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Best Property Management Software 2019
Best Property Management Software 2019
Best Property Management Software 2019
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Avail has a great starting price and their software o"ers solutions that work well for
both new investors with a single property or experienced investors with many units.
You can list properties for rent, screen tenants, create custom leases, and accept
payments online. With plans starting at $0 for your first unit, getting started with Avail
is easy.
Visit Avail
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Property
Best For
Management
Software Provider
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The criteria we used to evaluate the best property management software providers
include:
Based on all of the above criteria, we recommend Avail as our top property
management software. It has a full set of features and accessibility to various sizes of
landlords or property management firms — particularly the smaller ones. The entry-level
package starts at $0 per month for a single property yet it’s full-featured property
management software that can scale as large as your business demands.
Avail (formerly Rentalutions) can be used to manage one property or an entire portfolio,
so it’s the most diverse choice on our list, and its pricing makes them stand out. It’s
right for both property management companies and landlords who manage their
properties. It’s also ideal if you need entry-level pricing but want to scale your business
easily and still use the same property management software provider.
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Avail Pricing
Avail o"ers a free 30-day trial and four tiers of pricing starting at $0 per month for its
Basic plan, which includes one unit. Its most expensive plan is known as the
Professional plan and is $49.99 per month for 15 units. Avail is one of the most
a"ordable companies on our list and is $15 per month less than Property Management
Cloud.
Avail Features
Avail o"ers robust tenant application and screening tools and a landlord education
resource center. It o"ers custom lease clauses that can be added to your basic lease
templates, which is helpful if want to add things like a pet addendum. It also o"ers
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digital document signing and online rent collection so you and your tenant can stay
organized and paperless and sign documents on the go.
Marketing tools
Tenant screening
Accounting tools
Leasing tools
Marketing Tools
Avail uses a simple form to write listings and add photos. Certain information is pulled
automatically based on the property address, such as Google Maps location. It
syndicates listings automatically across Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, and Apartments.com
among others. Lead tracking is a standout feature with Avail. Inquiries from prospects
go directly to its internal email tool that functions much like a customer relationship
management (CRM) tool.
Tenant Screening
Avail provides comprehensive tenant screening tools and uses credit checks provided
by TransUnion. Criminal and eviction tenant background checks are also provided.
Online applications ask for rental history, employment history, and additional standard
questions. Applications are typically completed in less than five minutes, and
applicants can be requested to upload verifying documents like W2s, pay stubs, and
bank statements.
Accounting Tools
Avail has basic accounting tools including rent, security deposit, and fees like move-in,
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move-out, and late fees. Payment information can be exported to a spreadsheet. Repair
requests have expenses tracked, but no actual accounts payable is provided. Military-
grade encryption is used for all confidential information.
Leasing Tools
Lawyer-reviewed lease templates are provided with important protective clauses for
things like lead-based paint and mold. Avail follows the requirements set by the
Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000 (ESIGN), ensuring
signatures are valid, traceable, and binding.
Executed leases are stored online for easy retrieval and tenants can pay rent securely
on the online portal or set up recurring payments. Late payment reminders are
automatic and late fees can be assessed automatically. Tenants can create
maintenance tickets and Include photos with the description of the maintenance issue.
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Property Manager Cloud can handle any type of investment property including single-
family homes, multifamily buildings, mobile home parks, hotels, and more. Property
Manager Cloud is right for landlords and property managers who manage a variety of
residential and commercial properties and want to use one software for all of them. It’s
also right for specialty properties like mobile home parks.
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Professional $25 per month for 11-50 units All tiers include full features:
tenant portal, paperless,
Premier $35 per month for 51-100 maintenance requests,
units advertising, income tracker,
property analyzer & more
Elite $55 per month for 101-200
units
Marketing Tools
Property Manager Cloud only requires you to fill in property information once to set up
listings. Then, it syndicates listings across Craigslist, Google, Facebook, Rent.com and
other websites. Additionally, it can provide information to newspapers and has tools for
creating property flyers, newsletters, and handling bulk email. There is no sophisticated
lead tracking with Property Manager Cloud. Inquiries are sent to the email you set up in
the platform. If a prospect then moves forward with an application, additional
information is then available.
