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What's the best software for Property Management?

I've evaluated Tenant Pro v7 and I'm very impressed. Looks to be very good for residential investment property, and might even be appropriate for commercial, yet I wasn't evaluating with that in mind.

Before I spring for a live copy -- $395 for base level, supporting up to 25 tenants, plus the mandatory $200 for an annual contract, and possibly add-ons of Video Training ($300) and accounting Integration($150), totaling $1045 -- I thought I'd ask what others are using.

I need something that will provide accounting reports for multiple owners of a single property (as in Partnerships or TIC's) and I'm fairly certain that Tenant Pro 7 will provide those capabilities, while integrating nicely with Quickbooks.

Any thoughts?

Posted by Andrew Lietzow-MBA, GRI on 07/07/2007 08:39 PM

Comments (15)

software, rental property, reia, real estate investment, education

This post has been included in Iowa Information

15 Comments on What's the best software for Property Management?

JUL

2007

Andrew - we have looked at several different programs for managing rental properties and the one that we have come up with that has the most to offer for the most reasonable price is the Quicken Rental Property Manager v2.0. Typically it runs around $100 and is fully integrated with QuickBooks and seamlessly works with online banking systems. You can check it our here if you're interested. Best of luck!

JUL

2007

Hi Carol - Do you know if it supports printing statements for partnership interests? I'll check out this link. The price is very attractive but I do want to make sure my investment, or others who might choose the package to whom I have made a recommendation, don't quickly outgrow it's features.

Incidentally, there is a review here but that does appear to be for an older version. Latest shipping version is 2.5?

Anyone have experience with Buildium?

I should mention that I am an old Skyline Reseller and thus am a little spoiled on features. It's spendy, but the problem with some systems is that you so quickly hit a brick wall and then you have to think about doing a transfer of all of your data AND relearning a new system.

What I'm looking for, Carol and others, is a package that is affordable but scales to the high end, if necessary.

Tenant Pro looks like it will do that, but I am seeking comments from others. I do thank you for your referral, Carol, yet it does look like one could quickly outgrow it's capabilities. e.g. does it support MICR-encoded check printing? This to me is a basic need for a Property Management system.

JUL

2007

Andrew, I'm just now looking for a package that is both scaleable, affordable and very professional but priced well below the mega systems like MRI's and Yardi's. Check out these three product reviews I've found online - they may be of help (2 are similar but not the same as they first appear). Good luck - Dan

http://www.cpasn.com/article/article.jsp?id=1467

http://www.cpamag.com/backissues/Reviews/JuneJuly06_PropMan.pdf

different review with different software, some overlap

http://www.cpata.net/article/article.jsp?id=1043

yet another review, similar but not identical to no. 1 above

Andrew,

No - I don't know if it supports printing statements for partnership interests. I think I misunderstood your post and was thinking that you needed something for more of a personal endeavor. Hope you find something that's worthwhile for you! Good luck!

JUL

2007

Hello Andrew,

I would suggest Rent Manager. I use to work there in the technical support. Rent Manager has an owner's module that allows you to set up different owners with % ownerships of the property. If you have an apartment building and 4 owners. Each owner then will have 25% ownership. You will then be able to do reports based on the property or owner statements based on their ownership. The type of reports will vary depending on your owners requirements, the type of reports that are available are reports such as Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets, General Ledger, Rent roll, Owners Statment, Bank balance, just to name a few.

If you are a management company, this will also allow for you to do your management fees MUCH quicker. You set up your management fees once ( flat, percentage, etc) and it will calculate your fees based upon the rents that were collected.

It is double entry accounting system, no need for quickbooks or peachtree. You can do check printing (micr checks), statements, invoicing, service issues, e-payments for tenant rents. The list just goes on and on.

I can set up with a demo / free download if you would like.

*note* I no longer work for the company, but I am a re-seller of the software. For a #25 units, it will be about $395, depending on your need, there are packages available.

JUL

2007

Hi Angela,

Thank you for this post about Rent Manager. Yes, I'd love to take a look. I'd like to be able to compare it head to head against "Tenant Pro", which does seem to be a robust system.

I will try to get to their site soon, to download a demo, but if you know a better way, I'm all ears! :^)

TIA, Andrew L.

I would go to http://www.rentmanager.com/xidown/setup.exe

That will prompt you to save or run the file. Save the setup.exe on your desktop. Once it is done downloading, double click on the setup.exe This will start the setup wizard. Just take all the defaults. If it prompts you for a customer ID, just hit next. The user name & password will be given to you when you start the program. Once you get it installed, you can hit "F1" and it will bring up the help. If you would you like me to walk you through any of the setup / questions, feel free to give me a call at 513-659-3169 and I can give you an overview of how it could work.

Besides mailing you a demo CD, this will be the quickest way to get it. It should only take 5 minutes to download and install.

Hope it helps!

-Angela

JUL

2007

Andrew,

Earlier this month I also began looking for a property management software.

ResidentSource had the software and website designing skills. I did the online demo, and it seemed more sophisticated than many of the others I stumbled upon.

You should try it. Heres a link to the site!

Hope this helps,

Eleana T

MAR

2008

Give DIY Real Estate Solutions a try -- they offer a 30-day free trial, it's a web-based property management software system and it's packed with features like credit screening, electronic rent payments, marketing and resident portals, etc.

Here's the website: http://www.diyresolutions.com

MAR

2008

Thanks Angela, Eleana, and Alison,

I'll have to check out Rent Manager, diyresolutions and ResidentSource but if you see this message, maybe you could post the retail prices -- for me and for any others who read this post.

I'll be clicking these URL's shortly!

Andrew Lietzow

JUN

2008

Great Post! I'm in the market for a new software program as well however some of the features and pricing makes me feel like I'm buying a new car. I guess overall there are no short cuts to this. We will just have to do our homework. I'm looking for a software that acknowledges me a the property manager so I don't have to manipulate the system to make sense out of things.

AUG

2008

Hello members of this group I received an email advertising iRealtyManager.com, which
is a web-based property management software program. I am currently using it to
manage my properties which range from 200 to 225 units (as well as properties I manage
for others) and have had great results. I pay only $75 a month to handle my day-to-day
operational needs which I am thrilled about.

The software allows you to do the following:
· Manage your properties from any PC with internet access
· Give others customized access to your property data at no additional cost
· Quickly record and track income, expense, tenant and lease data
· Create reports in a simple and concise format
· Create pre-populated notices with a click of a button
· Organize maintenance tasks with a convenient calendar feature
· Protect yourself from data loss with their secure server environment
· Simple and easy to use
· Free unlimited customer support

There is a free 15-day trial that you can sign up for and try the software for yourself. If
you manage property, you have to look at this company. Here is the direct link for you to
see for yourself. http://www.irealtymanager.com/ I hope you find that it helps you as
much as it has helped me!

OCT

2008

Pro Gold is a crock of #$%^. Try calling support and actaully getting something. Their sales team says quote one price and then my credit card is charge multple time for un-itemzied things. Do not purchase Pro Gold. Big mistake on our part.

Marilyn Pearson-Adams
CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty

MAR

Anyone here used the training for Tenant Pro? Wondered if the $$$ is worth it for the CDs.

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