings with prospective tenants.

Avail: Avail makes it easy to publish your rental listing across a dozen sites for free. Publish your listing on Zumper, Apartments.com, PadMapper, Rentable, Apartment List, Doorsteps, WalkScore, Realtor.com®, and more in a matter of minutes.

2. Rental Applications

Requesting a rental application from prospective tenants can be a great way to learn more about their rental history, credit habits, and more. RentRedi and Avail both offer rental application templates that can help you screen prospective tenants.

RentRedi: Landlords can screen prospective tenants by requesting a pre-screening questionnaire and an online rental application. The pre-screening questionnaire allows you to determine whether or not an application meets your criteria before scheduling a property showing. Once a tenant is ready to fill out an application, they can easily do so on the platform and authorize a credit check. You can add a TransUnion credit report, criminal report, and eviction report for a one-time fee of $35.

Avail: An Avail rental application allows you to get comprehensive information on an applicant’s rental history, employment and income, and much more. The standard template is free to use, but you can also upgrade to Unlimited Plus to add five custom questions to your rental application. If you’re looking to pre-screen an interested tenant before scheduling a property showing, you can download our free tenant pre-screening checklist to use for your rentals. States vary on the types of screening reports landlords can request, but Avail allows you to request a TransUnion credit check, background check, and eviction check for a one-time fee. The authorized reports will be available through your dashboard for 30 days.

3. Online Lease Agreements

Your lease agreement should include all the necessary information required by local landlord-tenant laws, which is why it’s important to use legally-reviewed templates for your rentals.

RentRedi: RentRedi does not provide lease templates to use for your rental, but you are able to upload your own lease agreements to digitally sign for free. To sign documents through the platform, both landlords and tenants are required to provide proof of identity and follow the verification process. The final agreement will then be stored in your dashboard to reference once signed by both parties.

Avail: With Avail, you can easily access free state-specific and lawyer-reviewed lease agreements that can be further customized with Unlimited Plus. Once inputting the location of your rental, our system will automatically populate the template with all the locally required clauses, rules, disclosed, and attachments. The final lease will then be emailed to your tenant to sign online and stored in your dashboard to access online. However, if you have your own lease agreement, both parties can digitally sign the agreement with HelloSign through Avail for free.

4. Online Rent Collection

There are various ways to collect rent online, but it’s important to use a platform specifically designed for landlords and tenants.

RentRedi: You can collect rent payments, late fees, eviction fees, and other rental fees through RentRedi. Tenants can pay a $1 fee for ACH payment, 2.9% plus $0.30 for credit and debit card payments, or with cash by depositing cash at 90,000 retail locations. If for some reason you need to block a payment from a tenant, RentRedi allows you to do so. Payment processing can take four to five business days and there is no option to expedite the processing time. Payments collected through the platform will automatically export as a spreadsheet to add to Quickbooks online. Tenants have the option to report on-time rent payments to TransUnion for the whole lease term for $3.99/month, only three months for $4.99/month, or on a monthly basis for $5.99/month.

Avail: Tenants can pay rent with a credit card and debit card for a 3.5% processing fee or with ACH payments for $2.50. Submitted payments can be accepted or denied on the platform, which could be helpful in the eviction process. Payment processing can take up to three days or can be deposited as fast as the next day with FastPay — a benefit of upgrading to Unlimited Plus. If your tenants are looking to build their credit, Avail allows them to report on-time rent payments with CreditBoost* to contribute to their FICO 9, FICO XD, and VantageScore credit score for $3.95/per reported month.

5. Rental Property Accounting

Landlord software now makes rental property accounting more streamlined and easier for DIY landlords.

RentRedi: RentRedi makes it easy to see how much rental income you’ve collected and operating expenses for each month. Collected rent payments will automatically populate to your dashboard and can be exported into a spreadsheet. The accounting feature does not come with the free plan and requires a monthly subscription fee, depending on how many properties you manage through the platform. Landlords that own up to three units pay $15/month, four to 10 units pay $25/month, 11 to 20 units pay $45/month, and $99/month for over 20 units.

Avail: The Avail Rental Property Accounting tool is free for landlords to use to streamline the bookkeeping process. Payments collected through Avail will automatically populate to your dashboard with information on the payer, the amount, the date, and the type of transaction. Logged maintenance costs will also populate to your dashboard to make it easier to see how much money is coming in and out each month. Once you’re ready to share your rental property accounting information with a tax professional, you can export your dashboard into a spreadsheet to further customize.

6. Maintenance Tracking

Maintenance tracking software is essential to managing requests from tenants.

RentRedi: Landlords can track the activity of all maintenance requests directly through the platform. Log the current status of the issue, the vendor you worked with, and any associated costs to reference in the future. The 24/7 Emergency Service add-on allows you to manage calls with tenants through the platform, log emergency issues, dispatch contractors, and more for $25/month and $4/month per unit. Another option is the Full Coordination option for all maintenance issues (not just emergencies) for $25/month and $12/month per unit.

Avail: Easily track and manage maintenance requests from your tenants for free. With each request, you can add information on the vendor you worked with, log pictures of the issue, and repair costs (if any). Your tenants will be notified of the current status of each request through the platform so they’re aware of what’s happening.

7. Rent Analysis Reporting

Determining rent prices can be stressful as a first-time landlord, but rent analysis reports can help make the process easier.

RentRedi: Unfortunately, RentRedi does not offer rent analysis reporting to help you determine a fair and competitive rent price.

Avail: If you’re looking for guidance on how much to charge for rent, you can invest in an Avail Rent Analysis report to provide comprehensive insights on rent trends, the local demand for rentals, and suggested rent prices that are based on similar properties nearby. The six-page report includes all the information you need to set a rent price that is fair for the area and profitable.

8. Landlord Referral Program

While not all landlord software platforms offer referral programs, both RentRedi and Avail are worth checking out.

RentRedi: For every landlord you refer, you can earn $100 to use on rental-related expenses. As an add-on, your referral will be given their six-month plan for $1 as opposed to the original pricing.

