Best Property Management Software - Buyers Guide

Best Property Management Software – 2021 Buyer’s Guide

March 8, 2021

Produced by:
Richard Stevens

Richard Stevens is an active real estate investor with over 8 years of industry experience. He specializes in researching topics that appeal to real estate investors and building calculators that can help property investors understand the expected costs and returns when executing real estate deals.

Finding the right property management software can be tricky. There are so many options to choose from and so many different pricing structures that it can potentially take ages to make the right decision.

To help facilitate your research process, we’ve outlined some of the best software programs currently available, together with basic summaries of how the pricing works.

Please note – The pricing and information listed in this article is subject to change overtime.

Table of Contents

Appfolio

Appfolio Property Management Software

The key selling point of Appfolio is that it allows you to ‘run your entire real estate business with one product’. If you manage a large scale business managing multiple properties, there’s a strong possibility that Appfolio can cater to almost all of your primary needs.

Appfolio scores highly in ease-of-use, value-for-money, customer support and overall functionality. Moreover, this cloudbased software caters to:

  • Residential Property Management
  • Commercial Property Management
  • Homeowner’s Associations

Residential Property Features

  • Single-family Management
  • Multifamily Management
  • Syndicate your listings to dozens of websites in a single click
  • Process applications and check renter history quickly
  • Online leases using mobile devices
  • Online rent payments
  • Automated late feed
  • Robust accounting features
  • Online maintenance and inspections

Commercial Property Features

  • Schedule rent increases
  • Online rent payments
  • Commercial financial reporting features
  • Common area maintenance

Community Association Features

  • Automate the process of collecting duties
  • Automate the review of architectural requests
  • User-friendly text messaging and emails to homeowners and boardmembers
  • Digital submission of violations
  • Track the status of previous violations
  • Accounting, payments and mail services

Appfolio Pricing

Appfolio works with 2 tiers of pricing. The standard property manager software has minimum monthly fee of $250, and you get charged per unit thereafter. You require a portfolio size of 50 units for implementation. Appfolio Plus is for businesses that manage 1000+ units, with a minimum monthly fee of $1,500. It requires a portfolio size of 500 units for implementation.

Appfolio (Standard)

$250 Monthly
  • Residential = $1.25 per unit/month
  • Commercial = $1.50 per unit/month
  • Student Housing = $1.25 per unit/month
  • Community Associations = $0.80 per unit/month

Appfolio Plus

$1500 Monthly
  • Residential = $3.00 per unit/month
  • Commercial = $3.00 per unit/month
  • Student Housing = $3.00 per unit/month
  • Community Associations = $0.85 per unit/month

PropertyWare

PropertyWare Property Management Software

Propertyware is an all-in-one  solution that focuses on the needs of single-family property managers.

PropertyWare Features

Accounting

  • Robust accounts receivable tool
  • Keep tabs on your bank account, deposits, reconciliations and more
  • Accounts payable tool to access vendors, bills, payments, notes and scanned documents
  • Cash and accrual options
  • Calculate and collect fees with one click
  • Setup a portfolio or property-level budget in minutes

Payments

  • Secure online payments through PropertyWare portal
  • Ability to receive cash payments
  • Easy implementations that integrates with PropertyWare owner and tenant portals
  • Give your tenants payment choices to rental payment consistency, while providing owners with real time insight into their rental property’s financials

Marketing & Websites

  • Generate more leads with professional listing templates
  • Syndicate your listing across all sites in a few clicks
  • Create branded, easy-to-navigate websites that are mobile responsive
  • Track owner and tenant leads
  • Tap into PropertyWare’s advanced lead management services

Maintenance

  • Use one work order to manage multiple vendors
  • Automate dispatching of service technicians using Propertyware Contact Center
  • Create lists of standardized tasks and pricing
  • Integrate vendor invoicing into the software
  • Property inspection pictures in real time
  • Streamlined communication ensures that every call and email is answered by highly trained staff

PropertyWare Pricing

Basic

$250 Monthly Minimum
  • Residential = $1.00 per unit/month
  • Implementation fee = 2 * Monthly subscription price

Plus

$350 Monthly Minimum
  • Residential = $1.50 per unit/month
  • Implementation fee = 2 * Monthly subscription price

Premium

$450 Monthly Minimum
  • Residential = $2.00 per unit/month
  • Implementation fee = 2 * Monthly subscription price

Buildium

Buildium Main Image

Buildium is another great all-in-one property management software solution. The core features of Buildium revolve around accounting, business operations, leasing and community association management, and the software is considered very user-friendly. 

