When I first heard about this property management software I wasn’t sure how great it would be… the software as it is currently is free… and I just haven’t been too darn impressed with the free property management software that I’ve seen out there.
But, as you’ll find as I walk you through the software… the Rentec Direct guys took “free software” a step farther and really put out something that’s worthy of checking out if you’re in the market for an online based property management software that’ll easily manage 10-20 units (I believe they have a version coming out that will have many more features and manage upwards of 50-100 units… I haven’t had a chance to see if it’s come out yet though).
Anyhow, I’ll let you take a “looksee” to see if the Rentec Direct free property management software is the right software for the job (seriously… this software surprised me and I can’t wait to see what their “pro” version will do… it’ll likely be for a small fee… but I’m guessing it’ll be a high value )
Quick Look At Rentec Direct (not Rentech Direct)
Okay, all in all like I said… I’m really impressed with the Rentec online property manager so
ftware… especially since you can get it for free and manage pretty much as many units as you want.
Really, I’d suggest you head over to their site and sign up for a free account for yourself… because that’s the best way to get a true sense of whether this program is right for you.
Here’s the link to their site (just click the “Try Free” button):
www.rentecdirect.com <<– Right there buddy
But… I did put together a full video and written review for ya here on Rentec Direct… so if you just like hearing my voice or have a spare 10-15 minutes… by all means hang with me and I’ll walk you through the software… my likes… my dislikes… you know the deal.
Rentec Direct Online Property Manager Software Video Review
– Click the play button to start the video. Running Time: about 18 minutes
**If you’re having trouble viewing the video above, follow the link below to watch it directly at the video hosting site:
Click Here To View Video If You Can’t View It Above <<
Here’s the link to get a free Rentec Direct account <<
“Cliff Notes” Version of My Rentec Direct Review
Now to the nitty gritty…
Truthfully… I’m not going to write 42 bullet points and go into huge detail on Rentec… simply for the reason of I think Rentec is a GREAT program and it’s free… so you should head over there and set up an account for yourself and see what it does 1st hand.
But, here’s my take on Rentec…
The Pros: (what I like a lot!)
- The awesome “home base” screen that makes it easy as heck to get a quick snapshot of your rentals and what’s going on (has net profits, late rent notices, lease renewals, etc.)
- Simple one (or two) click rent and expense posting … you don’t have to search for where you post rents… there are multiple big green buttons to post income and red buttons to post expenses
- Easy recurring transaction set up … makes it much easier than most programs to set up a recurring transaction… way easier than landlordmax (which is what I currently use in my biz)
- Very fast turn around on new changes as suggested by users … I had a few elements I wanted integrated to the software (the Net Income chart on the home base was my idea 😉 and the developers got the updates done to the software within a couple days… that’s unheard of!
- Can easily handle multi-unit properties and get reports based on units, properties, tenants, etc.
- Can store files like pictures, pdfs, etc. in the software … which is usually reserved for property management software that ISN’T FREE… but Rentec does it for free for ya
- And… it’s free
The Cons: (what I didn’t like about Rentec Direct)
- Still relatively simple with little advanced features … The free software is very simple… and doesn’t have a lot of the advanced functionality I’d like to see like more detailed record keeping… but I think it’ll grow to include many more features as it goes
- Not a huge array of reports … but it does have the basic Schedule E helper, income/expense reports, etc.
- Currently doesn’t have hugely detailed financials such as banking, etc. But… like I said… it’s a free software… and I’m pretty darn sure that their “pro” version will have those features when they launch it.
Really I can’t say a whole lot bad about Rentec Direct simply because it’s a free property management software and frankly it has much more functionality than I’ve seen in other free softwares out there.
My Overall Impression Of Rentec Direct Online Landlord Software
Okay… again I’m going to keep this short and sweet.
