One of the biggest obstacles landlords face in their line of work is a need for more time. Being as a landlord means that you may also be working as a property manager, handyman, and even a rental broker.
Take back some of your time with a landlord property management app.
Property management apps provide landlords with tools to streamline tedious processes, such as collecting rent and managing receipts, into a simple-to-use app. The guidance and technology supplied by rental management apps make it possible to spend less time on the nitty-gritty details and more on making profits.
A Table Of Contents On Property Management Apps
The best property management apps for landlords provide features that make day-to-day work more accessible. Which parts of your business can you improve with these apps? Learn more today:
- What Is A Landlord Property Management App?
- The Pros And Cons Of Property Management Apps
- What Is The Best Property Management App For Landlords?
- FAQs: Property Management Apps For Landlords
- Property Management Apps For Landlords: A Simple Solution
What Is A Landlord Property Management App?
Property management apps are mobile phone applications that can manage key points of the rental process, such as tenant communication, financials, tenant screening, maintenance schedules, and more. These applications often have a desktop software counterpart, but some are strictly mobile apps.
The tools included as part of a comprehensive property management app are intended to make a landlord’s or property manager’s job more streamlined. Including various tech tools in one place makes it easier to organize your workflow and stay on top of essential tasks.
The primary goal of these apps is efficiency. The value of your work and your properties increases when you improve efficiency, which is a big part of why landlords are turning to property management apps more and more. Modern software technology makes it possible to stay on top of management tasks in a totally new way, and utilizing that technology makes sense.
The Pros And Cons Of Property Management Apps
As with all new property management approaches, there are benefits and drawbacks to landlords utilizing a property management app. Here are the top pros and cons:
The Pros Of Rental Management Apps
First, let’s discuss how and why utilizing these on-the-go management apps makes sense.
1. Easily Collect Rent
Collecting online rental payments is incredibly convenient, and many tenants are starting to believe this should always be an option. Integrating online rent collection with your property management makes the transaction easier for you and your tenants.
Most property management apps include this service; tenants can pay via various options including ACH, credit card, or debit card.
2. Create Simple Notifications
Another benefit of using property management apps is that you can make notifications about property changes, late rental payments, upcoming lease expirations, and more. They are automatically sent to the tenant with the necessary information. This type of automated notification can help support a healthy tenant-landlord relationship.
You can also use this service to send out important updates to all residents, such as a reminder about when work will be done to common areas or another ongoing issue.
3. Receive Bookkeeping Support
Property management apps enable easier bookkeeping for landlords. Your managing app can automatically generate income reports as you track rent payments, expenses, receipts, and more.
Some property management apps include high-level analytics of this financial data. This can be a boon when planning for the future growth of your business.
4. Improve Tenant Turnover
Finding good tenants is key to keeping your turnover rates low. However, finding the right tenants for your properties can be challenging. Often, this is simply because it is overwhelming to collect a large number of applications, screen multiple tenants, and keep all that information straight.
Don’t let this confusion cause you to rent to bad tenants. Instead, consider that a property management app may enable better tracking of applications, screening results, and tenant leases. By staying on top of each step of the screening process, you’re more likely to make the right choice when deciding on a tenant.
5. Improve Maintenance Support
Communicating with tenants about maintenance and tracking necessary repairs can be incredibly time-consuming. Many property management applications make it possible to streamline this process. All communication stays in one place so you can track progress and check how a situation resolves.
Apps often allow maintenance teams and contractors to be added as users so you can directly forward requests to them as needed without needing to move to another communication platform. This can make a huge difference in how quickly repairs are handled.
The Cons Of Rental Property Management App
There are many benefits to utilizing these apps for landlords but also some drawbacks. Here are some things to look out for when choosing the right property management app for your team:
1. Can Be Expensive
The biggest issue landlords have with property management apps is their cost. While it would be great if these apps were free, they wouldn’t function as well if they did not have financial support. Most apps cost at least $30 a month, and premium functions can cost even more.
Consider what benefits you will receive from these apps and crunch the numbers to determine if the payoff will be worth it. You might be surprised at how much profit you can generate by investing in this app.
2. Limited Accessibility
Some property management software is only available on desktops, while others are only available as mobile apps. Ideally, you will find software that has functionality on both devices. Not only does this broader accessibility make it easier for you to do your work no matter where you are, but it also makes things easier for your tenants.
3. Limited Customization
Property management and rental companies managing hundreds of properties often develop their property management apps so they can customize them to fit their needs. If you don’t have the resources to do this, however, you will be limited in what you can make any app do.