Tenant Screening
Property Manager Cloud has customizable applications that can either be email to a
prospect or installed on your website. Credit information comes in the form of a FICO
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score, which is more insightful than a raw credit file. The software provides criminal, sex
o"ender and terrorist checks. Social Security numbers and national eviction checks are
also provided. Income and employment verification are not provided although other
kinds of screenings can be provided for an additional cost.
Accounting Tools
Property Manager Cloud has full general accounting built in for both income and
expenses. Lease and payment history are updated automatically as payments are
entered. Tax documentation is prepared automatically. The software keeps an accurate
maintenance history to avoid duplicate payment. Property Manager Cloud can provide
key financial reports and graphs including amortization tables, net operating income,
and cash-on-cash return. User data is encrypted and secured with the same
technology used by banks.
Leasing Tools
Leases are handled online; currently, however, it isn’t paperless. Be prepared to handle
scanned documents coming from tenants. Landlords can set up automatic payments
from residents on custom timelines.
Property Manager Cloud can accept credit cards and debit cards, checking accounts or
savings accounts, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), disability payments, and other
options for online payment. Late fees are added automatically after the due date has
passed. Residents can initiate maintenance requests and follow-ups online. Pictures
and details can be added for each work order.
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properties including commercial and residential real estate. It has a variety of features
and reasonable pricing that compares to the other property management software on
our list. However, It doesn’t o"er paperless leases so, if you want a completely
paperless system with online signing capabilities, it might not be right for you. It also
doesn’t o"er lead tracking, so you can’t see from where your leads are coming.
TurboTenant is an excellent option for landlords looking for a truly free property
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management solution and an a la carte menu for extras when you need them. It’s a
good choice for owners with one or hundreds of units. Like TenantCloud, TurboTenant
allows a landlord to market listings, screen applicants, and manage leases in one place
for free.
TurboTenant Pricing
TurboTenant o"ers landlords a property management solution for free. Landlords can
list as many properties as they need at no cost. Once you sign up as a landlord, you can
begin marketing your properties for lease and accepting applications. The applicant
pays between $35 to $45 for screening that includes a criminal background check and
varies based on report selection.
Unlike Avail’s all-inclusive unit fees, TurboTenant provides an a la carte menu for
landlords looking for additional property management tools.
TurboTenant Features
TurboTenant provides an all-in-one place for landlords to market rental properties, take
online applications, screen prospective tenants, and organize documents. Its online
marketing sends your listing to websites like Apartments.com and Rent.com. Its
software makes it easy to list on Craigslist and create professional flyers. You can track
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all leads, send and receive applications, and store lease documents and more on any
device.
Marketing tools
Application tools
Tenant screening
Leasing tools
Marketing Tools
TurboTenant collects all the details about your rental listing including photos,
description, amenities, and location and advertises your property on more than a dozen
rental listing websites. It provides a professional and personalized ad for Craigslist
postings and Facebook sharing. For renters on the go, TurboTenant landlords can text
potential tenants their listing page.
Application Tools
TurboTenant o"ers landlords and tenants and easy-to-use online application. Their
applications have extensive tenant questions and allow landlords to customize
questions as well. TurboTenant applications can be filled out on any device and tenants
can download important documents.
Tenant Screening
TurboTenant allows landlords to choose between two tenant screening options. Both
o"er an extensive screening report that includes a soft credit pull through TransUnion
and a criminal check. Its higher-priced option includes a past eviction report.
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Leasing Tools
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TenantCloud Pricing
TenantCloud is known for its cloud-based free property management software, but it
also has paid options for landlords and property managers. Its basic service is free for
up to 75 units. It also o"ers tiers of service that provide more features for $9 to $35 per
month. It o"ers two free months if you pay for the service annually instead of monthly.
