Owning rental property can be a great opportunity to generate income. But behind every thriving rental unit is a landlord or property manager who’s doing a constant balancing act, from screening tenants to handling home repairs and much more. It can be a lot to manage, especially if you have multiple properties.
One way to help ease the workload is by taking advantage of helpful apps for landlords and real estate investors that can save you time and make your life as a landlord a little bit easier.
According to the recent Technology In Property Management Statistics survey, 83% of property managers are planning to use more technology solutions in the next year. If you’re tired of chasing down rent payments, struggling to keep up with maintenance requests, and missing out on potential investment opportunities because you’re bogged down by too many responsibilities, using apps can help you manage these tasks efficiently. But there are a lot of apps out there, and choosing the best ones can be confusing. To help you out, we’ve curated a selection of helpful apps and software to simplify your life as a landlord.
Please note that with the exception of the Renters Warehouse app, Renters Warehouse is not endorsing or affiliated with any of the third-party apps mentioned in this article. This article is for informational purposes only. Please make sure you conduct due diligence before downloading any app, to make sure it’s right for you, and to verify that it’s from a reliable source.
Best 9 Apps for Landlords to Streamline Property Management
Now that we’ve taken a look at the benefits of apps for real estate investors, here’s a look at a few landlord and real estate investor apps that you’ll want to check out. Note that you’ll want to visit the app’s home page for the most up-to-date pricing information.
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QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed is perfect for independent landlords and real estate investors. This financial management app helps you easily track expenses, create and send invoices, accept payments, and prepare for the tax season. QuickBooks also allows you to categorize expenses, track mileage automatically through your phone’s GPS (Global Positioning System), and separate personal and business expenses, making it an all-in-one solution for managing your rental property finances. It’s especially helpful if you have multiple properties or run a small business.
Free or Paid? QuickBooks has a free, pay-per-transaction plan. Paid plans with advanced functionalities are available.
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Credit Karma (Formerly Mint)
Credit Karma is a money management app that helps you budget, track expenses, and set financial goals. While it’s not specifically designed for real estate, it provides a holistic view of your personal and business finances. You can link your bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts to the platform, allowing you to see all your financial information in one place. This makes it easy to manage your rental income alongside your personal finances.
Free or Paid? Credit Karma is available in both free and paid versions.
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Stessa
Stessa is a financial technology company that designs software for real estate investors. It offers robust accounting and bookkeeping tools to manage your rental property finances. Top features include income and expense tracking and detailed financial reporting, making it easier for you to monitor your properties’ financial performance. The app automatically tracks income and expenses, generates monthly and annual reports, and provides insights into your portfolio’s performance.
Free or Paid? Stessa has a free Essentials plan, but the paid plans offer more advanced functionalities and task automation.
Looking for ways to better budget for your rental? Read our Tips on How to Estimate and Budget for Your Rental Property for some ideas.
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SmartMove
SmartMove is a popular tenant screening tool that provides credit reports, criminal background checks, and eviction history. You can start screening immediately, with no waiting periods or setup fees. The app has a user-friendly interface, allowing landlords to obtain detailed tenant screening reports quickly. SmartMove has its ResidentScore, which can help to predict the likelihood of an eviction risk, helping you to make informed decisions.
Free or Paid? SmartMove is a pay-as-you-go service.
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Angi (formerly Angie’s List)
Angi is like your personal assistant when finding home maintenance services. Its extensive directory of contractors and service providers includes user reviews and ratings, helping you choose the best professionals based on real experiences from other users. Angi also provides project cost guides so you can clearly understand what to expect financially. Angi connects you with trusted service providers such as plumbers, electricians, or general contractors, helping to ensure the job gets done right the first time around.
Free or Paid? Angi is free to use.
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TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit is a handy tool for those quick fixes that pop up unexpectedly. This app finds you skilled “Taskers” for various services, including furniture assembly, minor repairs, and more. With the convenience of same-day service availability, TaskRabbit can get someone to your property quickly, minimizing downtime and keeping your tenants happy. It’s the go-to app for immediate, on-demand maintenance services.
Free or Paid? In certain cities, TaskRabbit charges a $25 registration fee. Clients are charged a Service Fee in addition to the Tasker Rate.
Are you a first-time landlord? Find out how you can succeed as an accidental landlord.
