Whether you have a single apartment building or three dozen complexes in your property management portfolio, whether you manage your own or those of other owners, multifamily properties get easier with a little help from the right property management software. But, property management isn’t a cookie-cutter business, and the solution that works for one company might not be the right fit for another.
This guide will cover everything you need to know to choose the best multifamily property management software based on your priorities and specific needs. We’ll break down key features to look for and take a closer look at the leading solutions in different categories to help you find the right fit.
And don’t’ forget to check out our video!
What is Multifamily Property Management?
Multifamily property managers focus on residential properties that have multiple individual housing units within a single building or complex. These can include apartment buildings, condominium complexes, townhouse communities, and duplexes and triplexes.
Managing these properties requires a specialized approach compared to single-family residences due to the complexities of working with tenants and shared spaces within a property.
Benefits of Multifamily Property Management Software
Software built specifically to meet the needs of multifamily Property management software can help you organize complex operations with easy-to-use digital tools. The best software out there lets you keep the details on each property organized and easily accessible, which saves you time and prevents important tasks from slipping through the cracks.
Many of the top solutions also let you customize labels, document templates, and workflows, which can make your team even more efficient. Having this customization can help you speed up the lead-to-lease process and fill vacancies faster, leading to more profitable properties.
You’ll be able to drill into the lease, tenant, and maintenance history details for every lease, so you can get as granular as you need to in reports and meetings with your team, without having to sort through all those records manually.
Companies with multiple properties, each with their own variety of tenants and management tasks can quickly see these benefits add up, leading to impressive ROI over time.
7 Features to Look for in the Best Multifamily Property Management Software
Before you start window shopping, let’s figure out what you should look out for. We can break down the most valuable software features into seven key buckets.
1. Lead-to-Lease Tools
Start by looking at the overall lead-to-lease process. From marketing and showings to background checks and lease signing, it’s imperative that you find a software solution that guides you—and your applicants—through each step of the process seamlessly.
And with the majority of renters looking for their next apartment on the go, your leasing experience should be mobile-friendly and include digital applications, real-time updates, and digital lease signing.
To truly up your game, look for software that includes tenant screening. Accepted tenants should then be added to your tenant portal quickly and easily.
2. Property Management Maintenance Management Tools
Maintenance management features can help you manage multiple requests and prioritize urgent ones as needed. Those features include a tenant portal for reporting maintenance issues and a ticketing and tracking system that allows you to assign tickets and follow them to completion.
If you deal with a high volume of calls, look for software that offers a maintenance contact center. Even if you don’t, a 24/7 contact service can take the burden of answering middle-of-the-night calls off of you and your staff.
3. Property Management Accounting Tools
Every transaction for your business, as well as for the properties you manage, should be entered and reconciled automatically.
Accounting capabilities that plug into your workflow help you keep your books accurate, your billing and invoicing up-to-date, and your businesses—as well as your owners—compliant when tax time comes around.
Look for a solution that includes a chart of accounts that’s purpose-built for property management. It should include automatic payments as well as billing solutions, as well.
Finally, your property management accounting software should help you fill out and file 1099s, and keep on top of your own taxes, as well.
4. Tenant and Owner Communication Tools
Whether it’s a message portal or an online chat, communication tools are an essential way to engage your tenants—and they are already an expectation among Gen Z and Millennial renters.
Portals allow you to push out announcements to residents and receive maintenance requests. If you manage other people’s properties, your property owners will be able to find the business analytics and stored documents they need 24/7.
5. Data Analytics
A comprehensive view into your business performance can help you make more confident decisions that help grow your business. And with more rental owners shifting their focus to investing, property managers who can use data to help owners grow will get a leg up over their competition.
6. Inspection Tools
A quick walkthrough of your property is not enough. Even if you’ve done dozens of them, you’re always susceptible to missing something. Be more meticulous with customizable templates to complete inspections.
A good inspection tool should allow you to file inspection reports with photos via mobile, even if you’re offline.
7. Integrations
Having access to an expansive library of integrations can help you level up your current tech stack in a more customizable, targeted way.
If there is a specific capability you’re looking for that’s not included in your property management software, the ability to integrate a solution can make a world of difference.
Adding capabilities such as collection fulfillment and resident benefits can not only simplify your life and the lives of your tenants and owners, it can add new streams of revenue to your business.
With these top 7 features in mind, let’s take a look at the 7 best multifamily property management software solutions out there and what type of business can benefit the most from each.
1. Buildium: All-In-One Multifamily Property Management Software
Buildium® a leading property management software for property managers in multiple industries, including multifamily, serves property management businesses of all sizes. Buildium handles every step of the lead-to-lease cycle, including accounting, maintenance tracking, analytics, and more.
Features
Buildium has an array of features that are built with multifamily property managers in mind. Those include:
- Lead-to-lease tools that streamline your workflow from accepting applicants all the way to signing the lease.
- Free website creator and listing syndication to market your listings.