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TenantCloud Features
TenantCloud o"ers its features in tiers that include things like free property
management software and things like cloud storage, templates, e-signatures, and
online payments. Its features are cheaper than our other providers, but it’s also more
limited. However, you can add things like tenant screening, rental reports with market
trend data, and legal services. Tenants can also sign up for renter’s insurance on the
site.
Marketing Features
TenantCloud o"ers a free property website login for each landlord and property
manager. You can promote your property with a description, photos, pricing and
availability, which gives your property listing a professional, polished look. However,
unlike the other property management software providers, TenantCloud doesn’t
syndicate your listing to other sites, and it doesn’t use search engine optimization (SEO)
marketing.
Tenant Screening
TenantCloud o"ers tenant screening services as a la carte items that you can add to
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your plan. Its tenant screening services start at $18.95 per applicant that landlords can
pay or pass along to rental applicants. Its platinum tenant screening report is $34.95
per applicant and includes employment and residence verification.
Accounting Tools
Every TenantCloud plan includes basic accounting services so that you can store, sort,
organize and summarize your financial data. It doesn’t get into the accounting specifics
until you sign up for a plan, and it doesn’t o"er any additional accounting services that
can be purchased separately.
Leasing Tools
TenantCloud o"ers convenient leasing tools similar to the other providers including
online rent collection, online maintenance requests, and online leases and e-
signatures. It also o"ers a template builder and an online rental application where
tenants can apply to lease your unit directly on the platform.
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Buildium is one of the most prominent names in property management software and is
generally used for managing 50 or more units. Buildium emphasizes residential
properties to include student housing and a"ordable housing communities. This
software is much higher-end than either Avail or Property Manager Cloud and
syndicates property listings across at least nine partner sites.
Buildium Pricing
Pricing for Buildium starts at $47/month, but a la carte fees make it a bit more
appropriate for those managing 50 units or more. If you manage more than 100 units,
then you can customize your plan, and the pricing reflects that customization. Buildium
is geared toward managing multiple units, so its pricing is higher than Avail.
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Pro $156 per month for 1-20 units All features included
price escalates above 50 units from Core plan and
additional features like
lease signing are
included
Buildium Features
Features of Buildium include owner and resident portals that provide a snapshot of key
information and built-in property inspection tools. Its online security is more robust
than most of its competitors, and it o"ers renter’s insurance on its platform. Buildium
has earned Stevie Awards in customer service and prides itself on its first-call
resolution.
Marketing Tools
Listings are created so that they can be placed on managers’ websites. Buildium posts
listings to Craigslist and syndicates rental listings across the entire Zillow network.
Buildium doesn’t have a standalone feature for tracking incoming leads. Inquiries are
sent to email, but it is capable of assigning those inquiries to leasing agents. If a
prospect files an application, additional information is captured.
Tenant Screening
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Accounting Tools
Buildium has a built-in general ledger for accounting. All charges, payments, deposits,
and refunds are tracked. Transaction notes are included for added clarity. Common
charges like trash removal can be prorated among tenants. Accounts payable shows
what you owe vendors and who’s been paid. Work orders can be converted into bills and
then paid online. Automatic payments for recurring items to vendors can also be set up.
Leasing Tools
Buildium utilizes the Adobe Document Cloud to collect e-signatures for lease
documents, and tenants can sign from the device of their choice. There are online
templates for lease documents and addenda. Templates use auto-fill fields, so items like
tenant names, rent amounts and dates populate automatically. Tenants can authorize
their bank accounts or credit cards for rent payment and even set up an automatic
payment schedule and submit maintenance requests.
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AppFolio Pricing
AppFolio pricing is generally set up as follows:
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AppFolio doesn’t o"er tiered pricing but instead has a per-price unit for each type of
property that it manages. All of its plans include all of the features it o"ers, so choosing
a plan is dependent on the type of properties you manage and not the features you
need. It has a minimum onboarding fee of $400, and it charges 80 cents to $1.50 per
unit per month with a $250 monthly minimum.
Specifically, community associations are 80 cents per unit, per month, student housing
is $1.25 per unit, per month, residential housing is $1.25 per unit, per month and
commercial properties is $1.50 per unit, per month.