If you’re looking for a property management software and you have between 1 – 10 units (maybe up to 20 as it is right now) I think you should definitely check out Rentec Direct and see if it does what you need it to do. The reason I say “maybe up to 20” is simply because I like to have more detailed record keeping for my tenants and units… and once you start racking up more than 10-20 units it could get a bit burdonsome to keep up w/ all of the info I like to keep digitally about my tenants and units. That’s just a personal preference though … so even if you have more than 10-20 units… it wouldn’t hurt to check Rentec out .
So… since it’s free you may check it out and see if it works … they are coming out with a “pro” version which I know those who have free accounts right now will get the “pro” version at a very cheap rate… so it’ll be valuable to get a free account just to have a chance to check out the “pro” version when it’s done.
If it doesn’t quite have the functionality you need… check out the other property management software reviews we’ve done to find the one that’s right for you… but I have a feeling you’ll be impressed.
How Do I Grade It?? (out of 5)
Design: 
and 1/2
Affordability : (did I say it’s free??)
Features: (the pro version will have many more features)
Ease of Use : and 1/2
Overall (1-10 Units): and 1/4 (4.25)
To Get Your Free Rentec Direct Account…
To get your free Rentec Direct account just head over there… click the “Try It Free” button and it takes about 4 minutes to get going (you don’t need a credit card to get going… it’s completely free!).
>> Set Up Your Rentec Account <<
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Hi Trevor,
I once again thank you for the review of our application. I hope you have a chance to review our latest release which fills all the gaps that were missing back during this first review. There’s been a ton of improvements to the software over the past year, which dominate the competition! We routinely hear from Rentec users that they’ve tried other apps and consistently find Rentec not only easier to use, but has all the features necessary to manage their properties and to do it with ease.
Here’s some examples of improvements since the last review.
Tenant Portal – Tenants can login at http://www.rentecdirect.com/tenants and view their balance, history, and set email preferences.
Tenant Emails – Automated emails can be configured to go to tenants when they become due, overdue, or when payments are received.
Property Advertising – Instantly landlords can put up an online advertisement for their property complete with details and pictures, useful for linking from craigslist or classified ads.
Online Applications – Landlords can take online applications via a customizable application process, linked from the property advertisement.
Tenant Screening – This is a big one! We’ve integrated with the most reliable source available for background checks. This includes nationwide, state, county criminal records, plus lien, judgment, bankruptcy, and eviction records (with subject photos). Rentec Direct users simply choose an applicant to screen and it fills in their info automatically, or they do a manual search with any prospective tenant they want. Super, super easy and inexpensive.
Lease Tracking – Landlords were initially just placing the move-out date as the end of the lease, but we got requests from landlords to separate the 2 items. Reason, most leases renew, so they didn’t want rent to stop at the end of the lease.
Workorders / Repairs – Keep track of what’s broke, who’s fixing it, and the costs associated.
Navigation – We’re boldly going where no web application has gone before. Ok, well maybe a few have. There’s not enough screen real-estate on the typical web page to do everything we want to do. As such we’ve implemented context menus on most of the main pages. They are accessible via the (green arrow doc) icon, or by right clicking on the row. I have a feeling you’ll like this. It saves clicks and makes the app friendlier, and more application feeling rather than webpage feeling.
Receipts and Invoices – Quickly print receipts and invoices for tenants using the new context-menus.
Link Bank Accounts – Probably useful for yourself, as well as many other landlords who have more than one property that they receive payments and pay expenses out of a single account. Also very useful for property managers so they can keep track of what the property owner is owed separately from tenant and property income.
New Reports – I think you mentioned it in your first review, more reports! We’ve taken user feedback, surveys, and reviewed many other property management apps and added all the useful reports.
Vendor Tracking – Keep a list of all your important vendors and contacts. An addressbook is now built into Rentec Direct, with easily selectable vendors when opening new workorders.
Many other small tweaks and enhancements that just made the application feel better.
Hey Nate!
Great to hear from you! Thanks for the update on changes to RentecDirect. I’m loving the new features… it might be time for a whole new review on our end huh? 🙂