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Property management software has the ability to amplify your efforts in multiple ways, including:
- Speed up and simplify rent collection
- Streamline maintenance management
- Assist in marketing
- Handle screening
- And so much more
One of those options is TurboTenant, a property management tool which is mostly defined by its free plan.
But is it the best option, especially if you’re looking for a powerful property management tool for a large or mid-sized portfolio?
We’ll cover everything about TurboTenant below, as well as some alternatives that might be better suited for you depending on what you’re looking for.
What is TurboTenant?
TurboTenant is a property management software with a mostly free plan that offers a good number of features, though comes with far fewer features compared to other property management tools.
With its low-priced option, it serves as a good starting place for landlords with one or a few properties who are looking to see how property management software can help them manage their properties.
It isn’t without its limitations, however, which we’ll cover in the next few sections.
TurboTenant features
First, let’s start by looking at TurboTenant’s feature set.
This is definitely its weak point, as its free status relegates it to a few limited features.
TurboTenant features include:
- Online rent payments
- Some leasing tools and tenant screening (though several are paid-only)
- Rental listings
It’s also worth noting that unlike several property management software tools that offer a free or low-cost option, TurboTenant doesn’t offer a premium plan you can move up to if you want to take advantage of said premium features.
TurboTenant pricing
TurboTenant offers a mostly free plan that can cost nothing for the landlord, though because it shifts some of the cost over to the tenant.
Depending on how you do business, this may or may not be preferable to you.
In addition to this, as is often the case with “free” property management software, many of the costs are separated from a monthly fee and made less-than-transparent.
Some of the added features that will cost you include:
When added together, these fees and costs can easily out pace your typical property management software in terms of pricing.
Though while features are severely limited, you’re not required to purchase anything to use the base version of the software.
TurboTenant: pros and cons
Now that we’ve covered TurboTenant’s features and pricing, let’s put it all together and look at the tool’s pros and cons.
While there are some clear pros, there are also some glaring cons that you should be aware of when comparing it to another software.
Pro: 24/7 support
A rarity in the industry, TurboTenant offers 24/7 support that further helps position it as a decent starting point for those who are unfamiliar with property management software.
Pro: Free to use
While not entirely free, TurboTenant does offer a mostly free plan that is perfect for independent landlords.
Con: No accounting or reporting tools
A big one, one of the biggest things that property management software helps with is property accounting.
General accounting tools require bandaids and workarounds to function properly for property businesses, especially in the case of property management.
That makes accounting features in property management software all the more useful, something that TurboTenant is lacking.
Con: No maintenance management
Another major feature of most property management tools, TurboTenant doesn’t offer any kind of maintenance management tools, which typically allow you to:
- Accept maintenance requests from tenants
- Communicate on those maintenance requests within the app
- Edit requests and add attachments
- Assign to a vendor and pay that vendor when the job is completed
Con: Difficult tenant communication tools
Property management tools like DoorLoop make communicating with tenants easier than ever, with the ability to SMS message tenants from your smartphone.
TurboTenant, however, only allows you to message tenants by logging into the app through a browser.
TurboTenant reviews
Now that we’ve covered everything about TurboTenant, let’s take a look at some real customer reviews to get a feel for what their customers think.
These reviews are from real customers, from both major review platforms Capterra and Software Advice.
Users often report that the software is pretty limited, but it’s not without its bright spots, like this review:
“It was easy to use and very intuitive. I loved that I didn't have to handle payments for background and credit checks making it all very easy.”
And this one from James:
“Great tracking of invoices and easy rent collection with the ability to maintain property easily and effectively.”
Other reviews cite an issue with the lack of features, like this one from Bette:
“Would like to see more features such as online rental payments, maintenance requests and management for a more complete system.”
And still others cite customer service issues, such as this one from Shane:
“We received a notice that our account was suspended and they didn't specify why. We sent them numerous emails inquiring as to why. We did not receive a single response (they don't have a number to call...very odd) and we no longer have access to the database of people that were interested in our rentals.”
TurboTenant alternatives
While TurboTenant has benefits, it also has some major drawbacks that might make you want to look for a more powerful or better-rated alternative.
Here are a few great TurboTenant alternatives:
1. DoorLoop
DoorLoop is a full-service property management tool with:
- A laundry list of features
- At one set, low price (no funny business)
- And 5* average rating across every major review platform, with rave reviews about both its great customer service and ease-of-use
DoorLoop features include:
- Automatic rent payments
- Automatic listings
- Maintenance management
- Full accounting suite
- Seamless, easy-to-use tenant communication tools
- Property website
- Leasing and screening tools
- And much more
DoorLoop pricing
DoorLoop comes in at just $49 per month for up to 20 units with the lion’s share of its features in its basic plan.
Simple and easy to use but incredibly powerful, and above all transparent.
See what DoorLoop can do for your portfolio.
2. MRI Living
MRI Living is another option for those looking for something with a more robust feature set than Turbotenant.
They don’t offer transparent pricing (which typically means the software is pricey) and users report the software can be a bit clunky, but they do have a great number of premium features.
MRI Living features:
- Online rent payments
- Tenant portal
- Leasing and screening tools
MRI pricing
MRI doesn’t list its pricing publicly, so you’ll have to contact their sales team directly from their website to get more information.
3. Propertyware
Propertyware is yet another option, this one particularly well-suited for single-family housing.
They offer a great feature set, though with a high barrier to entry, being designed for those with 250+ properties.
Propertyware features include:
- Automatic rent payments
- Maintenance management
- Good reporting tools
Propertyware pricing
Propertyware uses an affordable $1 per unit, per month model. However, it comes with a $250 monthly minimum, so you’ll be paying far more per unit if you have any less than 250 properties.
Find the tool that works for you
Every property management tool is a little bit different.
Which tool is best for you will depend on a variety of factors, such as:
- What features you want and need
- How important intangibles like ease-of-use and customer service are to you
- And what your budget is
Regardless of what tool you pick, we hope this guide helped you get a little bit closer toward finding the property management tool that works for you.
And if you’re looking for a tool that offers the best of all worlds, including:
- A robust feature set
- Customer-loving ease-of-use
- Responsive customer service
- And affordable, competitive pricing
Then check out more about how DoorLoop is the perfect TurboTenant alternative by clicking here.
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