If you’re anything like me, you have a long list of tasks to get done each day at work. I’ve been a landlord for several years and hadn’t quite found a way to check things off my to-do list, without spending a ton of money.
Earlier this year I found out about property management software programs. Online you’ll be able to find a bit about each software, which is why I wanted to share with you one of the best Avail reviews on the web!
There are plenty of ways to try to tackle your endless list of things to do, but not many of them are as affordable or have the features that Avail does. I don’t have a ton of time on my hands to be hiring people to help me; in fact, I’m actually trying to free up time at work, not spend more!
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Are you in the same boat? Whether you’re a landlord, property owner, or property manager, Avail is a software program that you’ll be able to benefit greatly from and you won’t have to dig too deeply into your wallet.
I’ve tested out some of the most popular property management software programs so that you don’t have to! Today, you’ll read about what the software can do, the key features it has, how it compares to others like it on the market, and where you can get it if it sounds like something you’d like in your life!
Before you spend any money, please be sure to read what Avail can do for you and your work life! Let me tell you a bit more about what exactly Avail is and how it works.
A Table Of Contents For Avail Reviews
Avail Reviewed: What You Should Know
Out of all the property management software options available, Avail stands out for being one of the best. Before it was called Avail, the company name was Rentalutions and it has plenty of amazing features. I thought I could tell you about some of them and how this software could work for you.
One of the best things about Avail is that it really is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are renting out just one unit or if you have thousands of units available. If you’re renting out a single family home or an entire block of apartments for student housing, Avail will work for you.
Avail has entry-level pricing and you get more features for the base price than you would on competing property management software programs. But what if you don’t want to pay for software that you aren’t sure about? Well, thankfully, Avail comes with a free trial. The free trial is for an entire month.
During the free trial, you’ll be able to use the software as you would if you were to own it. This helps you, if you are interested, learn your way around the program and see if it has the features you’ll need. If you do decide that Avail is for you, you’ll get to decide between four different plans. Just as you’d suspect, the more expensive the plan is, the more features it comes with.
The first plan will cost you nothing! Yes, you read that right. It is $0 per month and can be used with one unit. There is a $2 banking fee, basic customization, and if you’d like to add more units, it will cost you $6 each. With the free plan, there is no free trial.
The second plan will cost you $10 a month and is Avail’s most popular option. You get one unit covered for $10, full customization, no banking fees, FastPay, a marketing website, and there is a $6 fee for every additional unit. Payments will process quicker with this plan than the free option. There is also a free 30-day trial available with this plan.
Next, you have the Landlord Plus plan that is $25 per month. This covers up to 5 units and includes the following features:
- Full customization
- $0 bank payment fee
- $4 per additional unit
- FastPay
- Marketing website
- Priority support
- Unlimited messages and photos
- Free trial
Lastly, there is the Professional plan. This includes everything you read about above in the Landlord Plus plan. It is $50 per month and covers up to 15 units. You also get a multi-deposit function, the free 30-day trial and it’s just $2 per unit if you have more than 15 units.
Avail has convenient lawyer-reviewed lease templates that are easy to fill out and print. This saves you time from writing an entire lease yourself for every property that you have. There are also protective clauses that cover topics such as paint and mold issues. You’ll be able to quickly fill out any information you need to on these templates and store the paperwork right in the software.
A great feature that your tenants will love is the ability to pay their monthly rent online. This makes the whole rent collection process much easier for both you and your tenant. They also will have the option to fill out a maintenance ticket and be able to include photos if necessary!
Another amazing feature that Avail has is the ability to screen potential renters. This means that the software with charge the applicant a fee. That fee is then used to give you a detailed background and credit check. This lets you decide who passes the requirements for your properties and who doesn’t.
On the applicant’s end, this entire process should take less than five minutes to complete, including verifying required documents such as pay stubs or credit scores. If you’re looking for applicants but don’t have the time to list every unit that’s vacant online, you’re losing out on a ton of money.