Avail: Landlords can earn up to $500 in account credit by referring 10 landlords who create an account. Each landlord referral will earn you $50, which can be used on tenant screening expenses, to cover the cost to upgrade to Unlimited Plus, or other expenses on the platform.

Make Renting Easier With Avail

Managing one or more rental properties can quickly turn into a time-consuming process. But with property management software platforms like Avail, you can streamline tasks to save you time and money without a property manager. Create an account today to set up your properties, advertise your rentals, manage your tenants, and more.

*CreditBoost results may vary by individual.

The post RentRedi vs. Avail: Which Is Best for You? appeared first on Avail.

How to Make Money From Renting Out a Property

Alondra Segoviano — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 19:23:42 +0000

There are various benefits of investing in real estate, such as generating passive income to qualifying for tax advantages. But renting out a property requires more than finding tenants — you’ll also need to find investment properties with great amenities and handle the different parts of the renting process.

That’s why we outlined how to make money renting out a property and tools that can help you as a landlord.

How to Make Money Renting Houses

Having a plan in place before renting out your house can ensure you’re not spending too much time managing your finances and tenants. Here are six tips on how to make money renting out houses.

1. Purchase an Investment Property

If you’re not planning on renting out your house, then you will need to buy your first rental property. There are different ways to finance rental properties, each of which have their own set of requirements and eligibility guidelines.

Once you’ve determined how you’ll finance your investment property, you can work with a Realtor or explore house hunting websites that show available properties near you. When looking at properties, it’s important to pay attention to the following factors:

Property taxes: Property taxes can vary by location, with some places having higher taxes than others. Tax rates can also vary throughout the year, so it’s advised to look at properties with a consistent history of low property taxes.
Local demand for rentals: Properties in areas with a high demand for rentals can make it easier to fill your property compared to areas that have more for-sale properties.
Amenities: Properties with great amenities have a higher chance of attracting tenant interest and can make it easier to charge more in rent.

The key to making money from a rental is finding properties with promising rates of return that offer great benefits to tenants.

2. Determine Your Operating Expenses

Managing a rental property comes with operating expenses that need to be covered on both a monthly and annual basis. Examples of operating expenses to prepare for are advertising costs, your mortgage payment, maintenance, landlord insurance, property taxes, and landlord software fees. To make money from renting out a property, it’s important to have enough money coming in from rent payments to cover costs and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.

The total amount of your monthly operating expenses can help you determine how much to charge in rent to cover costs.

3. Set a Competitive Rent Price and Rental Fees

Your rent price should consider seasonality, local rental comps, current events, and the value of your property amenities. You can find rental comps by searching local rental listings online or using an Avail Rent Analysis report for comprehensive insights on local rental demand, rental comps for 10 similar properties, and more. The six-page report offers valuable insights that can make crafting a fair rent price less stressful and time-consuming.

Additional fees — security deposit, move-in fee, parking fee, pet fees — can also increase your profits, but the fees should be based on what other local landlords charge.

4. Invest in Landlord Software

Renting out a property comes with various responsibilities that can take time to complete, especially without a property manager. However, property management software platforms like Avail make it easier to advertise your property across a dozen sites, screen prospective tenants, access state-specific lease agreements, collect rent, and much more, all in one place.

You can also earn up to $500 in account credit by inviting up to 10 fellow landlords to create an account through the Avail Referral Program. The account credit can be used to purchase an Avail Rent Analysis report, cover tenant screening fees, or upgrade to Unlimited Plus for more benefits.

5. Find Reliable Tenants

When you rent your property to reliable tenants, you’re less likely to avoid expensive property damage or costly eviction fees. To find great tenants, it’s advised to get your rental listing in front of as many tenants as possible and implement a solid tenant screening process.

Most landlords use a rental application and tenant screening reports to find the best tenant for their rental, but check your local landlord-tenant laws for screening restrictions. Some states do not allow landlords to check a tenant’s criminal history or conduct a background check, while others have fewer restrictions.

6. Reduce Tenant Turnover

Being an awesome landlord is one way to retain great tenants and reduce tenant turnover costs. But when a tenant decides to move out, you’ll need to find new tenants and prepare the space before the next move-in date.

Not being able to retain tenants can result in growing expenses to find and move in new tenants or a vacant rental. To avoid this from happening, establish a positive relationship with your tenants, allow them to pay rent online, and handle maintenance requests right away.

What to Know When Becoming a Landlord for the First Time

Are Rental Properties a Good Way to Make Money?

Rental properties can be a great way to generate income, so long as your operating expenses aren’t too high and your rent price is competitive. Rent payments, security deposits, move-in fees, and pet fees can also help cover your monthly expenses and leave money left over to save for future costs.

What Is the Average Profit on a Rental Property?

The average profit on a rental property depends on where your property is located, how much you’re charging in rent, and the total operating expense amount. To determine the profitability of your rental, you can use the Avail Rental Property Calculator to get cash-on-cash return, gross rent multiplier, and more financial outputs.

Once you get an estimated profit, you can determine if anything needs to be adjusted to increase the future profits from your rental.

Manage Your Rentals With Avail

Renting out a property can help you generate passive income and act as a great long-term investment. Create an account with Avail to help you streamline the renting process and help keep everything organized and in one place. Manage your tenants, collect rent payments, manage maintenance requests, and much more with landlord software designed with landlords in mind.

The post How to Make Money From Renting Out a Property appeared first on Avail.

How Much Does a Property Manager Cost?

Alondra Segoviano — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 20:52:32 +0000

Owning a rental property is a great way to generate passive income, but taking on the responsibilities of a landlord isn’t for everyone. You may be considering hiring a property manager, but it’s advised to know how much a property manager charges and if there are more affordable options, like landlord software, to check out first.

We share how much property managers can charge, the fees to save for, and if they are really worth investing in for your rental business.

How Property Management Fees Work

Property managers typically charge various fees depending on what tasks you need help with or for when certain situations (like an eviction) occur.

