7 Rental Property Management Apps For On-The-Go Managers

Think of how overwhelming managing your property units can be. Screening potential residents, conducting inspections, tracking rent payments, and property maintenance – this is not even half of it!

Then, think of getting a partner who can perform these tasks automatically. How smooth would things be for you? This is what a good property management app should do. It should automate various tasks and streamline your rental management operations.

Here’s the thing, though: there are so many good property management apps in the market today that you’ll likely find it challenging to choose the best one. We’ve singled out the top 7 rental property management apps to help you pick the perfect fit for your business. 

Benefits Of Property Management Apps

Apps generally make work easier. It’s the reason why they’re created. But property maintenance apps go a step further. In addition to simplifying your business operations, they help you connect with all your residents and maximize the value of your property in various ways. Some benefits include the following:

Saves Time 

Property maintenance apps automate repetitive tasks, like rent collection. In doing so, they reduce your manual workload and help you save time. 

For example, the right software lets you schedule automatic payment reminders instead of moving door-to-door, collecting rent, or reminding residents to pay. It also allows residents to make their payments online and on time. This frees you to focus on other high-value tasks to grow your business.

Improves Customer Relations And Satisfaction 

The way to your customer’s heart is through proper communication. The best property management apps keep the lines of communication between you and your residents open 24/7. They have contact management features, where you can store residents’ details for accurate, effective, and efficient communication.

These features allow you to reach out to your residents anytime. You can even include notes like ‘owns a white puppy’ or specific birthday info to identify each resident personally. It helps you connect with them by personalizing your messages instead of forwarding generic group texts. 

Residents can also reach you using the same features to share any concerns or problems as they arise. Direct communication like this improves customer relations, which, in turn, increases customer satisfaction.

Efficient Property Maintenance 

When you have a property maintenance app, conducting regular maintenance tasks on your property is more manageable. You can set up reminders to ensure maintenance is completed on time. Doing this keeps residents safe and maintains the property’s value. 

The app can also help you respond to and track emergency maintenance issues, like a burst pipe. Timely response to such matters reduces overhead costs because most home damages worsen and become more costly to repair the longer they go unattended.

Eliminates Paperwork

Digitization eliminates manual paperwork. Specifically, property management software provides document management features to help you keep and access all necessary information in one system.

You can store it all safely online, from residents’ applications, personal records, and screening documents to signed lease agreements and financial reporting. All these files in one place allow you to manage your property remotely from anywhere.

These are just a few benefits and functions of property management apps, but there’s so much more you can do, including:

• Marketing and advertising
• Better data tracking and analysis
• Tax e-filing, and so on.

Our 7 Best Property Management Apps To Improve Your Bottom Line 

As you explore our list, remember that: The best property management app for your business does not have to do everything we’ve mentioned above. Instead, it should do everything you require it to do for your specific business to thrive. 

Say you’re struggling to track rent payments from residents in multiple properties but have other tasks in order. The best app for you might be one dedicated to monitoring payments only rather than one that tracks payments and performs other duties, like filling vacancies, etc. 

Going for an app with features you don’t need and won’t use will increase your business costs without adding value. With this in mind, we’ve divided our list into two:

• The best apps for performing what most property managers consider tedious tasks.
• The best all-in-one software solutions for property management.

Best For Specific Tasks

RentCheck – Best For Conducting Inspections

Carrying out rental property unit inspections is mandatory yet time-consuming and costly. As a property manager, you’ve probably had to send your team or travel to different places to conduct unit inspections. RentCheck eliminates the need to do this. 

It automates the unit inspection process by allowing residents to perform the inspections themselves. As a result, you save time and money, i.e., travel costs. 

The best part? It works on a set-up-and-forget model. You can set your routine inspections as needed, and the residents will get polite reminders to perform them on time. This helps you to comply with the government’s regulations on conducting routine inspections of buildings. You can also remotely perform any move-in or move-out inspections by starting a new assessment whenever necessary.

You might be thinking, can a resident perform a rental inspection to the required standards? Don’t worry!

RentCheck provides step-by-step instructions for residents to conduct organized, high-quality inspections using their smartphones. The app also allows you to customize the assessment to your specific needs.

The entire process will occur as if you or a professional building inspector were performing the inspection, except through the resident. Try booking a free demo to see what we’re talking about first-hand.

Plus, the app automatically generates standardized time-stamped reports for every inspection. All these reports and data are then stored in one location for future use, as needed. 

Moreover, RentCheck easily integrates with various all-in-one third-party apps to simplify your other business processes. It also imports your existing units from other applications for free. It doesn’t matter how many units you manage. It could be a single unit or multiple ones in different states; this software has you covered.

ShowingHero – Best For Filling Units

Another necessary pain for most property managers is setting up showings to boost resident applications and fill vacancies fast with the best residents. ShowingHero helps relieve some of this pain by automating the most crucial aspect of the showing process – communication. 