 

Accounting

  • Securely manage bank accounts, accept rent and create valuable reports with ease
  • Monitor and report on business expenses and property expenses
  • Online payments for rent, association fees and vendors
  • Cash payment option for tenants that can be made at retail outlets
  • 1099 eFiling

Business Operations

  • Manage maintenance requests and payments online through a simple and intuitive web portal
  • Store important documents in the cloud, and access them from anywhere at anytime
  • Manage work orders, assign them to vendors, and pay bills in just a few clicks
  • Use your mobile device to initiate unit inspections
  • Setup renter’s insurance
  • Provide easy access to financial reporting to property owners via a mobile portal
  • Make smarter business decisions with powerful analytics and actionable insights

Leasing & Tenant Management

  • Manage all of your rental listings, and syndicate to Buildium’s partners in a few clicks
  • Accept rental applications from your marketing site, and process any related fees
  • Run comprehensive tenant screenings: criminal, credit, & eviction reports
  • Build your brand and post rental listings with a free, customizable website
  • Simplify the leasing process with eSignatures and cloud document storage.

Community Association Management

  • Log, track and report on your homeowners’ violations easily, from anywhere
  • Communicate with homeowners, non-owner residents and board members, anytime, from anywhere
  • Track budgets, vendor payments, association fees, and more with powerful reporting.

Buildium Pricing

Essential

$50 Per Month
  •  

Growth

$160 Per Month
  •  

Premium

$460 Per Month
  •  

TenantCloud

TenantCloud Property Management Software

TenantCloud is highly affordable property management software that is very well tailored to DIY landlords specifically. The pricing ranges from $0 (ie free) to $35 per month, depending on which package you decide to use.

It might not boast all the bells and whistles as some of the other programs highlighted in this round-up, but it gives you most of the core basics you need to manage your tenants and your finances with ease.

Accounting

  • Collect rent and other payments online. You can accept ACH, PayPal, and any other debit and credit card payments.
  • Store receipts and manage your accounting all in one place. Get financial and rental reports whenever you want
  • Easily record all property transactions and balances
  • Schedule invoices, late fees, and receipts
  • Apply deposits, do refunds, and discounts
  • Export all your data whenever you need it

Tenant Management

  • Screen potential tenants and feel confident about who you are renting to
  • Pay for screening yourself or require tenants to pay
  • Receive screening reports directly to your TenantCloud account
  • Screening Report includes a background check, credit check, and a National Eviction Records search

Marketing

  • Free listing website to showcase your properties and attract tenants for free
  • Fully customizable to elevate your branding
  • Accept rental applications and fees online
  • Accept tour request and messages
  • Automatic listing syndication
  • Post vacant units to numerous listing partners in one click
  • Receive and manage leads directly through TenantCloud

Additional Features with All Packages

  • Agreement template builder
  • Property keys and specs
  • Use the roommates feature to set up a lease with multiple tenants
  • Online leases
  • Maintenance requests that allow you to assign visual work orders to service professionals
  • Owner portal makes it easy to share important info with property owners
  • Automatic late fee invoicing

TenantCloud Pricing

Basic Package

$0 Unlimited Free Trial
  • 75 Units
  • File storage 512 MB
  • Admin account 1
  • Templates 10

Standard Package

$9 Per Month
  • Units up to 150
  • File storage 1 GB
  • Templates 30
  • Units up to 150

Advanced Package

$35 Per Month
  • Units Up to 500
  • File storage 10 GB
  • Admin accounts 10
  • Templates 100

TurboTenant

TurboTenant Software

The underlying goal of TurboTenant is fairly simple. It is free property management software that allows you to:

  • Screen tenants
  • Market rental properties
  • Receive applications
  • Collect rent online

In addition to these key features, TurboTenant also boasts several functions that are commonly found in more expensive alternatives, including:

Online Rental Applications

With TurboTenant’s extensive online rental application, you can source the information you need to go from interested lead to confirmed tenant, faster than ever.

Free Tenant Screening

Get an easy-to-read criminal history, credit report, and past evictions with tenant screening from TransUnion so you can be assured you are renting to the right person.

Post Listings Across The Web

Post your rental on dozens of property listing websites like Rent.com, Apartments.com and more. Landlords that use TurboTenant average 22 leads per property.

Rental Management

Track your lead, applicant, and lease information all in one place. This includes document management, electronic signatures, rent payments, maintenance requests and more.