Each property manager can vary in what fees they charge, but the fees usually consist of the following:

Setup fee: Property management companies can charge a one-time setup fee from $250 to $500/per unit to set up an account with the property manager and cover any required property inspection fees.
Management fee: Property managers charge a percentage of the rent price (typically 10%) or a flat fee on a monthly basis to manage your tenants, collect rent payments, and more.
Leasing fee: The leasing fee is usually one months’ rent or a certain percentage of the rent price that covers the cost of advertising your rental, conducting showings, preparing a lease agreement, and performing a move-in inspection. If the tenant decides to break the lease or is evicted, then most companies refund the leasing fee.
Lease renewal fee: When a tenant decides to renew, the property manager is responsible for performing a rent price analysis to recommend any rent price changes and create a new lease agreement.
Maintenance and inspection fee: If you’re planning on hiring a property manager to help with your long-distance real estate investments, prepare to cover a maintenance fee for when a property manager helps handle maintenance requests.
Eviction fee: Although evictions don’t happen often, there may be a chance that a property manager will need to facilitate the eviction process for you. Eviction fees can cost up to $500, in addition to other legal fees.
Late payment fee: Property managers can charge fees for late rent payments, which can be anywhere from 25% to 50% of the late fee.

How Much Do Property Managers Charge Per Month?

Property management companies can vary in how much they charge per month, but it can range anywhere from 8% to 12% of the monthly rent price. If the rent price for one of your properties is around $1,500 per month, then you can expect to pay anywhere from $120 to $180 each month, not including the other fees listed above.

What Factors Affect the Cost of Property Management Fees?

Property management companies charge varying prices based on the type of property, the amount of units that need to be managed, how much you need their help with, and market competition.

If you own a multifamily home or duplex, then this may cost more for a property manager to oversee compared to a single-family home. You should check with more than one property management company to get an idea of how much each is charging for the services you need and if it’s worth investing in.

Is Hiring a Property Manager Worth the Cost?

Hiring a property manager may be worth it for real estate investors looking to offset the responsibilities of managing a rental to someone else or need help with a rental that’s in another state. A property manager can not only be the go-to person for your tenants, but can help you reduce in-person visits.

However, property managers are an additional operating expense to account for that can quickly add up. If you’re looking to simplify the renting process, you can invest in a property management software platform like Avail to help you manage your rental for much less. Instead of having to manually track rent payments or refer to multiple documents to stay organized, you can access everything regarding your tenants and property in one place.

The decision on whether or not you should hire a property manager will depend on what aspects of your rental you need help with, if you’re willing to do everything yourself, and how much you’re willing to spend on a property manager.

Streamline the Renting Process With Avail

Whether you decide to hire a property manager or do it yourself with landlord software, it’s important to have the right tools in place to make renting easier. With Avail, both landlords and property managers can advertise rentals, screen applicants, access lawyer-reviewed lease agreements, collect rent, and much more. You can see everything in one place and access helpful reporting, like the rental property accounting dashboard and active lease agreements, to keep track of your tenants and rental property portfolio.

Create an account or log in to set up your properties, rent collection, and your tenants in minutes.

The post How Much Does a Property Manager Cost? appeared first on Avail.

Zillow Rental Manager vs. Avail: How Do They Compare?

Alondra Segoviano — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 15:24:15 +0000

Property management software platforms are designated to help landlords streamline time-consuming processes — from advertising their rental properties online to crafting a legally-binding lease agreement. Zillow Rental Manager and Avail both work to make renting easier for landlords and their tenants, but how do they differ from one another?

We uncovered the ways in which Zillow Rental Manager differs from Avail to help you determine which platform is best for your rental business.

What’s the Difference Between Zillow Rental Manager and Avail?

Zillow Rental Manager helps landlords easily advertise their rental online, collect rent payments, screen prospective tenants, and create lease agreements. However, Zillow recently implemented a few changes to their platform and pricing structure that landlords should be aware of. Keep reading for a feature-by-feature and pricing comparison between Zillow Rental Manager and Avail.

1. Rental Listings

The key to avoiding long vacancy periods is posting your rental listing across multiple sites that tenants use during their apartment search.

Zillow Rental Manager: Landlords can publish their rental listings across three sites — Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpads. Although tenants regularly use these sites to find nearby apartments, you’ll be unable to publish your listing on the four fastest growing sites for rental properties, which are Realtor.com®, Apartments.com, Apartment List, and Zumper. The first rental listing will be free for new landlords, but each additional active listing will cost $9.99/per week it is listed.

Avail: Avail automatically syndicates rental listings to Zumper, Apartments.com, PadMapper, Rentable, Apartment List, Doorsteps, WalkScore, and Realtor.com® in one click. There are no fees to advertise your rental listing across a dozen of the top rental sites.

2. Rental Applications

Once you’ve generated tenant interest with your rental listing, the next step is to have them fill out a rental application. Both Avail and Zillow Rental Manager provide rental application templates for landlords to use, but here’s where they differ.

Zillow Rental Manager: Landlords can access free rental applications and tenant screening reports through their account, with tenants having to cover the $29 cost of a Zillow background check and credit check. The prospective tenant’s background and credit check, eviction history, and income verification will be available to the landlord for 30 days.

Avail: An Avail rental application includes the same questions as a standard application, but with the option to add custom questions to find the right tenant for your rental. You can also add a credit check, criminal background check, and eviction history check for a bundled price or separately. Depending on your preference, you can cover the cost of adding these reports or offset them to the tenant. Once the tenant authorizes these checks, you can access them directly through your landlord dashboard on any device for 30 days.

3. Online Lease Agreements

Landlords are now able to create lawyer-reviewed lease agreements online for all 50 states without the hassle and cost of having to hire a lawyer.

Zillow Rental Manager: Zillow worked with local law firms to craft enforceable lease agreements that comply with local ordinances. Zillow leases can be customized to include addendums for pets, parking, and any locally required clauses. Once finalized, both landlords and their tenants can digitally sign for free. However, this tool is only offered to landlords based in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and certain markets in California and Illinois. Landlords in states that are excluded will need to upload their own lease agreement for tenants to access online.