- Automated electronic payments and accounting including 1099 eFiling.
- Analytics and insights tools to measure and report your business growth.
- Tenant and owner portals with online payment, maintenance reporting and tracking, and notification capabilities.
- Top-rated mobile apps (for both your team and your tenants) that allow you to communicate with your renters, manage work orders, and collect payments.
If Buildium doesn’t have a tool you’d like, chances are one of their Marketplace partners does. The Marketplace is an ecosystem of digital solutions that integrate seamlessly with your Buildium account.
And in addition to Marketplace partners, Buildium can also connect directly to a Maintenance Contact Center service to help your business field those late night service calls without the added stress.
Pricing
Buildium offers three tiers of pricing. Each of these plans include:
- Accounting
- Maintenance
- Task Management
- Online Portals
- Lead-To-Lease Management
- Resident Communications
The pricing tiers scale with your business, depending on the size of your needs.
- Essential: Starts at $58/month and includes Buildium’s core features, including accounting and task management tools.
- Growth: Starts at $183/month and includes reduced incoming ACH fees, unlimited eSignatures, and actionable insights in Analytics Hub.
- Premium: Starts at $375/month for property managers who want to automate their workflows. It includes everything in Growth, unlimited incoming ACH (fees waived), plus access to Buildium’s Open API and Priority Support.
2. OneSite Leasing & Rents: Great Multifamily Property Management Software for Large Portfolios
RealPage’s® OneSite Leasing & Rents™ solution automates tasks for multifamily property managers so they don’t have to expand their staff. In the multifamily space, the software is designed for conventional, senior living, affordable, tax credit, and military rentals.
Features
On top of the features you’ve come to expect in property management software (accounting, maintenance, lead-to-lease, resident portals, billing, etc.) RealPage offers a library of reports and customizable business models to regulate policies across your company.
They offer two programs, EasyLMS™ and RealPage Recognitions™, as well, to help train and educate staff, as well as measure their performance.
Another interesting feature is their GoDirect Marketing™ solution, which uses predictive analytics to increase conversion rates. That includes a conversion-designed website and digital advertising tools.
OneSite is geared toward property managers with 2,000 doors or more, with an array of marketing, leasing, and resident experience solutions that are completely customizable.
Pricing
RealPage does not include a pricing page on their site. To learn more, contact their sales department by clicking the link at the top of the homepage.
3. ResMan: Good Affordable Housing Management Software
ResMan® is a property management software for owners, operators, and investors in the multifamily and affordable housing marketplace. They provide a suite of marketing and investor management tools to help grow your multifamily business.
Features
ResMan has a wide selection of accounting, budgeting, maintenance, and reporting features specific to multifamily properties. The software includes vacancy advertising, tenant screening, service portals and more.
For affordable housing, specifically, ResMan includes a suite of compliance tools that include HUD certification validation and tax credit programs.
Pricing
Currently, there’s no publicly available pricing information. You’ll have to contact their sales team to receive a custom quote.
4. MRI Living: Multifamily Property Management from the Longest-Running Real Estate Software
According to MRI®, they were the first real estate software. Founded in 1971, that very well may be true.
Let’s take a look at some of the features they offer for multifamily property managers.
Features
MRI Living® is a customizable suite of tools that are heavily data-driven. Lead-to-Lease covers all parts of the rental cycle, from marketing, tours, and applications, to signings and renewals. Their multifamily property management solution automates day-to-day tasks and collects data on all aspects of each property into one place.
Property managers can track progress on a number of benchmarks, including turnover, vacancies, and renewals.
Pricing
MRI doesn’t publish pricing on their site. You’ll have to reach out to their sales department to get more information.
5. Entrata: Enterprise-Level Multifamily Property Management Software
Entrata® is a property management operating system for large enterprise businesses that streamlines accounting, purchasing, and leasing workflows. The platform serves multifamily, student, military, commercial, and affordable housing property businesses.
Features
Entrata’s primary features are divided into four key categories: property management, marketing, accounting and utilities. Naturally, for large businesses, this requires a wide range of features that filter into one workflow. Their biggest advantage is their user experience, particularly their single-login feature.
Other features include resident communication portals, reporting, marketing strategy hubs, and budgeting. And for multifamily property businesses, their facilities management features can be helpful.
Pricing
For full pricing information, you’ll have to contact their sales team and schedule a demo. Entrata does not offer free trials.
Now that we’ve covered the best multifamily property management software, we turn it back to you and your top priorities.
Are you looking for a straightforward, yet comprehensive solution to grow your business? Do you need help with accounting or marketing? What about communication tools and work order management? If you said yes to any or all of the above (and more), a flexible, all-in-one solution such as Buildium is likely the right solution for you.
If you manage multifamily properties, there are specific tools you’re looking for to grow your business and keep your residents and owners happy.
With any software, it’s best to try out the technology for yourself. Buildium offers a free 14-day trial—no credit card required.