Craigslist Postings

Post a professional Craigslist listing with only a couple of clicks.

Rent Estimate Reports

Use up-to-date market data to price your property perfectly.

Renters Insurance

Everyone can have the peace of mind of knowing they’re covered.

Standard Rental Forms

Find state-specific legal forms in minutes when you need them.

TurboTenant Pricing

Landlords Package

$0 Per Month
  • Applications & Screening - Free
  • Collect Rent Online - Free
  • Rental Advertising Tools - Free
  • Rental Management - Free

Renters Package

$0 Per Month
  • $35 for Credit and Criminal Report
  • $45 Credit, Criminal, & Eviction Report
  • Online Rent Payments Via Card - 3.49%
  • Renters Insurance From $8 per month

Additional Services

Once Off These are charged only when used
  • Lease Agreements - $29.00
  • Electronic Signatures - $9.00
  • Landlord Forms Pack $99.99
  • Rent Estimate Report - $14.99

Hemlane

Hemlane Property Management

Hemlane is another all-in-one property management software solution. It caters to four different types of people, namely:

  • Property Owners
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Property Managers
  • Tenants

Like most of the other software programs listed in this roundup, Hemlane makes it easy to syndicate rental listings, take online payments from tenants, run background checks, and store all your important documents in the cloud.

Advertising Features

  • Advertises your property with one click to over 30 rental listing websites
  • Track which websites are attracting tenants to your rental properties
  • Alerts and filters for upcoming rental vacancies to prepare for turnovers
  • Stores property and unit details,
    where you only need to adjust the rental rate and available date.
  • Professional website creation

Application Tracking

  • Pre-screens tenants, schedules showings,reminds tenants of showings, and follows up with tenants after the showing.
  • Allows you to add local licensed agents to show your rental properties,without you needing to step foot in the door.
  • Track anyone that has inquired about your rental, including contact information and qualifications.
  • Track tenant application progress online including the last two employers and residences.

Tenant Screening

  • Provides a comprehensive report and score,including tradelines, public filings, bankruptcies
  • Shares the information with the tenantto provide transparency
  • Checks through the nationwide eviction database, including criminal records database and sex offender registry list.
  • Informs you via email when an interested tenant does not have the right qualifications
  • Determines whether or not you should accept the prospective tenant after the screening process.

Lease Management

  • Reminds you when leases are coming up for renewal,tracks vacancies, and uses real-time intelligence to list outstanding tasks.
  • Notifies other owners, managers,and tenants on their next actions.
  • Saves all important property and tenant documents in a cloud-based location
  • Provides unlimited storage for photos,useful with move in and out inspections
  • Keeps a record of all your messages withtenants and prospective tenants.

Financial Features

  • Instant bank verification that works with all US banks.
  • Request recurring rent, remind tenants on upcoming payments, and provide the ACH, credit, or debit payment options
  • Sends automatic requests for late fees,per the lease agreement
  • Tracks income and expenses from online payments and manual entries
  • Upload documents and receipts for any transaction

Maintenance & Repairs

  • Alerts you with maintenance requests,providing ability to upload photo and video documentation
  • Provides a streamlined process to communicate effectively with service professionals and tenants
  • Assigns maintenance to service professionals and directly updates tenants on the status
  • Coordinates with a US-based call center,where specialists know your thresholds and preferred professionals.

Hemlane Pricing

Basic

$30 Per Month
  • $2 Per Unit
  • $28 Base Cost
  • 1 Unit Minimum

Plus

$40 Per Month
  • $12 Per Unit
  • $28 Base Cost
  • 1 Unit Minimum

Basic

$60 Per Month
  • $32 Per Unit
  • $28 Base Cost
  • 1 Unit Minimum

ResMan

Resman Property Management Software

It should be pretty clear based on the image above that ResMan actually offers 4 different types of property management software namely, each of which caters to a slightly different end-user. To help you choose the right option, we’ve listed the most important features of each ResMan solution.

ResMan Multifamily

  • Accounting: Take control of accounting with a one-source solution that gives unmatched efficiency and accuracy
  • Budgeting: Transform the way you develop and use key financial data. Empower your team with a customized budgeting and forecasting solution 
  • Maintenance: Streamline your operations and make maintenance simple, increasing your property’s value and improving resident satisfaction
  • Reporting: Powerful reporting features that empower your team to deliver trusted insights that improve business efficiency

ResMan Affordable

  • HUD Certification Validation: Streamline the validation process and maximize funds by identifying potential errors before submitting information to HUD.
  • Special Claims Finder: Manage your property’s claims and maximize your revenue with ResMan’s special claims finder feature
  • Unlimited Document Storage: Store your documents and information securely online, create and send document bundles and never worry about paying more for storage
  • Custom Tax Credit Programs: With ResMan, you can create layered funding programs specific to your property’s needs, making custom programs easy and efficient.

