2007 Review of Property Management Programs

From the January-March 2007 Issue

The property management industry, like the real estate industry in general, has suffered its ups and downs this past year. In places like Las Vegas, the rental industry has remained strong because of limited new commercial and residential construction. In Rio Rancho, N.M., just outside of Albuquerque, a wealth of
new construction has hurt the market for rentals. Whether you’re in a
strong rental market or in a tight one, you need to have adequate tools to maximize
your income potential.

There are four major property management classifications: residential, commercial,
industrial and special purpose. And while there remains a major difference in
the way each of these property managers may conduct day-to-day business, all
property managers can benefit from a strong property management program.

The business of property management is so much more than simply moving tenants
in, collecting rent and moving them out. Residential managers need a strong
marketing module, a good applications module, and the ability to produce solid
reports for investors or owners. Commercial property managers need to be able
to establish base rates, track percentage leases, plan build-outs, track escalation
clauses, and provide facility maintenance. Industrial managers need to track
gross and triple-net leases and calculate rental rates per square foot. Special
purpose managers include those managing manufactured home parks, military housing,
Section 8 housing and senior housing. These managers have their own set of needs
including managing covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), and following
government regulations.

All property managers need the ability to produce thorough rent rolls and
owner statements. Having a maintenance board to record, assign, and monitor
routine and requested maintenance is a necessity, particularly for those managing
multiple units.

Can one product do all of this? Yes. A good property management software product
will be able to do all of these things, although some will do a better job than
others. As an accountant for your property management clients, you can take
stock of the most important ones for their management needs and determine which
product best fits each company’s needs.

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Promas Landlord Software Center — The Professional Landlord: The Professional Landlord from Promas Landlord
Software Center is designed to handle multiple types of properties including
multi-unit residential complexes, single family homes, commercial properties,
and special use properties such as office parks, mobile home parks and
self-storage facilities.; Read Full
Review

Property Automation — Tenant Pro: Tenant Pro 7 version 7.3 is the latest version
of the property management and financial software suite from Property
Automation. Tenant Pro can be utilized by an extensive variety of property
types, including apartment communities, single family homes, office buildings,
shopping centers, and special use properties such as student and military
housing.; Read Full
Review

PropertyBoss Solutions, LLC — PropertyBoss 2006: PropertyBoss 2006 is a property management software
product geared toward residential and multi-family management companies,
as well as specialty markets, such as affordable housing, HOAs and condos,
and university housing. PropertyBoss can be deployed as a standalone product,
in a client/server network environment, or as a web-hosted application.; Read Full
Review

Sage Software — Sage Timberline Office: Sage Timberline Office with Property Management
is a high-end software product that provides complete accounting functionality
and supports multiple property types including single and multi-family
homes, apartment complexes, commercial and special use properties.; Read Full
Review

2006 Review of Property Management Systems — Executive Summary: The areas evaluated in this year’s Property
Management review include Interface/Ease of Use, Modules/Scalability, Integration,
Reporting, and Support. These areas are of vital importance when evaluating
property management software.; Read More