A Comparison: Managing with and without a Property Manager Software
Let's compare and contrast the response of a savvy landlord in some common scenarios with and without the use of Property Manager Software (PMS). This will help build the foundation of what is really the role of a PMS and what guidelines to keep in mind when selecting a PMS.
Tenant asks for a "payment receipt" or "balance due"
Landlord or their eviction attorney needs payment history to file eviction
A non-urgent maintenance issue needs to be resolved
Housekeeping: Who has unpaid balance?
Housekeeping: Whose lease is ending?
Real estiate tax advisor needs revenue for Q1 & Q2 to file an appeal
Landlord wants to reconfirm the revenue reported by accountant on annual tax form
Late fee is based on outstanding balance and all tenants paid after due date
Guidelines to keep in mind when selecting a Property Manager Software
Should be budget friendly and reasonable for you
- Property Manager Software should not cost you an arm and a leg
- Everyone's time is worth some amount of money: If each working hour of your day is worth lets say $100, then paying $100 monthly for a PMS is not bad if the PMS is saving you an hour every month by doing your tasks. However, if every hour of your working day is worth $25, then paying $100 is not worth for having a PMS do tasks that take you 3 hours to do. Basic economics and maths but you get the idea.
Should have a tenant portal that acts as your 24/7 proxy
- Don't do busy work. Your talent and skills are better used elsewhere
- Let tenants submit maintenance requests, view payment history themselves
Should have powerful and easy to use invoicing support
- Late fee is a powerful mechanism to encourage tenants to pay on time. Ability to setup different forms of late fee in PMS is valuable.
- Should be available to the tenant without your intervention
Should not take commission/percentage away from your rental payments and instead deliver 100% of the payment in your account
- In today's world, getting payment electronically without commission is very easy. One free option is Zelle. Just open your account in a bank that offers Zelle.
- A tenant handing you cash on your visit to the rental property should be easy to post like other electric payment
Look for the bargain that offers you the best bang for the buck!
- Don't pay a HUGE price for a solution that offers a ton of features that are irrelevant for you
- Look for special / discounted offers to get a good deal
Hitting the bull's eye using these guidelines
There are a LOT of PMS out there but after a couple of days of research, a combo of using My e-Property Manager with Zelle provided the best combination for me!
It is 100% free for first 6 months
With the special offer, it is only $9/month after the 6 months
It has a tenant portal for tenants to view invoices and submit maintenance requests
Invoicing supports multiple types of late fees
Revenue reporting across properties or selective units or selective tenants can help, especially in tax season
Parking enforcement and association collaboration is a plus
Some demo logins available from My e-Property Manager
Landlord / Property Manager
This demo account is for a fictional investor Scott who owns multiple single family and multi family properties. One of his property is in an apartment complex that has an owner's association called "Harvey Point Owner's Association" and the members are trying to reach a consensus using polls about the most important concern to address in their complex and who to hire for the job.
Click the access card below to see Scott's properties, tenants, their rent ledgers and invoices, how he collaborates with fellow association members and much more!
Tenant
This demo account is for Scott's tenant "James Park" who lives in 10 Harvey Ave 1A
Click the access card below to view Jame's invoice, payment history or lease! Here James can also update his current vehicles to ensure they don't get towed, submit a maintenance request or view the status of a maintenance request submitted in the past!
Owner's Association
This demo account is for "Harvey Point Owner's Association" created by Scott and his fellow association members to setup some basic rules
Click the access card below to see how they have setup their association.
Parking Enforcer / Towing Company
This fictional user Jerry was added under "Harvey Point Owner's Association" account and given access to only look up license plates. This user account is used by Acme towing Co. to remove unauthorized vehicles from "Harvey Point Owner's Association" parking lot.
"James-1" & "James-2" are 2 license plates that belong to one of Scott's tenants. Click the access card below to lookup these license plates to ensure the system considers them legit and these vehicles won't be towed tonight!