Luckily, Avail does the grunt work for you. You simply have to fill out the information such as square footage, number of bedrooms, rent price, and anything else. You then can upload photos and videos and it will just take one click for that unit to then be plastered all over sites such as Trulia, Apartments.com or Zillow!
When someone inquires about your property on one of these websites, Avail will send their information straight to the email you provided so you can then implement the screening process. One thing that Avail lacks in comparison to other incredible property management software programs on the market is accounting features.
If you’re looking for help keeping track of reports or numbers, this may not be the software for you. You can check out one like Buildium that may be a better choice. This isn’t to say that Avail doesn’t have accounting tools, because it does, but they just perform at more of a basic level than that of other software programs.
I think it’s pretty safe to assume that you’re comparing several property management software options. If that’s the case, I wanted to share with you a broken down pros and cons list to make it easier when comparing different software programs. I’ve included what I think are some of the amazing features that Avail has, and one that they could improve on. Let’s take a look.
Pros
- Four plans to choose from
- 30-day free trial option
- Lease/Eviction templates available
- Rent can be paid online
- Maintenance request feature
- Lists available units easily
- Late fee notification automatically sent
Cons
- Accounting services are basic and could be improved
If you have between one and 15 unites, Avail is an awesome option. You don’t have to pay a ton of money to get some of the best features. It may lack a bit more on the accounting end of things, but it still will help you get the basics done!
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Whether you need a template to help you create an eviction notice or you’re tired of handing out late fees to several tenants, you’ll get a lot out of Avail. Let’s talk a bit more about the key features this property management software program has to offer!
Analysis Of Avail: What The Software Can Do
By now you’re aware of what some of the things Avail can do and some of the tasks it may help you with. I wanted to share with you the key features it has and some of the more important functions it can perform. Some of these features are what make Avail stand out from other property management software like it.
If you’re wanting to jot down some notes, this is a perfect place to start. You can use this analysis to help you compare between software programs. After you’ve read the analysis, you will have a better idea of which type of property management software features you’ll need and which ones you don’t.
Online Rent Collection
You read a bit about how tenants can pay their rent online earlier. This is one of the most popular features on Avail. Your tenants will be able to easily pay their rent each month by using the automatic billing feature.
If they decide to pay via ACH transfer, it’s free for both you and the tenant. If the use a credit or debit card, your tenant will be fined 2.75% of the price of rent each month.
It is quick and easy for each tenant to sign up for the recurring billing feature. If they have more to pay than just rent, such as pet deposits or a late fee, they can do so as well via the Avail portal for tenants.
This will save both you and the tenant time, gas, and effort every month. They won’t have to waste their time trying to get to the bank or an ATM every time rent is due. Assuming you and your renters are busy people, the online rent collection feature will definitely come in handy and is a must to have in a property management software!
Tenant Screening
Another thing you can use Avail for is to screen potential tenants! This can be done easily for those who are applying for one of your vacancies, whether it’s commercial or residential. To screen a potential renter, all you’ll need is their email address, which is usually provided to you once someone has applied to rent your property.
Screenings cost money and this is the reason why most places require an application fee for potential tenants. Use this fee to cover the tenant screening costs to see if the applicant fits your desired requirements of a tenant.
Do you know everything that a tenant screening includes? Is it worth the money and time it takes to complete one? I definitely think so!
A tenant screening will give you a detailed background check on the individual(s) applying. You can use this to make sure they’re a safe and trustworthy person to have under the roof of one of your properties.
The screening will also provide you with a credit check of the applicant. Most units have a minimum credit score for tenants to have in order to live there. You can use this part of the screening to see if their credit score passes your requirements.
Lastly, you’ll be able to see if they’ve had any past evictions, when they were, and why the person was evicted. This can help you decide if the person will pay rent every month or if they’ve had something like a noise issue in their past.