Specifically, this software helps you to:

• Organize your showing-related communications, like calls, emails, and messages, into one place so it’s easy to identify potential leads and follow up on them.
• Screen and nurture leads. You are not in business if you do not have residents, but you don’t want people who’ll be a chore to deal with. Showing Hero allows you to sort the wheat from the chaff, so you’re only left with prospects you’re best suited to work with.
• Set up and track appointments with your future residents, including self-showing appointments where pre-qualified leads can securely show themselves around a property. 

If you’re having difficulties setting up and carrying out showings and want to streamline this process, consider ShowingHero. The app is dedicated to helping with showings and performs no other task. You can be sure that the business needs you’re looking to meet will be taken care of, and your struggles will end. 

RentPal – Best For Tracking Rent Payments

Looking for an app to optimize your invoicing and accounting processes? Try RentPal. The app automates collecting and tracking payments from residents from the word go. Meaning clients are set up on an existing payment system from the moment they occupy a unit. This makes paying rent a smooth process for residents and accounting even smoother for your finance team.

With RentPal, you can:

• Create and send rent invoices with ease.
• Offer an app-based payment portal for residents to make their payments hassle-free through various payment options, including PayPal.
• Reconcile digital payments and control your ledger.

In addition, this software has a marketing and leasing feature that lets you list your available units automatically for new prospects to find and fill. 

You could also use the resident and property management feature to stay in touch with your residents and automate your workflow. But where it shines most is in tracking payments and accounting.

Best All-In-One Property Management Solutions

By all-in-one solutions, we mean software that can perform almost all property management functions in one app. So, instead of helping you handle one specific task to perfection, you can do a little bit (or much) of everything in different capacities. 

Most of these apps are best for different types of property management businesses, as you’ll soon learn.

TurboTenant 

TurboTenant is the best free all-in-one alternative for property managers and independent landlords. You can perform nearly all management processes, including:

• Rental advertising and listing on multiple websites.
• Automatic pre-screening and screening of prospects.
• Smooth online application.
• Rental management and documentation, including managing state-specific leases.
• Convenient rent payment options and tracking, including autopay options and automatic late fee charges.
• Accounting and reporting, the list is endless.

However, what you might find most interesting about using this platform is the pricing model. It’s more or less free for you – the property manager, despite all the premium features because it places the costs of using the platform on the resident. What do we mean?

With TurboTenant, residents must pay an application and screening fee, a processing fee for online rent payment through bank transfer, and the reporting features. But this comes with additional perks for them. 

They can build their credit score if they make their rent payments on time and access renters insurance. These perks make TurboTenant one of the most popular property management apps, with over 500,000 users.

Appfolio 

If your business is well-established, you have an extensive rental portfolio, and you are looking for a property management application with advanced features, consider Appfolio. The platform supports all units and property types, including student housing, community associations, and residential and commercial buildings.

It offers features and functions like rent collection, managing maintenance requests, accounting software, marketing tools, online payments, customizable online leases, screening, etc. Each feature is property-specific. Meaning it’s made to meet the specific needs of the property you’re managing within the platform. 

With Appfolio, you also get advanced features, such as

• An AI-powered leasing assistant.
• Professional websites for showcasing your properties.
• Utility billing and management.
• Premium leads.
• Automated accounts payable plus resident debt collection.

On pricing, Appfolio is fair, considering all the features you get access to. You can also customize your plan to only pay for what you need. But you need to evaluate your business size when considering using this platform. It might not be the best fit for you if you’re managing a few properties.

RentManager

RentManager caters to property managers in charge of residential and commercial buildings of any size. It’s one of the most straightforward and user-friendly property management applications. Because of this, RentManager is the best option for beginner property managers trying to find their footing in the industry.

The platform offers a variety of features and functions for beginners and seasoned managers, including:

• Business operation features simplify communication, making your day-to-day operations easier.
• Marketing and leasing to help you fill vacancies faster and manage residents.
• Property maintenance to create, track, and resolve maintenance issues with qualified technicians.
• Accounting and reporting to monitor your finances on the go.

Further, you can customize the software to your needs and use it as you want. The only downside with RentManager is that you might have to pay for some essential features other platforms offer for free. This makes using the application a bit pricey. 

Buildium

Buildium works well for property managers of all portfolio mixes. Whether you manage single or multi-family homes, commercial or association properties, this software can automate your entire lead-to-lease cycle.

Some of the platform’s standout features include:

• A website builder to help you create a site to boost the visibility and credibility of your brand, showcase the services you provide, and advertise your listings.
• A dedicated resident center to interact with and handle all matters concerning residents. The center lets renters add their bank accounts and set up recurring payments to automate paying rent.
• Company financials allow you to monitor and report your business and property expenses to get accurate insight into your cash flow.
• Tax e-filing.

Because it supports a range of portfolios, Buildium can help you grow your business and venture into various types of property management. However, consider your budget carefully when deciding whether to use this platform. Its pricing falls on the higher side.

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