AppFolio Features
AppFolio combines rent collection tools, robust accounting, marketing tools, and
maintenance request systems into one package. It emphasizes mobility, and all of its
features can be used from any device on-the-go. It o"ers specific features for the
di"erent types of properties it manages like student housing as well as residential and
commercial properties. Some of its features include online rent payments, ratio utility
billing, 1099s, vacancy postings, and customizable online leases.
Marketing Tools
AppFolio has marketing tools that let you market your listing to tenants across di"erent
online platforms using one-click syndication, which lets property managers post one
listing to multiple sites like Zillow and Craigslist easily. It also builds websites for your
portfolio of properties, and you can customize unit specific sites for your vacancies,
which gives your listings a professional edge.
Tenant Screening
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Like the other property management software on our list, AppFolio o"ers tenant
screening services. It o"ers built-in tenant screening software with a one-click service
for property managers. You can customize your screening criteria with certain credit
score and income requirements too. It also o"ers credit, eviction, and criminal
background checks.
Accounting Tools
AppFolio o"ers some of the best accounting tools among our top property
management software sites. It has flexible real-time reporting that is customized
around your property management needs. You can enter your bills that need to be paid
and set up one-time and recurring bill payments. It also o"ers budget tracking and
income and expense tools for each property as well as quick bank reconciliations.
Leasing Tools
AppFolio o"ers a myriad of leasing tools that are in line with what Buildium o"ers like
online templates, tenant maintenance requests, and online signature capability. In
addition, it o"ers scheduled rental increase updates, task management for keeping
track of the leasing process on each property, and tenants can purchase renter’s
insurance on the site.
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based on the average of eight ratings on our AppFolio reviews page. Customers like
that they can communicate with their tenants through the software.
Yardi is our best property management for property managers that manage commercial
properties including o!ce complexes, senior living complexes, and apartment
communities. It’s commonly used by large property management companies and is
well-known in the real estate community. Yardi is right for property management
companies that manage portfolios of commercial properties and large apartment
complexes with 1,000 or more units.
Yardi Pricing
Pricing for Yardi has a minimum monthly charge of $250, but you must contact them
directly to get a full quote. Your customized quote will be based on the type of
properties you manage, the number of units and the features that you need. Its
minimum monthly charge is comparable to AppFolio’s minimum monthly price.
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Yardi Features
Yardi has a wide variety of features available that you can choose from based on the
type and quantity of properties that you manage. It doesn’t have a tier system and,
instead, o"ers the features you need to be customized for your properties. Some of its
notable features are search engine marketing, online payment processing and renter’s
insurance o"ered to tenants on its platform.
Marketing Tools
Yardi has an entire platform devoted to marketing vacant units. Its marketing platform
includes tools to syndicate your properties across multiple sites. It also o"ers custom
websites that you can use to market your properties. These custom websites are similar
to the sites that AppFolio o"ers. Yardi also o"ers social media and classified postings
and tips to get more exposure for your units, and it uses the latest SEO techniques.
Tenant Screening
Yardi has an online screening system that features comprehensive reports on the
tenants and even makes a recommendation based on the data. It complies with all local
and federal requirements when screening tenants and let the property managers
choose what criteria to screen for such as credit check, employment verification, and
criminal history. One of their options is Experian Rent Bureau which shows a previous
tenant’s payment history.
Accounting Tools
Yardi o"ers accounting tools specifically set up for large property management
companies. It includes things like revenue management, budgeting, forecasting, and
construction management tools. The construction management tool helps manage
construction timelines and expenses on a single unit or an entire complex. It o"ers the
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option of having a revenue manager help you with your accounting needs.
Leasing Tools
Yardi has leasing tools convenient to both the property manager and the tenant. Its
leasing platform is similar to our other top providers and o"ers online lease documents
and signing, online rental payments and maintenance requests. It also provides
prospective tenants with real-time unit availability and pricing.
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Rentec Direct is a property management software that helps landlords manage more
than 400,000 units. It has di"erent types of software for landlords managing their
properties and property managers managing its clients’ properties, which is helpful
because they generally need di"erent things. Rentec Direct is right for both landlords
and property managers who manage a small-to-midsize portfolio of 10 to 2,500 units.