ResMan Commercial

  • Customized for Commercial Properties: A single platform that includes the full suites of commercial client needs in one intuitive dashboard.
  • Interactive Dashboard: Gives you end-to-end visibility at a glance, filtering out the clutter so you can understand which issues need your attention and make sound decisions fast
  • CAM and Recoveries: Automated calculations for the most complex common area maintenance (CAM) and recoveries at the lease level 
  • Smart Workflows: Leading-edge workflow wizards enable seamless and effortless setup of leases and properties 

 

 

ResMan Engage

  • Property Marketing: Promote your properties online, engage with your market, and enhance your digital brand through our comprehensive marketing suite.
  • Online Portal: A forum for renters and tenants to connect, collaborate, and take action; from making payments to requesting a work order.
  • Resident Screening: Screen residents your way and fill your vacant units with more responsible renters faster and who pay on time and have longer tenure
  • Resident Credit Reporting: Show your commitment to your resident and improve your NOI while differentiating your assets from competitors with Credit Builder.

ResMan Pricing

At this point in time, ResMan doesn’t list the prices of their various software options online. Generally, this implies that it is more expensive than some of the competitors listed in this round-up.

To gain a clear understanding of what each ResMan solution costs, you will need to reach out to their sales team.

RealPage

Realpage Property Management Software v3

Realpage is considered one of the best commercial property software solutions currently available. Everything about RealPage is designed to scale, which makes it great for managing multifamily apartments, entire apartment buildings and commercial real estate buildings.

Of all the Software programs listed in this round-up, RealPage brings the largest number of features to the table. However, it also has the most complex pricing structure, with each key feature being added to your monthly bill. While this is good in the sense that you only get what you pay for, other programs may offer better value for money with their all-inclusive offerings.

All-in-all, RealPage almost certainly has a solution that is well-tailored to your business if you manage multifamily apartments, retail spaces or industrial buildings. However, the full scope of the software is so large that they have broken it down into individual packages, rather than wrapping everything together. You will need to extensive research before signing up for one of RealPage’s solutions, primarily because there are so many options to choose from.

Marketing

  • Custom websites designed to increase online visibility, engage more prospects and convert leads into leases
  • Virtual touring allows prospects to view and explore properties online, with the option of video tours as well
  • LeaseLabs GoDirect Marketing generates and captures direct leads that are proven to convert at a rate 2-3X higher than indirect leads generated from internet listing services

Leasing

  • Go from invite to a signed lease in a matter of minutes.
  • Build custom-branded online applications specific to your business needs, leveraging certified templates and documents
  • Combine best-in-class screening data with flexible configurations to fill vacancies quickly with qualified renters
  • Create and send online lease renewals for renters to conveniently view and accept lease extensions
  • Upload, share, and manage leasing documents from the cloud

Tenant Features

  • Give residents convenient payment options and enable easier, faster rent collection
  • One-bill convenience for your residents. One powerful platform for your business. Uncover hidden revenue, boost collection rates, and increase NOI with the industry’s most advanced utility billing services platform
  • Engage residents and staff with a powerful communication and messaging hub

Financial

  • Take control of budgeting and reforecasting with the one property management budgeting software solution designed to make your work life easier
  • Drive process efficiency, reduce risk and maximize savings with a best-in-class vendor payments solution
  • 360-degree back-office accounting solution driving unparalleled efficiency and scalability, streamlining everyday workflows and offering full visibility into the details of your data at the site level

RealPage Pricing

Unfortunately RealPage doesn’t currently list all their pricing options online. In order to access their full pricing scheme, you will need to contact their sales team.

Final Thoughts

In the end, it should be pretty clear that there are property management software options that are well suited real estate business of all shapes and size. With that being said, if you’re still undecided, these final recommendations may help.

Medium Size Businesses

Commercial Real Estate

Additional Tip

While the options listed here are ultimately designed for full-scale property management companies, you might be in need of something lighter if you focus primarily on vacation properties.

If this applies to you, be sure to check out this detailed guide on how to choose the right vacation rental software for your needs.

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