Avail: Avail offers free state-specific, lawyer-reviewed lease agreements that can also be cloned and customized for future use with an Unlimited Plus account. To ensure your agreements are legally-binding, our system automatically adds clauses, addendums, and attachments that are required by state and local ordinances in your property’s area. Plus, both you and your tenants are able to digitally sign the lease from any device once your agreement is finalized.

4. Online Rent Collection

The goal of any rental business is to generate income each month through timely rent payments. Although some landlords use Zelle or Venmo to collect rent, these services actually prohibit real estate transactions on their platforms, which offer monthly rent payments with zero protection in case an error occurs. For that reason, many landlords have turned to the benefits of property management platforms to collect their rent online.

Zillow Rental Manager: Collecting rent online is free for landlords, with tenants paying a 2.95% credit card processing fee, a $9.95 debit card convenience fee, or no fee at all with ACH bank transfers. Tenants can also have their rent automatically withdrawn from their account each month through automated payments. Processing payments takes anywhere from three to five business days, so it’s important to plan out rent collection in advance to avoid delays in payment. Unlike Avail, tenants cannot report their rent payments to a credit bureau to improve their credit health. This is important to note since some states, like California, are now requiring some landlords to offer tenants the chance to report their payments through a rent reporting tool.

Avail: Avail makes rent collection simple, with tenants paying a 3.5% processing fee for credit card payments or $2.50 processing fee for direct transfers from their bank account. The usual payment processing time can take up to three days, but if you upgrade to Unlimited Plus, you can take advantage of FastPay to receive rent payments as fast as the next day. An Unlimited Plus account can also help your tenants save on processing fees by automatically waiving the $2.50 processing fee for ACH payments.

Tenants paying rent with Avail can report their past and ongoing rent payments to TransUnion through CreditBoost*. They’ll be required to pay $3.95/per reported month, but this will allow them to focus on improving their credit through payments they’re already making each month.

5. Rental Property Accounting

Preparing your rental property taxes can be stressful without the right tools. Luckily, more platforms can help you track your income and expenses to help during tax season.

Zillow Rental Manager: Zillow currently does not offer tools to landlords that can help track your rental income and expenses for more than one rental property.

Avail: The Avail Rental Property Accounting tool can help streamline the bookkeeping process and make it easier to prepare your tax forms. Rent payments and maintenance costs managed through Avail will automatically populate to your dashboard, removing the manual process of tracking your finances. Your income and expenses tracker can also be exported into a detailed spreadsheet to further customize or share with your accountant.

6. Maintenance Tracking

It’s normal for a tenant to experience multiple maintenance issues during their rental period, which is why it’s important to keep track of all your maintenance tickets for future reference and to stay organized.

Zillow Rental Manager: Unfortunately, Zillow does not allow landlords to track maintenance tickets through their account. Considering maintenance issues are a huge part of the renting process, you may need to use a third-party maintenance tracking system to keep a running trail on any property-related issue.

Avail: Landlords can track maintenance tickets through their account to help keep everything in one place. Once the maintenance ticket is created, an email will be sent to your inbox so you can be notified to address the issue as soon as possible. Any images, receipts, or invoices regarding the maintenance request can be uploaded to each ticket so you can document every step of the repair process online.

7. Rent Analysis Reporting

Before you advertise your rental listing, you’ll need to determine a fair rent price for your rental property.

Zillow Rental Manager: Zillow offers their popular Rent Zestimate® tool to help landlords determine a rent price for their rental property. Although you’re not provided a comprehensive rent analysis report, this can be a great starting point when figuring out how much to charge tenants each month. But you may need to conduct additional research to better understand rent comps in your designated area since this tool does not provide insights on seasonality and local rental trends.

Avail: Landlords can invest in an Avail Rent Analysis report which includes comprehensive insights on rent trends, local demand for rentals, and suggested rent prices based on local information. Instead of having to find this information on your own, you can have a six-page report uploaded to your dashboard to access on any device within moments.

8. Landlord Referral Program

Referral programs can help landlords earn rewards for inviting their network to the platform.

Zillow Rental Manager: There currently is no referral program in place, meaning landlords cannot earn rewards for referring other landlords to Zillow.

Avail: With the Avail Referral program, landlords can earn up to $500 in account credit by referring 10 landlords who successfully create an Avail account. The account credit can be used to cover your Unlimited Plus account cost, tenant screening expenses, or the price of a Rent Analysis report. Once the person you’ve referred creates an account, a $50 account credit will be added to your account to cover your next rental-property related expense on Avail.

Manage Your Rental Property With Avail

Becoming a landlord comes with lots of responsibilities, and without a property management tool it can feel overwhelming quickly. To avoid that from happening, you can create an account on Avail to begin making renting easier for both you and your tenants. Advertise your rental property, screen your tenants, draft leases, collect rent online, and much more for free.

*CreditBoost results may vary by individual.

The post Zillow Rental Manager vs. Avail: How Do They Compare? appeared first on Avail.

11 Best Free Property Management Software Platforms in 2023

Alondra Segoviano — Tue, 18 May 2021 14:02:03 +0000

Managing a rental property comes with many responsibilities — you’re in charge of determining rent price, listing your rental online, screening potential tenants, collecting rent, handling sudden maintenance requests, and more. With so many tasks to complete and no property manager, it’s important to have the right rental property software in place to make the whole process easier.

But knowing which to go with and what to look for can be difficult for any DIY landlord. That’s why we reviewed the eleven best free property management software platforms designed for landlords to help you determine which is the best for you.

What Is the Best Free Property Management Software?

1. Avail (Part of Realtor.com®)

Avail (part of Realtor.com®) is free rental property management software that enables landlords to advertise their rental property listing across a dozen sites, screen tenants with customizable questions, request in-depth background checks, create and sign state-specific leases, collect rent, and more — all online.

