Iconic Investments Reviews Appfolio
When it comes to multifamily record keeping, we have found that there are three types of property owners: Back of the Napkin types (no real system of keeping records other than a notebook), QuickBooks types (mid-size owners who use QuickBooks to record rents and pay bills), and Yardi types (property owners who use a more complicated and costly system).
But now, multifamily owners have another choice: Appfolio, a web-based program that incorporates most features of QuickBooks and Yardi and provides ease of management for property owners.
Designed for owners and managers of multifamily, single family, commercial or student housing properties, the Appfolio system allows you to manage marketing, leasing, accounting and maintenance functions from one cloud-base software platform. With Appfolio, there is no need to integrate other programs.
We tested Appfolio, and here is what we loved about it for multifamily owners and managers.
Every Tenant Gets Their Own Portal
Through the portal, tenants can pay rent online. At no cost to the landlord, tenants can pay their rent by ACH from their checking or savings accounts. Money will be deposited into your checking account within 24 hours. No more picking up rent checks every month. Tenants can also pay by credit card; however, they will be charged a fee.
The system allows you to customize when rent is considered late and how late fees are calculated. Late fees are automatically charged if the rent is not paid on time.
Maintenance requests can also be made through the tenant portal, which immediately sends the owner an email and creates a work order. Appfolio keeps a record of maintenance requests.
Unit Leasing is Streamlined
When screening new tenants, a link is sent to the potential tenant with the application and the tenant is able to pay the application fee online. Once the application is submitted, Appfolio will do the credit check for you. After the credit check is approved, AppFolio will send the new tenant the customized lease that you uploaded into the system. The lease will be signed digitally. All records will be stored under each tenant’s profiles. There is no need for file cabinets
Further, rent increases can be scheduled and tracked, and as units turn over, vacancies are automatically updated with various online listing sites.
No need for Quickbooks
Appfolio has all the bells and whistles of QuickBooks, including dozens of detailed reports and check writing capabilities. It is much easier to use than QuickBooks, and Appfolio can be accessed from any computer or mobile device.
If there are any negatives about Appfolio, it is the cost. The program costs $250 per month for up to 200 units. Above 200 units, the program costs $1 more per unit per month. There is a minimum onboarding fee of $400 depending on the size of the portfolio.
Overall, Appfolio provides ease of management and saves you time and money.
We are happy to provide further feedback about Appfolio or visit Appfolio.com and see for yourself.
This article was written by Peter Strauss of Encino Based Iconic Investments.
Iconic Investments
16530 Ventura Blvd
Suite #409
Encino, CA 91436
T: 747-444-3303
E: info@iconicinv.com
W: www.iconicinv.com