Avail Landlord Software Review: Free Plan or $9/mo?

Avail claims to offer landlords a free comprehensive online platform for managing their rental properties, including the ability to:

• Advertise listings
• Screen tenants
• Create leases
• Collect rent
• Track income and expenses all in one place

But as with anything free, there are caveats. In this review, we look at how well Avail‘s platform, both the free and the $9/mo upgraded plan, compares to similar rental property managers on the market.

This simplifies many aspects of property management, potentially saving landlords time and reducing administrative costs in the long run.

Understanding Avail for Landlords

Avail is a popular landlord software that aims to simplify rental property management. It provides a centralized platform for various landlord tasks. This means that multiple functions can be accessed and implemented from one program.

The software allows users to create and post rental listings across multiple sites. The advantage of this feature is that it allows for increased visibility, which helps attract potential tenants quickly.

In addition, Avail Software offers customizable tenant screening tools. For example, landlords can use these to conduct background checks and credit reports on applicants. As a result, these processes help the landlords make important decisions regarding their potential tenants.

The platform also includes electronic signing capabilities. This ensures landlords use legally compliant documents for their rental agreement.

Rent collection is another key feature of Avail. It supports online payments, making it easy for landlords and tenants to carry out digital transactions.

Just make sure you consider transaction fees when evaluating it against other tools. With Avail, it is only with the $9/mo plan that landlords get waived ACH fees.

Benefits of Avail for Property Management

• Avail improves efficiency in property management by automating many tasks. This saves landlords time and reduces the administrative burden simultaneously.

• The software’s tenant screening process helps landlords to make informed decisions. As highlighted already, it provides comprehensive reports on applicants’ backgrounds and financial histories.

• Avail’s lease creation tool ensures legal compliance. It automatically updates lease templates to reflect current state laws. The main point here is that it reduces legal risks for landlords.

• The platform’s financial tracking features help landlords maintain accurate records. It logs rental income and expenses, simplifying tax preparation and financial planning.

• Avail also facilitates better communications between landlords and tenants. It offers a dedicated portal for maintenance requests and updates, improving tenant satisfaction.

Tenant Screening Process

Credit and Background Checks

Avail provides thorough tenant screening reports that cover essential aspects of a potential tenant’s history. These reports include credit scores, criminal background checks, and eviction records.

Landlords can request these reports directly through the Avail platform. The process is further refined, by allowing property owners to quickly assess an applicant’s financial reliability and rental history.

Credit checks reveal an applicant’s payment history and current debts. This information helps landlords to evaluate the likelihood of timely rent payments.

Background checks uncover any criminal records or past evictions, which is crucial for ensuring property and neighbourhood safety.

Reviewing Tenant Applications

Avail simplifies the application review process with its online rental application system. Landlords can customize applications to gather specific information relevant to their properties.

The platform allows property owners to add custom questions to the standard application form. This feature enables landlords to address unique concerns or gather additional details about potential tenants.

Applications submitted through Avail are organized in a user-friendly format. Landlords can easily compare multiple applicants’ side-by-side, improving the decision-making process.

The system also includes a rental profile feature. This profile provides a comprehensive overview of each applicant, including their employment history, income, and references.

Rent Collection Features

Avail offers rent collection features for payments between landlords and tenants. The platform provides flexible options for setting up payments and automating the monthly collection process. 

• Setting Up Payment Options

Avail allows landlords to customize rent collection methods to suit their preferences. Landlords can enable ACH bank transfers, which are free for both parties. Credit card payments are also available, with a fee passed on to tenants.

The system supports setting up one-time or recurring payments. Landlords can specify due dates, grace periods, and late fees. This flexibility ensures rent collection aligns with lease terms.

Furthermore, tenants can easily link their bank accounts or credit cards through the secure Avail platform. The setup process is straightforward, reducing barriers to on-time payments.

• Automating Monthly Rent Collection

Once payment options are configured, Avail activates the recurring rent collection process. The system automatically initiates payments on the specified due date of each month.

Tenants receive reminders before the rent is due, reducing late payments. Avail notifies both the landlord and tenant if a payment fails, allowing for quick information flow and resolution. This helps to keep both parties informed and up-to-date.

As mentioned earlier, the platform tracks all transactions, providing a clear record of the payment history. This automated system saves landlords time and reduces manual procedures in rent collection.

Avail’s reporting features give landlords insights into payment patterns and help with financial planning. The automation and tracking capabilities make rent collection more efficient and reliable for property owners. This makes it an essential component in the property management business.