You can access services expensive property management companies offer but without the hefty price tag. What makes Avail stand out is its ease of use, comprehensive services, and landlord benefits designed to make the renting process hassle-free for landlords and tenants.

You can create a free landlord account and utilize Rent Price Analysis reports, explore an extensive library of educational content, and list your rental right away. Rental listings are posted across the top rental sites like Zumper, Apartments.com, Realtor.com®, PadMapper, Apartment List, Walk Score, and Doorsteps at once. Avail is free for unlimited units, but if you’re looking to also create a property website or build a custom lease, you can easily upgrade to Unlimited Plus.

There are a few property management software platforms that offer a referral program, but the Avail Referral Program can save landlords money on screening, background checks, and other management tasks. Landlords can earn $500 in account credit once 10 people they’ve invited create an account.

2. Apartments.com Rental Manager (Cozy)

Apartments.com Rental Manager (Cozy) is a free rental property management software that allows landlords to carry out regular tasks such as collecting rent, screening and communicating with tenants, and handling maintenance requests. They also offer an expense tracking tool to help manage your expenses by property. Landlords can assign each rental to a specific tax category and keep relevant documents like receipts, invoices, bank statements, and more in one place.

While they’re known to be a budget-friendly option, there are limitations as to what you can and can’t do on the platform. Apartments.com Rental Manager allows landlords to post rental listings to five sites in total, which can limit the chances of your property catching a tenant’s attention. To combat this and increase the amount of people seeing your listing, you’ll need to manually post the listing on other sites or share the listing link across your social media accounts.

Now that tenants are looking to improve their credit while renting, more and more landlords are providing them with ways to report rent payments to contribute to their credit health.

Apartments.com Rental Manager used to offer the ability for renters to report on-time payments through Experian, however, this feature is no longer available. So while this may be an affordable option, you might find yourself working outside of the platform to access the full scope of rental tools you need.

3. TurboTenant

TurboTenant is a property management software designed for landlords with up to 100 rental properties in their portfolio. Landlords can collect rent online, utilize rental advertising tools, and store important documents at no additional cost.

You can create an account for free, but drafting lease agreements and requesting electronic signatures require a small investment. When you’re onboarding a tenant for your rental property, you will want software that provides state-specific lease templates that comply with local regulations to ensure all agreements are legally binding. Landlords can utilize TurboTenant’s state-specific templates for $39 per tenant and have those same documents electronically signed for $9 — but this comes to almost $50 to carry out one lease agreement.

If you’re hoping to offload some of this cost through referral credits, TurboTenant won’t be much help, either. Rather than providing a landlord with credits to use within the platform, landlords using TurboTenant can earn a $25 Amazon gift card when they refer a friend.

4. TenantCloud

TenantCloud is a property management software that offers three monthly subscriptions at varying price points. Landlords can create a free account in the form of a “Forever free trial,” but you’ll need to invest in their Standard subscription for $9 or Advanced for $35 to use all their services.

It’s important to note that services intended to make landlording easier are not included in the free account. To get software basics like listing lead management, e-signature capabilities, and accounting services, you’ll need to upgrade your subscription to either Standard or Advanced.

With the Advanced subscription, landlords can sync their Quickbooks account to TenantCloud to track all accounting, but for $420 a year. This cost excludes tenant screening and any rental reporting to help determine a fair rent estimate, which means you’ll pay even more to manage your rental property.

Because of the number of capabilities they offer, managing more than one property on TenantCloud might take some time for those getting familiar with the system itself. In the end, you might find a more user-friendly platform with more options and a smaller price tag.

5. Rentler

Rentler connects landlords with tenants from all over the nation in just one place. Landlords can also list and advertise their properties, collect online rent payments, and track maintenance requests through the platform.

Rentler is free for landlords and tenants to use, but it’s important to note that rental listing capabilities cost anywhere from $15 to $25 per day, and only the first one is free. While this cost may be manageable, rental listings are a common part of managing your property and most rental property software platforms offer this capability at no additional cost.

If you need to access state-specific legal forms for your property, like for a lease agreement, you’ll need to pay an extra $25 to access Rentler’s document library.

6. Buildium

Buildium is a rental management software intended for landlords with a minimum of 50 properties in their portfolio. While it offers the same capabilities as some of the software we covered, you can only use the free trial for 14 days. An account with Buildium costs anywhere from $50 to $460 per month and depends on the number of properties you own.

Landlords can screen tenants, receive standard reports, and more with an account. Still, going with Buildium means, you’ll be paying anywhere from $540 to $600 annually on property management software alone, which may not make sense with landlords with a smaller number of units.

7. Appfolio

Similar to Buildium, Appfolio is a cloud-based property management software that requires a minimum portfolio of 50 properties to qualify for their subscriptions. The minimum monthly fee begins at $280 per month, which means a good portion of your rental income will go towards paying for your management software alone.

8. Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow Rental Manager is an easy-to-use property management software on a major real estate marketplace. Landlords can post a rental listing on Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads. You can also screen tenants with online applications, e-sign rental leases, and collect rent payments and other fees.

There are no limits to how many rental listings you can publish, but only the first listing is free to publish — additional listings cost $9.99/week. The platform also lacks certain conveniences, like a way to manage maintenance requests, so you may have to use additional software to help with your landlording needs.

9. DoorLoop

DoorLoop is an all-in-one property management software that lets landlords lease properties, automate accounting, manage work orders, and more. To make use of the tools the platform offers you’ll need to sign up for either the Starter, Pro, or Premium plan. The Starter plan costs $49/month when billed yearly, while the Pro and Premium options will run you $79 and $109 a month.

While DoorLoop’s ease of use is appealing, the platform is lacking in certain areas compared to Avail. For example, you won’t be able to use lease agreement templates with DoorLoop, but Avail can help you save time once you’ve found a tenant for your rental.

10. RentRedi

A property management solution for landlords and real estate investors looking for help managing their rentals. You’ll be able to post listings to Realtor.com® and Doorsteps, collect rent payments online, and sign and store leases through the platform. It’s worth noting that RentRedi requires a subscription plan, and users can choose an annually-billed subscription for $9/month, a $15/month semiannual plan, or a $19.95/month pay-as-you-go option.