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accounting services. The main di"erence between its landlord and property
management package is that the property management package also includes an
owner portal, owner automated clearing house (ACH) payments, trust account
reporting and community association manager (CAM) automatic charges.
Marketing Tools
Rentec Direct o"ers customizable websites for each of your properties, similar to the
sites o"ered by TenantCloud and Yardi. It also o"ers a lead tracking tool that helps
match prospective tenants to your vacant properties based on the tenant’s
preferences and price range. It also emails tenants when one of your properties that fits
their preferences becomes available. Rentec Direct syndicates your vacancies to the
major real estate sites like Zillow and its a!liates helping you find new tenants fast.
Tenant Screening
Rentec Direct has its tenant screening software built into its platform. This means it’s
accessible for landlords and property managers. With the click of a button, you can pull
tenant’s credit reports, criminal background reports, and Social Security number
verification. You can also check out their eviction history and employment verification.
Accounting Tools
To help with your property management software accounting needs, Rentec Direct has
accounting tools like full general ledger accounting for properties, tenants and owners
as well as a robust reporting system. It also has a built-in 1099-MISC e-filing system.
Leasing Tools
Rentec Direct has a comprehensive leasing and management system that lets tenants
make maintenance requests on the portals, and landlords and property managers can
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collect rent payments. It also has online applications and can accept online application
payments. You can communicate with your tenant through email and text messages on
the portal.
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Propertyware Pricing
Propertyware o"ers three di"erent tiers of pricing, but it also has monthly minimums
for each tier. Its entry-level pricing is $1/unit per month with a $250 per month
minimum plus an implementation fee of twice the monthly subscription price. However,
it does recommend reaching out to the company for specific pricing details, and if you
want to customize your plan.
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Propertyware Features
Propertyware o"ers features in line with many of the property management software
like online rental payments, online maintenance requests, tenant screening and
marketing tools. It also o"ers some unique features including scheduling property
inspections, a portal for vendors that are frequently used and maintenance projects
scheduling and timelines.
Marketing Tools
Propertyware o"ers marketing tools similar to Avail like listing syndication across all
major real estate sites and branded websites for your properties. It also o"ers some
additional tools including a leasing management system where every lead is answered.
It also tracks where your leads come from and schedules follow-up calls and emails to
keep you organized and save time.
Tenant Screening
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Accounting Tools
Propertyware o"ers a flexible accounting solution for landlords and property managers.
It has accounts receivable and accounts payable systems as well as bank
reconciliations. Its robust accounting tool keeps track of payments for you, and you can
create a custom budget. It also o"ers QuickBooks integration, which can save you time,
and you can create custom accounting reports on the platform too.
Leasing Tools
Propertyware has a global contact center infrastructure, so you never miss a call from a
prospective tenant. There are trained leasing specialists who know the details about
your property, your vacancies, amenities, and pricing so that they can answer all of the
prospective tenants’ questions. It also schedules on-site visits and answers questions
that come from your website.
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Bottom Line
We looked at dozens of property management software providers and chose our top
nine based on their pricing structure, features and property management software
reviews. Ultimately, we chose Avail as our top provider based on its reasonable pricing,
multiple features, and ease of use.
If you need property management software, contact Avail. It o"ers a free 30-day trial
and is ideal for both landlords and property management companies that manage one
or 100 or more units. It can help you manage your properties, screen tenants, sign lease
documents and so much more. Its basic plans start at $0 per month with $6 per
additional unit.
Visit Avail
Michelle Ivy
Michelle is a licensed real estate broker owner and sta" writer at Fit
Small Business, specializing in real estate investments. She is also
COO of a global investment firm that specializes in infrastructure
financing. Prior to joining the Fit Small Business editorial team,
Michelle owned a Registered Investment Advisory firm and
participated in real estate flip projects as a principal investor. When
Michelle isn’t writing or advising she enjoys traveling, pilates, and
spending time on the water in Charleston, S.C.
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