Maintenance Request System

Avail’s maintenance request system improves the communications process between landlords and tenants for property repairs. The platform offers tools for logging issues and tracking progress, enhancing efficiency and transparency. 

• Logging Maintenance Issues

Landlords can create maintenance tickets through their Avail dashboard. The straightforward process allows issues to be raised with information on what needs to be repaired.

To initiate a ticket, landlords navigate to the Maintenance section for the specific unit. They then complete the form.

The system allows landlords to categorize the maintenance request and set its urgency level. This helps prioritize repairs effectively.

Tenants can also submit maintenance requests directly through their Avail accounts. This feature ensures prompt reporting of issues as they happen.

• Tracking Repair Progress

Avail’s maintenance tracking software keeps landlords informed throughout the repair process. The platform provides real-time updates on the status of each maintenance request.

Landlords can also use in-app messaging to communicate with tenants about repairs. This centralizes all maintenance-related conversations in one place.

The system allows for photo uploads, enabling clear documentation of issues and completed repairs. This visual evidence can be valuable for record-keeping purposes.

Avail automatically generates maintenance records for each request. These records help landlords track expenses and maintain a history of property upkeep.

The platform sends email notifications to keep all parties informed of updates. This ensures everyone stays in the loop without constant manual check-ins.

Financial Reporting Tools

Avail offers robust financial reporting capabilities to help landlords manage their rental property finances effectively. These tools provide valuable insights for tracking income and expenses and preparing tax documents.

Generating Financial Reports

Avail’s platform allows landlords to generate comprehensive financial reports for their rental properties. Users can create custom reports tailored to their specific needs, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow analyses.

The software automatically categorizes transactions, making it easy to track different types of income and expenses. Landlords can view reports by property, period, or across their entire portfolio.

Avail’s reporting tools also include visual elements like charts and graphs to help users quickly grasp financial trends and patterns. This feature enables landlords to make data-driven decisions about their rental business.

Exporting Data for Tax Purposes

Avail simplifies tax preparation for landlords by providing tools to export financial data in formats compatible with popular tax software. Users can generate year-end reports summarizing all rental income and expenses.

The platform organizes transactions into appropriate tax categories, saving time during tax season. Landlords can easily export detailed records of rent payments, maintenance costs, and other deductible expenses. These are handy features of the software.

Avail’s tax preparation features also include the ability to generate 1099 forms for contractors and vendors. This functionality ensures landlords comply with IRS reporting requirements for rental property owners.

Integrating with Other Services

Avail offers integration capabilities to enhance its functionality and simplify procedures for landlords. These integrations allow for seamless data exchange and improved efficiency in property management tasks.

• APIs and Third-Party Integrations

Avail provides APIs and integrations with various third-party services to expand its capabilities. Landlords can connect Avail with popular listing sites to syndicate their property listings across multiple platforms. This integration saves time and ensures consistent information across different rental marketplaces. This is a valuable benefit of the software.

As emphasized earlier, the platform also integrates with payment processors, enabling automatic rent collection and financial tracking. Landlords can set up recurring payments and receive instant notifications when tenants pay rent.

Maintenance management integrations, again, allow landlords to connect with service providers directly through Avail. This feature refines the process of scheduling repairs and tracking maintenance requests. 

• Syncing with Accounting Software

Avail also offers syncing capabilities with popular accounting software to smoothen financial management for landlords. This integration allows for automatic data transfer between Avail and accounting platforms, reducing manual data entry and potential errors.

Landlords can sync rent payments, expenses, and other financial transactions directly to their accounting software. This feature provides a comprehensive view of the property finances and also simplifies tax preparation.

The integration also enables real-time financial reporting, allowing landlords to generate accurate income statements and balance sheets for their rental properties, as noted above. Custom categories help organize transactions for better financial analysis and decision-making.

Getting Support

Avail offers multiple avenues for landlords to receive assistance and resolve issues. The platform provides both direct customer service options and self-help resources to address various needs.

• Accessing Customer Service

Landlords can contact Avail’s support team directly for personalized assistance. The company offers phone support at (312) 292-9347 for urgent matters or complex questions. Email support is also available, typically with a response time of 1-2 business days.

Live chat support is accessible through the Avail website during business hours. This option allows for quick resolution of minor issues or clarification of platform features. For non-urgent inquiries, landlords can submit a support ticket through their Avail account dashboard.

Telephone support hours are Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Central Time, and email only on Saturday to Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Priority support is offered to landlords on premium plans, with extended hours and faster response times.