Before investing in RentRedi, be sure to review the differences between RentRedi and Avail. With some key features missing from the former, you may find managing your property with Avail is the more ideal option.

11. Rentec Direct

If you own less than 10 properties, Rentec Direct’s basic plan is a free platform that helps you stay organized with rental property accounting and online file management. Unfortunately, several other features are only available through a paid plan. Monthly costs for Rentec Pro depend on the number of properties you manage. One to 10 units will cost $35/month, 11 to 25 units cost $45/month, and so on. Users can opt into an annual billing cycle for a 10% discount, but this could still prove costly for landlords with larger portfolios.

Because there are substantially more benefits to a paid plan, you may need to outsource additional tools to help you manage your rental. Remember that the larger your portfolio, the greater the monthly subscription cost can be on Rentec Direct.

Get the Best Property Management Software With Avail

Whether you’re a DIY landlord managing your first rental property or a seasoned professional looking for new property management software, Avail is for everyone. What used to take tons of time and manual tracking can all be done in one place without breaking the bank.

Create an account today to use the best free property management software to manage your rentals.

The post 11 Best Free Property Management Software Platforms in 2023 appeared first on Avail.

Avail, AppFolio, or Buildium: Which Is Right for Your Property?

Guest Blog — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 18:55:52 +0000

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium are high-quality property management platforms that are widely used by landlords, property managers, and real estate investment companies. These three platforms offer useful tools that help streamline workflow and improve the rental experience.

The best choice between these three platforms will likely depend on the number of units you manage. AppFolio and Buildium cater to property managers and large real estate investment companies that own more than 50 units. Avail, on the other hand, offers features and pricing better suited for landlords with less than 50 units. This article will compare the features found in each platform to help you find which product is right for your property.

Who Uses Each Product and Who Is It Best Suited for?

All three platforms offer a variety of tools that help landlords run their businesses. However, each platform is best suited for different types of customers.

Avail is the best product for individual landlords, usually those with one to 50 units.
AppFolio is the best option for large companies and investor groups that manage a high volume of properties, best for those with 100+ units.
Buildium is the best platform for property managers and landlords that manage a medium to high volume of properties, best for those with 50+ units.

Which Type of Property Is Each Software Best For?

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium are best suited for different types of properties. Here is a breakdown of property types that each platform specializes in.

Avail: Best for residential single units, residential two to four units, small to medium multifamily (five to 50 units).
AppFolio: Best for large multifamily, commercial, student housing, and community associations.
Buildium: Best for medium to large multifamily, student housing, community associations, affordable housing.

Comparing Features: Avail vs. AppFolio vs. Buildium

In order to better understand each platform, it is important to analyze the features that they offer. Below is a comparison of the top features found on Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium.

Account Setup Fees

Both AppFolio and Buildium do require an upfront fee to set up an account, unlike Avail.

Avail: No setup fees required to create an account. Avail is free for unlimited units, and you can upgrade to Unlimited Plus for $7/unit per month to access additional benefits like waived ACH fees, custom rental applications, and more.
AppFolio: There are no setup fees required, but they do charge $250 per month as well as flat fees for the different types of properties managed. Each residential units costs $1.25, commercial costs $1.50, community association costs $0.80, and student housing costs $1.25.
Buildium: $99 setup fee, with an additional $40 to $95 monthly fee.

Rental Listings Feature

You can publish rental listings across the top dozen rental sites like Realtor.com® and Apartments.com.

Tenant Screening and Rental Applications Feature

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium all offer credit, criminal background, and eviction checks. In addition, all three platforms allow you to add a residence history section in the rental application. Here is a cost breakdown for tenant screening reports.

Avail: Credit, criminal background, and eviction checks are $30 per screening report, and $55 for all three reports. However, this can vary by state due to local landlord-tenant laws.
AppFolio: Credit and eviction checks are $15 per screening report. Credit, criminal background, and eviction checks are $20 for all three reports.
Buildium: Credit and criminal background checks are $15 per screening report. Credit, criminal background, and eviction checks are $18 for all three reports.

Lease Agreements Feature

All three platforms allow you to send online lease agreements with digital signatures. Only Avail and AppFolio offer customizable, state-specific leases that have already been reviewed by trusted lawyers. Here is a cost breakdown for this feature.

Avail: Digital, state-specific lease agreements are included with Avail Unlimited. Customizable lease agreements are only available with Unlimited Plus. They can be digitally signed at no additional cost.
AppFolio: Unlimited e-leases included in paid subscription.
Buildium: $5 per e-lease in Essential Plan. Unlimited e-leases in all other plans.

Rent Collection Feature

With Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium, you can collect online payments, receive partial payments, and set up automatic late fees. Here is a breakdown of the fees associated with online payments.

Avail: No ACH fee with Unlimited Plus ($2.50 ACH fee, paid by tenants, with Unlimited). Credit transaction fee is 3.5%.
AppFolio: ACH fee is $0.50 per transaction, credit transaction fee is 2.99%, and the debit transaction fee is $9.99 per transaction.
Buildium: ACH fee is $0.50 per transaction (waived in Growth and Premium Plan). Credit transaction fee is 2.75%.

Maintenance Management Feature

All three platforms provide maintenance management tools that help landlords track requests, upload notes and photos, and communicate with tenants. However, AppFolio is the only solution that offers advanced maintenance features such as their 24/7 maintenance contact center.

The contact center allows businesses to utilize AppFolio’s call center agents who can respond to calls and take care of administrative work. This is a great tool for larger businesses that receive a greater quantity of maintenance requests. This is not as useful for independent landlords that can manage calls and maintenance requests themselves.

Tax Help/Tax Management Feature

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium offer tools that help landlords with taxes. However, only AppFolio and Buildium allow you to file 1099s directly on their platforms.

Avail, on the other hand, makes it easier to prepare for tax season and track important transactions. The Rental Property Accounting tool automatically populates rental payments and logged maintenance costs managed through Avail to simplify the bookkeeping process.

