Managing rental properties can be daunting and exhausting for landlords, making finding the right property management software a crucial part of being an effective and successful property manager. And these days, there are so many software options available that finding the perfect fit for you can be a time-consuming challenge.
To simplify your search, we’ll review two of the newer players in the space, Avail vs RentRedi.
Avail was started in 2012 by two landlords who discovered a lack of efficient and easy-to-use tools for landlords to manage their properties. The pair studied how large institutional investors managed their properties and sought to create a way to pass that methodology to smaller property managers at a much lower cost. REALTOR.com seemed to like the approach and acquired Avail in 2020.
In terms of services, Avail offers a full suite of products in their software solution for both landlords and tenants, including tenant screening, listing services, state-specific and lawyer-reviewed lease templates, online rent payments, and maintenance tracking/work order management.
RentRedi came about in 2016 when its founder and CEO faced firsthand the difficulty of renting an apartment in New York City. He sought a way to simplify the application process but found that many other aspects of rental property management could be improved. What started as a way to simplify rental applications has become a tool that streamlines broader property management tasks.
Ultimately, RentRedi offers many of the same features as Avail, with property listings, tenant screening, leases, rental applications, and maintenance tracking. Unlike Avail, however, RentRedi prominently features an in-depth mobile app for both landlords and tenants that simplifies rent payment, lease signing, and maintenance tracking.
Avail and RentRedi are property management tools that aim to help landlords and tenants make rental living more manageable for everyone. But while both websites appear similar on the surface, let’s dive deeper into their suite of features to help you decide which solution is best for you and your tenants.
Featuring a streamlined and slick design scheme, Avail is intuitive and easy to use. There are extensive tutorials and user guides to make listing properties as easy as possible, and the navigation menu presents management options clearly and effectively.
RentRedi’s software features a clear and efficient dashboard with widgets displaying the latest information regarding your properties as soon as you log in. Rental applications, maintenance support tickets, and upcoming (or late) rent payments are clearly displayed, with quick access to property and tenant details.
The Avail landlord software features a lease builder that allows landlords to customize lease agreements based on the state laws and guidelines of the area in which you operate. Through the software, both landlords and tenants can sign and review their leases anytime and anywhere.
RentRedit also has a customized lease builder, but the organization and layout of their tenant management system make viewing, amending, and signing leases for each tenant more straightforward than Avail’s system.
Avail allows tenants to submit maintenance requests through the website, which landlords can track and manage. Further, Avail also allows landlords and tenants to attach photos, and tenants can be automatically notified of the ticket’s creation and updated along the way.
RentRedi has made tracking maintenance requests incredibly intuitive for landlords and tenants through a well-thought-out mobile app. Each task is listed clearly, with the ability to add notes, invoices, documents, and high-resolution photos.
Avail does not appear to have a messaging system within its platform offerings. While landlords can send messages between themselves and potential applicants, tenants and landlords can only communicate through maintenance tickets. In other words, there is no built-in way to share messages between tenants and landlords at this time.
Similar to Avail, RentRedit does not have a messaging system within the platform. However, landlords can communicate important updates or reminders through a push notification system provided both the landlord and tenant use the mobile app. It’s a good way for landlords to relay important information to tenants quickly and unobtrusively, though both parties must use the app.
As of the writing of this review, Avail does not have a standalone mobile app. The website features a responsive design, allowing users to view it through a web browser on their phone, but that solution might be lacking for people who are more comfortable using an app instead of a computer.
RentRedi, on the other hand, does have a robust mobile app that makes managing properties while away from home extremely easy. Landlords and tenants even have customized, separate apps for either party, meaning RentRedi has thought through the needs and use cases for both landlords and tenants.
Avail offers a free tier for landlords that includes syndicated listings to multiple real estate listing services, background screening for tenants, state-specific leases, a tenant portal, rent collection, and other features without cost.
For $9 per unit per month, however, landlords gain access to rent collection with waived ACH fees, the ability to clone and reuse previously created lease agreements, and faster response times from their customer service team.
RentRedi pricing is straightforward, but there is no free tier; instead, RentRedi offers landlords the ability to pay either monthly, every six months, or yearly.
The previously listed pricing structures cover an unlimited number of units.
It’s clear that Avail and RentRedi offer similar services and features but very different user experiences. Here are how some landlords like you feel about RentRedi vs. Avail.
Out of 31 reviews on Trustpilot, Avail features a “poor” rating of 2.4 stars. The majority of the ratings, about 60%, are just one-star reviews. Landlords mostly complain about poor customer service from the Avail team. Positive reviews of the platform emphasize how easy it is to collect rent and run background screenings, placing Avail firmly in the “mixed bag” category.
RentRedit, on the other hand, currently has an “average” rating on Trustpilot of 3.5 stars, with nearly 60% of all reviews earning five stars. RentRedi’s top-tier customer service is repeatedly lauded in the reviews on the site, and many landlords reference fast response and action times as well as friendly service.
In terms of negative reviews, most center on the payment processor used to collect rent payments, which is something that landlords should keep in mind when making their choice of property management software. One review even claimed that RentRedi continued collecting rent from one landlord’s tenants after the landlord’s account was put on hold with no explanation.
Clearly, both Avail and RentRedi have solid offerings depending on your needs. However, each falls short in a few areas. For example, Avail has a free tier that can solve a lot of landlords’ needs, but with a history of poor customer service and no mobile app, that could be a dealbreaker for many property managers.
RentRedi, on the other hand, has a pleasing mobile app for both tenants and landlords but no free option, so adding another cost to the long list of expenses likely isn’t worth it when other options exist.
Instead, landlords should consider TurboTenant.
TurboTenant is a fully-formed landlord management system that features a robust free subscription that is uniquely equipped for the needs of most landlords.
With TurboTenant, landlords:
Unlike RentRedi customer service, TurboTenant has been repeatedly praised for its customer interactions, with one customer specifically noting fast response times, even in tricky and complicated situations.
In short, there are a number of software choices that can efficiently manage your properties. Only you can decide what best fits your needs, so sign up for a free TurboTenant account today to see if it’s the right fit for you.
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