That is why taking time and determining which app most closely aligns with your needs is essential. What’s difficult to keep organized in your business at this time? Focus on apps with features that will improve those areas.
What Is The Best Property Management App For Landlords?
There are many different property management apps on the market right now. In addition to these app reviews, landlords have selected these software options as some of their favorites:
- Landlord Studio
- Hemlane
- Rentec Direct
- Landlordy
Start With Your Tenants
No matter what type of property management app you find suitable for your business, you should always start by improving your tenant acquisition process. Utilizing the right tools, including management apps, is one way to do this.
Tenant screening is complicated, and bringing in another type of third-party service makes it more effective. Tenant screening with RentPrep gives you everything you need to choose the right tenant successfully. From background checks to credit reports, get the information you need and make the right choices while filling vacancies.
FAQs: Property Management Apps For Landlords
There’s much to learn about property management apps and what they offer landlords like you. Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions:
What are the benefits of property management software?
Property management software solves many problems for landlords, property managers, and others involved in the rental industry.
Industry experts find management software useful for three primary reasons: maintenance tracking, tenant screening, and financial management. Each of these categories includes a variety of tasks that landlords have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, which is why management apps can be so helpful.
Regarding maintenance tracking, these apps provide an easy way for landlords and tenants to communicate about maintenance needs. You can track progress, ensure all issues are taken care of, and connect with tenants about any ongoing problems.
Property management apps organize and simplify tenant application and screening processes. You can collect applications, review them, compare them, and work through your specialized screening process in a management app. Depending on which app you are using, you can handle your tenant screening within the software.
Finally, landlords often thrive on the financial management benefits of these apps. You can collect rent through most apps and track essential details of your business finances, such as expenses, receipts, and incoming gains.
Every property management app offers a different set of features. When choosing an app, it’s best to match up with an app that meets your needs.
What apps do landlords use?
The specific apps used by landlords vary, but there are some commonalities. As you read through the types of apps landlords report using, keep in mind your business’s specific needs and challenges. Focus on apps that will fill these gaps as they will make the most significant impact on your success.
- Rental property showing app: an app that enables communication and scheduling for showings
- Inspection app: an app that allows you to document, store, and revisit inspection records to ensure inspections are done frequently and updated properly
- Rent collection tracker: an app that enables you to collect rent and keep track of what is still owed to you by tenants
- All-in-one property management app: an app that incorporates all of the above features, and more, for a complete and streamlined management process
Remember, the type of app that will work best for your rental business may differ from that of another landlord. Prioritize your needs over what is most popular with others.
Do property management apps replace the need for hiring property managers?
You may find yourself conflicted between hiring a property manager or utilizing a property management app to organize your work. Both methods have pros and cons, and there are even cases for both utilizing an app and hiring a property manager.
Hiring a property manager has three significant benefits:
- Reduce time-consuming tasks to a huge degree as the manager takes over day-to-day responsibilities like coordinating maintenance and communicating with tenants about rent
- Alleviate the stress of working with third-party vendors and maintenance options as you take care of properties
- Improve tenant turnover rates by finding better tenants regularly and keeping up with current tenants in meaningful ways
Of course, it can also be expensive to hire full-time property managers, and you may need to explain your wants and needs multiple times to get the results you are looking for.
Landlords who still want to remain more connected to the process and manage some of the day-to-day work themselves may find investing in a high-quality property management app more beneficial than hiring a property manager.
This will reduce the overall cost of your property management while providing big benefits such as streamlined communications, better turnover rates, and even less stress. Ultimately, the right solution depends on your business’s structure, size, and goals.
What features should I look for in a property management app?
Several features should be prioritized if you’re shopping for a great property management app. Look for these features, and ensure the way each feature functions lines up with the way you prefer to do business:
- Tenant application collection
- Tenant screening options
- Tenant communication and messaging services
- Rent collection
- Rent fee management
- Financial management options such as receipt and expense tracking
- Maintenance requests and vendor management
- Integration with other apps
- Desktop software options
Property Management Apps For Landlords: A Simple Solution
It’s true that utilizing a property management app won’t solve all the problems that you may face as a landlord. It will, however, make every challenge more surmountable. Depending on your specific needs, you can find the perfect app to support your business.
Consider looking for apps that feature the following:
- Rent collection features for easy rent management
- Maintenance request form for better tenant communication
- Financial trackers such as late fees and receipt recorders for better business management
Seek out a landlord property management app that makes the most challenging parts of your job easier. With the time and energy you save utilizing an app, you’ll instead be able to focus on growing your business.