The income and expense tracker can also be exported into a customizable spreadsheet to add additional details or share with tax professionals to complete your tax forms.

Ability to Boost Renter’s Credit Score

Avail and AppFolio allow renters to report on-time payments to credit bureaus to boost their credit score. Avail offers a service called CreditBoost where on-time payments are automatically reported to TransUnion to contribute to a tenant’s FICO 9, FICO XD, and VantageScore credit score. AppFolio has partnered with Experian RentBureau to provide this service as well.

White-Labeled Application for Buildings/Companies

AppFolio and Buildium offer white-labeled websites where tenants can log in to pay rent and access files. With Avail, tenants have access to their own accounts and dashboards to manage their renter profile, complete rental applications, and pay their rent online.

Renters Insurance Integration

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium allow tenants to enroll in renters insurance through their platforms. Here are the insurance partnerships for each platform.

Avail: Lemonade
AppFolio: Value+
Buildium: MSI

Avail is the only platform that offers rent default insurance through their partnership with Steady.

Customer Service

All three platforms offer chat, phone, and email support. Only Avail offers live phone support seven days a week. Here is a breakdown of phone support hours for each platform.

Avail: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT, seven days a week
AppFolio: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT, Monday to Friday
Buildium: 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT, Monday to Friday

Which Is Right For Your Rental Properties?

Avail, AppFolio, and Buildium are all useful platforms that can help improve your rental business, but perhaps the most important metric to determine which solution is right for your property is the number of units you manage.

Avail is the best platform for individual landlords managing one to 50 units.
AppFolio’s features and pricing makes it the best option for large companies and investor groups that manage more than 100 units.
Buildium is an ideal platform for landlords that manage more than 50 units.

If you’re a DIY landlord with 50 or fewer units, Avail can help you manage every step of the rental process — free for unlimited units. Create an account for free today.

This guest post was written by SoftwarePundit. SoftwarePundit provides advice, information, and tools to help property managers select the best software for their needs. Read SoftwarePundit’s full analysis of Avail or take a closer look at AppFolio vs. Buildium.

The post Avail, AppFolio, or Buildium: Which Is Right for Your Property? appeared first on Avail.

Should You Hire a Property Manager or Do It Yourself?

Eva Hatzenbihler — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 16:11:24 +0000

Hiring a property manager can be a great option to helping alleviate some of the responsibilities of being a landlord. But just like managing a property yourself, there are pros and cons of hiring someone to manage your rental property.

We outline the advantages and disadvantages of both strategies to help you decide on the best way to manage your rental property.

Why Do Landlords Hire a Property Manager?

There are plenty of reasons why landlords end up hiring a property manager to take over their rental management duties, but these three are the most common:

To avoid time-consuming tasks: Rental properties take time and effort to manage. If you don’t have the time to manage your rental, you probably won’t be able to maximize profits.
To avoid the hassle of coordinating maintenance: It’s not always easy to find reliable professionals to handle repairs and maintenance. And if you’re not first in line with the painter, plumber, or electrician, the repairs might get delayed and cost more.
To avoid a vacant rental and the effort of finding new tenants: Property managers will take care of finding tenants and filling your rental back up when it’s empty. They’ll also (hopefully) vet the tenants with background and credit checks, so you don’t have to.

5 Advantages of Hiring a Property Manager

If you’re struggling to self-manage your rental, a property manager could be a suitable fix. Here are five advantages of hiring a property management company.

1. Handle Daily Rental Operations

Again, you won’t have to spend time on the phone, run around tending to your properties, or perform maintenance work. They’ve got it covered so you don’t have to think about it.

2. Network of Maintenance Staff and Contractors

You won’t have to worry about a contractor’s availability or finding a fair quote, since most property managers already have a list of contacts. You also won’t need to check to be sure they finished the work you paid them — the property manager can be responsible for that.

3. Extensive Screening Process

Property management services have systems to run background checks and find responsible tenants, removing the need to do it yourself.

4. List Your Rental and Determine Rent Price

Analyzing your area’s rental competition and determining a competitive rental rate takes some effort. Rental property management companies do this for you.

5. Collect Rental Fees and Handle Late Rent Payments

Property managers will deal with your rent payments, including following up on late rent — a dreaded task for most landlords.

5 Disadvantages of Hiring a Property Manager

As noted above, there are many good reasons to hire a property manager. But before you do, make sure you’re aware of the downsides of handing your property over to a management company:

1. Costly Monthly and One-Time Fees

The cost to hire a property manager can range from 6% to 12% of the rent, plus expenses for purchased repair and replacement items. This rate will vary depending on your location. As an expense line item for you, property management fees eat into your rental cash flow and make your investment significantly less profitable, especially if you only have a few properties.

2. Different Tenant Screening Process

Rental property management companies must follow your state’s landlord laws. If it’s not in the state laws, there is little wiggle room. This means they decide who can live in your rental, and may turn away tenants you would be willing to consider. On the other hand, they might accept tenants you would have passed on after noticing certain red flags.

3. More Expensive Maintenance Costs

These crew members are typically full-time, salaried employees, and the management company has business overhead costs for insurance and licensing. While independent contractors have similar expenses, they may not charge as much because their overhead is lower, or their maintenance work may be a side gig.

4. Less Control Over Property Operations

A property management company may not be the best route if you prefer to be hands-on with your investment property. You’ll have less control over the entire rental process, from tenant selection and setting the rent price to maintenance and property upkeep.

5. Different Marketing Processes

Not all management companies are up to date on the best way to market a vacant rental property online. Some may even resort to utilizing a local online listing platform (like Craigslist, known for rental fraud) or bringing it back to the 1990s by placing an ad in the local newspaper. This may work, but you’ll attract tenants faster with listings on top sites — and you’ll probably have a better pool of quality candidates on those top listing sites, too.