Maintenance Requests
It may seem silly, but if you’re a landlord, you may understand why maintenance features are some of my favorite. Tenants will have a maintenance feature that allows them to quickly and easily turn in any requests they may have. Not only that, they can include dates and times their available for a maintenance employee to come take a look and even upload photos and videos of the issue.
This saves you time from having to assess it all on the spot and makes it much easier to schedule a time to fix the issue. You can see from any photos or videos provided what may need to be done and the software will even allow you to assign the task to a particular employee if needed.
We all know that maintenance issues have a tendency to happen in the middle of the night or on weekends and holidays. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night because someone’s faucet isn’t working properly. This is where the maintenance features help you to create a better home and work life balance.
These features overall are incredibly convenient for you, the tenants, and any maintenance employees that you have on staff. Being able to prepare work orders and assign tasks from your phone makes it really great and saves you a ton of time. If you have more than one property, this feature is a must have!
Listing Properties
Lastly, I wanted to talk to you a bit about another feature that will save you a ton of time. When you use Avail Property Management, you can quickly and easily post your vacant units and properties across the most popular sites out there!
You can upload photos, videos, and list any amenities that come with the available unit. You can also add if there are any specific lease rules or pet policies that you require your tenants to follow. This will all be displayed on an easy to view ads across sites like Trulia or Zillow.
Another feature I like is the ability to share these listing across any social media your property may have! You can also email the advertisement or link it to someone you know who may be interested.
We all know that vacant units equal money lost so it’s important to get your vacancies filled as quickly as possible and Avail does just that with a lot less work demanded of you!
Where To Buy Avail
So, after reading all of this information, does Avail sound like property management software you’d like to add into your day-to-day routine? If you answered yes, I wanted to tell you about where you can purchase and download it. Before you download it, let’s talk a bit more about the free trial that’s available.
When you choose an Avail plan that is $10 or more a month, you’ll get the option to have a free trial. The trial is an entire month long, which is practically unheard of when it comes to free trial period lengths. Avail will be at your disposal during those 30 days the same way it would be if you were to own it.
You’ll be able to see when your trial ends upon signing up. I suggest adding an alarm to your phone or computer to remind you when your trial is over. Signing up is easy and they even provide options for landlords and tenants to sign up.
One thing that I didn’t like about the free trial is that you have to provide your credit card information and you will be charged after the 30 day trial if you decide to keep it or forget to cancel your account. Again, I stress to add a reminder to go off the day before the trial expires.
You can read all about the Avail pricing plans and which features they have by clicking here. You can even use that link to choose a plan along with signing up for a free trial. But I do have to address the elephant in the room: mobile options.
Unfortunately, Avail does not have a stand-alone app. This is actually quite common amongst property management software companies, but it doesn’t make it any less convenient. They do plan on rolling out an iOS and Android friendly app in the near future.
On the other hand, just like any other website, you’ll be able to visit Avail on your mobile web browser. It should work just as smoothly as it would on a computer and has all the necessary features you’ll need right at your fingertips!
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Final Words
You and I both know that being a landlord or owning property can be incredibly overwhelming. You have a lot to do each day, whether that’s list properties online, show available units to prospective tenants, or collect rent.
A little bit of help never hurt anyone and I can attest that Avail has brought a lot more than just help to my life. I’m now able to enjoy more free time to do things I like, rather than working from dawn until dusk.
Of course, you don’t have to choose Avail as your future property management software, but I enjoy it, along with thousands of other users! Depending on your situation, this software may keep your business afloat, and for others it may just help relieve some stress.
I had to tell you all about my experience with Avail just in case you’re needing an extra hand around the office or around your properties. I hope that this software, or another like it, brings as much change to your day- to- day work life as it did mine.
Don’t be afraid to compare several software options before you decide on one. Doing this will help you find the software that will work best for you and your properties! Whether it’s Avail, Buildium, or another software such as Cozy, I hope you find one that works! Good luck!