• Utilizing the Help Center

In addition, Avail provides a comprehensive Help Center for landlords seeking immediate answers. This resource contains detailed articles, step-by-step guides, and frequently asked questions covering a range of topics.

The Help Center is organized into categories such as Account Management, Listing Properties, Tenant Screening, and Rent Collection. A search function allows users to find relevant information quickly.

Video tutorials are available for visual learners, demonstrating key platform features and processes. The Help Center is regularly updated to reflect new features and common user inquiries.

Landlords can access community forums within the Help Center, where they can interact with other users and share experiences. These forums are moderated by Avail staff to ensure accurate information is provided.

What do Avail’s Reviews Say?

Generally, Avail receives positive feedback from users across various review platforms. On Trustpilot, many landlords praise the platform’s smooth payment process and the dedicated support team that ensures timely fund transfers between tenants and property owners.

GetApp users rate Avail highly, with an overall score of 4.6 out of 5 based on 250 reviews. Landlords also appreciate how the property management features can be tailored to their needs.

Users on Reddit discuss Avail as one of the top options for small landlords, alongside TenantCloud. They note that Avail becomes particularly useful for those managing a limited number of properties.

The screening process is a key feature mentioned in reviews. Landlords report that Avail handles tenant background checks efficiently, sending credit reports directly to property owners after verifying tenant identities.

Alternatives to Avail

Landlords seeking alternatives to Avail have several options to consider. We discuss this in detail below:

• TenantCloud is a cloud-based software for property management. It offers a 14-day free trial on all their plans as well as an online demo of the software. There is also the choice to pay monthly, or annually for one month free. The pricing model is subscription-based, with varying features, and 4 levels to choose from. Let’s now take a look at the monthly options available:The first plan is called Starter, and is ideal for smaller-sized companies, costing $15.60 per month. If you are a large company, consider the next plan called Growth, priced at $29.30. The next level up is Pro, charged at $50.40, and is aimed at property managers and owners. The last plan is titled Business and according to their website, is ‘designed for property managers or businesses with large portfolios’. There is no pricing listed for this plan, but you can contact TenantCloud directly to discuss this option further.

• Rent Manager provides comprehensive property management features and has received positive analyst ratings. They offer a 3-tier pricing bundle starting at $1 per month. The next tier, Plus, costs $1.75, followed by Premium at $2.50. These prices are per unit, per month, and for unlimited users. A demo is also available upon request.
• Yardi Voyager is another highly-rated option, particularly suitable for larger property portfolios. They invite you to contact them directly on their website for further information.
• Landlord Studio has a free mobile app for landlord property management. It is free to join with the Go plan, with paid options also available, (Pro at $12/month and ProPlus at $24/month). They offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required during this time.
• AppFolio supports large companies to scale their business and entire portfolio with their sophisticated platform. For a quote or to book a demo, please contact the company via their website.
• Buildium, property management software is aimed at larger operations. They offer 3 packages which all come with a 14-day free trial. The packages include: Essential at $58/month, Growth at $183/month, and Premium at $375/month. They also allow for annual payment with a 20% discount.
• For those prioritizing financial management, Stessa offers smart tools for tracking income and expenses. It is free to get started by signing up to their Essentials plan. However, for more features, check out their alternative paid options, with the Manage plan at $12/month or the Pro plan at $28/month, paid annually.

Comparative Analysis

It is important to assess each platform’s specific features against individual landlord needs. Some may offer stronger tenant screening tools, while others excel in maintenance request tracking. The software you decide to go with will ultimately depend on your requirements.

If you would like to try the software before you invest in it, then we suggest TenantCloud, Landlord Studio, and Buildium, as they all offer 14-day free trials, in comparison to Yardi Voyager and AppFolio, which do not.

In terms of monthly costs, Rent Manager and Landlord Studio offer reasonable pricing in contrast to Buildium, which has the highest monthly costs advertised.

If you prefer to pay for a year’s subscription in advance and make savings at the same time, Stessa, TenantCloud, and Buildium offer the opportunity to pay annually.

Conclusion

Overall, Avail has received positive reviews from its users. Many landlords praise Avail’s user-friendly interface and the convenience of integrating multiple tools into a single system. While Avail Software caters primarily to smaller landlords, it provides features that can benefit property owners with portfolios of various sizes. Many users have highlighted the software’s tenant screening capabilities and state-specific lease creation tools as especially useful. As with any property management solution, landlords should carefully evaluate Avail’s features against their specific needs before signing up, especially by comparing them to the alternative platforms discussed above. If you’re looking to simplify rental management, try Avail today and see how it streamlines rent collection, tenant screening, and property tasks.

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