Author Topic: Rental Software  (Read 1095 times)

bpleshek

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Rental Software
« on: August 24, 2016, 07:21:25 AM »
I currently have one property, but will shortly have 3.  By the end of next year, the plan is to have 5.  One is easy enough to manage with a spreadsheet.  While I could manage all with a seperate spreadsheet, once I have quite a few, it'll be easier to do so in an app.

What rental software apps are people using to manage their properties?  Which ones have you tried and discarded and why?  I'm looking for one that manages cash flow all the indicators, would be nice to have an issue tracker with it too, but not necessary(maintenance calls, logs, etc.).  It would preferably also have an evaluation function for considering new properties.  If no one product has them, what other products do you use with your management software?

I am a software developer, so I could write something if I get in the mood for it.

Thanks,

Brian

NoNonsenseLandlord

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Re: Rental Software
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2016, 09:53:12 AM »
I have 25 renters.  I use Quicken, and Excel.  Turbotax at year end.

I have the rental property manager with Quicken, but I only need any H&B edition.  Just something to create monthly invoices and track income.

Enigma

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Re: Rental Software
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2016, 11:36:18 AM »
My father used excel spreadsheets for the longest time.  Each excel spreadsheet had separate tabs.  Every time someone moved out he created a new tab.  Also if he owed money on the property he had an overview tab.  This worked great when he didnt have a lot of property to manage.  Over the years however it doesnt work great when you start amassing an empire.

We looked to Buildium (online management) when we had about 60 tenants.  Mostly because we didnt know about it sooner.  The cost is $40/month for 40 units starting (increasing by $10 per 10 units).  The norm appeared to be $1/unit per month with a minimum for most sites.  You being a software developer might be able to use the free 30 day evaluation to come up with ideas on how you would want to create an online database.  As for us (my father, brother, and myself) we now use it to maintain 100 tenants.  It allows us to do credit checks ($15 basic credit check, eviction report, & criminal record), tenant payment portals (credit cards 2.7% fee & eCheck/ETF 50 cents), maintenance logs/requests, direct deposit of funds, P&L reports, Rent Roll Reports, email communication, and a ton of other useful features.

I use Quicken for my personal finances...  But the Quicken Rental Manager, I didnt find very useful for myself.  Also Quickbooks is great at helping me maintain my friend's service business but not as helpful at maintaining my property management.

Also I have an IT background and was looking for a database program to meet my needs.  Hopefully that helps