How Landlord Software Can Help You Manage Without a Property Manager

Landlord software platforms can be a viable solution to streamline your management process, tenant screening and rent collection tasks without needing a property manager. It can also provide support and tools for a range of rental property issues to help you save time and money. Here’s additional ways in which landlord software can help:

Complete control: Unlike a rental property management company, an online platform gives a landlord control over screening and accepting tenants. Many platforms offer comprehensive screening and background checks so you can be sure you’ve carefully vetted your potential tenants and that they’re the right fit for your property.
Helpful tools online: You’ll want to choose a platform that isn’t based on paper or files on a computer. Online DIY platforms allow you to manage your property and keep track of important records all in one place. Plus, features like convenient online lease signing and quick online rent payments are a big draw for many tenants.
Cost: DIY landlording is far less expensive than hiring a property manager, so you’ll get more money out of your rental investment. For example, you can create an Avail account for free or upgrade to Unlimited Plus for $7/per unit to access our premium features. The monthly cost of using Avail is drastically less than hiring a property manager.
Rent payments: DIY platforms offer online rent collection, so tenants can easily pay online (either with a bank account or credit card) and landlords can receive that rent right into their bank account. Many will send tenant reminders about upcoming rent payments and will automatically charge a late fee of your choosing, so you don’t have to be the one who’s pestering your tenant for the rent.
Rent price analysis: Just because you don’t have a property manager doesn’t mean you need to do all of the work figuring out what rent to charge. Some DIY platforms offer a rent estimate report, which will help you set a competitive rent price while showing you rental market trends and how your rental compares to those nearby. This way, you’ll be able to know you’re getting the most out of your rent price.
Maintenance assistance: If you’re managing the property yourself, you’ll have to deal with maintenance requests. But platforms like Avail make that a little easier with maintenance tracking tools, where tenants can submit requests and photos and landlords can coordinate repairs and keep track of expenses.
Marketing at your fingertips: Marketing open units can be complicated. There are DIY platforms that offer done-for-you marketing packages to advertise your rental property and list it across all the top sites quickly and easily.
Landlord resources: Unlike other DIY platforms, Avail has resources, educational materials and customer support available seven days a week, a lifesaver for the new or inexperienced landlord.

Manage Your Rentals Like a Pro With Avail

Due to the cost of a property manager, many landlords with 10 or fewer units often opt to take a DIY approach to their property management needs. If you’ve decided that DIY property management is the best route for you, create an account with Avail to help you streamline the rental property management process.

Advertise your rental property, screen prospective tenants, access lawyer-reviewed lease agreements, collect rental fees, track rental property accounting, and more in one platform.

The post Should You Hire a Property Manager or Do It Yourself? appeared first on Avail.

Is Self-Managing a Rental Property Right for You?

Hayley Grgurich — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 22:10:47 +0000

The set-it-and-forget-it approach may work for other aspects of your investment portfolio, but it isn’t an option with a rental property. Even if the building and everything in it is brand new, there’s still grass to mow, sidewalks to shovel or at the very least, payments to collect.

So when you choose to invest in real estate with rental properties, it’s important to be realistic about whether you’re willing and able to take on the responsibilities of property management yourself, or if hiring a dedicated property manager is a better strategy.

When to Manage Your Rentals Alone

If you’re relatively handy (or at least game to use YouTube tutorials to learn as you go), have a flexible lifestyle, and a small number of well-maintained rental properties located near your own home, self-managing a rental property may be the way to go.

Many of the hurdles of self-management, such as figuring out how to advertise your rental listings, screen prospective tenants, and collecting payments, can now be handled online with the help of a property management software platform like Avail. Not only can you easily streamline the rental process, but you can keep everything regarding your rentals in one place.

However, even with a system for automating the paperwork side of the job, managing a rental yourself comes with a lot of responsibility. Tenant calls can come at any time of day and to keep your renters happy and renewing, responsiveness is key. When issues arise, such as a malfunctioning sink, landlords need to keep in mind that the costs they incur aren’t limited to replacement parts or professional labor. The time you spend assessing the issue, finding a plumber, supervising the work, and communicating with the tenant are all costs too.

Make sure you figure out the hourly cost of your time and factor it in when weighing the cost of sweat equity versus hiring help. Property management isn’t a predictable gig. If you work full-time, consider how possible it is for you to step away from the office if emergencies arise with your rental units.

Also, keep in mind that time requirements can vary with the season. You might only need to spend a couple hours a week on property management mid-lease when the building and appliances are working well and tenants are paying on time. But if your leases end in the summer months, all of a sudden you might be putting in 30 hours a week to find new tenants, inspect the units, repaint the walls, change the locks, and supervise move outs and move ins.

For some landlords, the pride of ownership and upkeep is its own reward (or at least a nice “extra” on top of the passive income you earn). And maintaining a safe and comfortable residence for others can be a personally fulfilling way to invest in your community.

When to Outsource Your Rental Management

As much as needing the time and skill to self-manage properties, you also need to have the desire to take on the challenge. Not everyone who gets into the investment property game has an interest in the hands-on side of it. For those looking for a more passive investment, hiring a dedicated property manager can be the right move.

Property managers obviously are an additional cost that impacts your bottom line, but hiring someone else to handle the on-site needs of your property frees you up to look at listings in strong rental markets outside your own zip code.

Using a site like Realtor.com® allows landlords to search listings of pre-vetted rental properties in high-yield markets, making it easier to find viable investment properties with potential returns that can support the cost of a property manager.

Hiring a property manager also allows you to focus on investing rather than managing, and can be a scalable expense if you choose to buy multiple properties in the same area. For some property owners, the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have a capable professional not only available for emergencies, but proactively working to keep the building in good shape is worth the money too.

Make Renting Easier With Avail

The bottom line when making your decision is determining which approach takes the best care of your investment and your tenants. Regular maintenance work can prolong the life of your property’s assets, which saves you money on costly repairs or premature replacements. If you’ve determined that self-managing a rental property is something you’re willing to take on, Avail can help you save both time and money.

Create an account to start managing your rentals with landlord software specifically designed to make renting easier for both you and your tenants.

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