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CloudPano
CloudPano is a tool for creating interactive 360-degree virtual tours of properties. It lets you stitch together panoramic images to give viewers a complete walkthrough experience of each room and space. You can customize tours with your branding, add interactive hotspots, and even include videos and photos to highlight property features. Once created, these tours are mobile-friendly and easy to embed into websites or share on social media. With analytics to track viewer engagement and built-in lead generation features, CloudPano helps you market properties effectively and stand out in a competitive rental market.
Free or Paid? CloudPano has a free plan, but it expires after a set period of time and requires you to upgrade if you’d like to publish your tours.
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LegalZoom
LegalZoom is like having your legal team in your pocket, with services and tools to help landlords manage their rental properties efficiently. Their software and app provide access to customizable lease agreements, ensuring that all rental documents are legally sound and tailored to specific needs. You can also create eviction notices, property management agreements, and other essential legal documents on the platform.
Need to review a document with a lawyer? LegalZoom’s got your back with affordable legal advice from experienced attorneys. It’s a go-to for investors looking to stay legally sound without breaking the bank.
Free or Paid? LegalZoom pricing plans range from $0 for a basic subscription to $299 for premium.
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Renters Warehouse App
The Renters Warehouse landlord-tenant app can help you to manage your rental home with ease. If you’ve opted to use Renters Warehouse for your property management needs, you’ll be able to use this app to streamline many everyday tasks. You can keep track of your property and submit maintenance or customer service requests via the app, and tenants can even use it to quickly pay rent.
For landlords and tenants alike, this app provides a simple and easy way to keep organized and manage your home or lease on-the-go. Here’s a look at a few features that this app offers:
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Rent Collection: At Renters Warehouse, our app facilitates secure and efficient rent collection, enabling tenants to pay their rent online through various payment methods. Automatic reminders and payment scheduling help to encourage on-time rent collection.
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Property Maintenance Requests: Tenants can submit maintenance requests directly through the app. Landlords can then assign those tasks to contractors or service providers. WIth the app, it’s easy to track the progress of repairs, providing visibility, and helping to assure timely resolution of maintenance issues.
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See Charges and Payments: The Renters Warehouse app also allows you to easily see payments and charges, helping landlords and tenants to keep track of rent payments and more. The Renters Warehouse app, along with the Renters Warehouse Resident Portal and Owner Portal, are timesavers for landlords. At Renters Warehouse, we help to automate routine property management tasks, freeing up your time. And for large investors with multiple properties, we also have tools to manage and monitor your entire portfolio from a single dashboard. You can view property performance, manage leases, track vacancies, and oversee maintenance requests for all your properties in one place.
Free or Paid? The Renters Warehouse app is included as part of our property management service. It is available to landlords and tenants.
Benefits of Using Technology in Rental Property Management
Apps can be game-changers for landlords and rental property investors. Let’s break down why using them could be beneficial to you:
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Help You to Save Time: Think of all the hours you spend on repetitive tasks like tracking rent payments, scheduling maintenance, and managing leases. Using a property management app in conjunction with a property manager can help you to automate these tasks and free up your schedule to do other things, such as looking for more ways to scale your portfolio.
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Help You to Keep Your Finances in Check: Tackling income, expenses, and tax returns with precision can be overwhelming. With software or apps, you can wave goodbye to those stress-filled nights of number crunching. Financial management tools keep you organized by tracking everything in real time.
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Help to Keep Tenants Happy: With helpful apps, you can accept online rent payments, streamline maintenance requests, and keep communications smooth. Quick maintenance response times, enhanced by technology, are also a big plus for tenants. And boosting tenant satisfaction could help your renters to stick around longer, encouraging lease renewal. When it comes to communication channels, each tenant may be different. Some prefer email, others might be more responsive to text messages, and some might appreciate the convenience of a dedicated tenant portal or app. Being present on multiple communication channels allows you to meet your tenants where they are. When you offer various communication options, your tenants may feel more valued.
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Assists With Finding Qualified Tenants: Want to get qualified renters in your unit? There are apps that can help you to do thorough background checks, credit reports, and eviction histories, helping you find great, qualified tenants.
Integrating apps and software into your rental property management toolkit may require an initial investment, but the time savings and productivity gained makes it worth it for many landlords. Apps and services today can help to streamline many once-time-consuming yet essential tasks like tenant screening, rent collection, and financial reporting, significantly cutting down on your daily grind. By staying on top of tools, tech, and services that can help, you’ll be able to save time, even if you have multiple properties, helping you to set yourself up for success as a landlord.
Want to learn more about how Renters Warehouse can streamline your property management operations? Get started with your FREE rental price analysis, and see what you could be getting for your rental.
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