It’s kind of crazy but over the past 2 months I’ve gotten more and more emails from readers asking for us to review online / web based property management software programs.

Why didn’t I think of that myself?  The REI Brain is the clear leader in honest and unbiased property management software reviews… and we hadn’t done any online property manager software until last week when we did the iRealtymanager review .

Anyhow, this week I wanted to do another very popular web based property management software that is one of the top 2 or 3 companies online right now… that company is Buildium .

Quick Look At Buildium Web Based Software

After reviewing iRealtymanager.com and Buildium I’m "coming to the light" and realizing how cool and powerful an online property management program is versus the traditional "download on your computer" software.

Anyhow, my first impression of Buildium was that it’s kind of plain looking and I wasn’t expecting a ton. But… after I started to poke around in my online account (from the 15 day free trial ) I pretty darn quickly found that there’s a ton of features in this software that I haven’t seen on ANY other property management software … even some of the great self hosted ones like Tenant File , LandlordMax , and Quicken Rental Manager .

All in all… after I got done going through the software for an hour or so I realized that Buildium software is more geared toward the property manager (with the features it offers) and property owners who have more than 25 units (in my mind).  Really, the sweet spot for this software is probably between 50 and 300 units… right around there.  I’m not saying property owners or managers with 10 units can’t use Buildium… they can… it’s just that the robust features on the system are really designed more for someone who manages more properties.

When I was going through Buildium software it felt like I could really systematize the whole management process better with this software than I could with most others… it has a ton of time saving and efficiency features that I loved.  Anyhow, enough of my blabbing… check out the video below and the pro’s and con’s of Buildium .

Buildium Software Video Review

**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 <<

Scroll down to get the link for the pro’s and con’s… and recommendations for Buildium.

"Cliff Notes" Version of My Buildium Software Review

Like I said before… my impression is that Buildium was created with property managers and large property owners in mind. There are just so many features that "systematize" things so much that it is perfect for managing a bunch of units (50-300+).  For people managing fewer properties… iRealtymanager.com is a great option that is perfect for that market… in my opinion because it doesn’t bog smaller property owners or property managers down with the extra features that they’ll likely never use.

So… here are the main pro’s and con’s I found with Buildium software.

The Pros: (what I like a lot!)

• Detailed instructions for each section so you know what the heck to do even on your first try with the Buildium software
• Automated late fees and late fee notifications (pretty cool)
• Very robust file uploading feature so you can upload pictures, leases, documents, pdfs. I like it how Buildium stores the files with each unit and tenant … rather than in one "bulk" box like iRealtymanager .
• Automated email notifications and receipts for tenants, property owners, etc. (saves you paper and time… just click 2 buttons and your tenants know your latest "news")
• Automated property listings and a custom website portal that you can send people to to view your property/unit listings (this is hugely useful for property managers… cool feature)
• Can take and store rental applications right in the software… and track the applications through the process of "approval", "rejection", etc.
• Tenants and property owners have their own little special "portal" and login info where they can log in, check out the status of their payments, their unit, notes, etc.  Tenants can even print off their receipts online .
• Can take payments online pretty darn easily and put out automatic receipts
• Very robust financials and banking integration .  Can handle banking and even print checks right on the software
• Cool EZmailer feature where you can send postage mail with a couple clicks for just under a buck a piece… cool time saving feature.
• Budget calculator so you can tell ahead of time what your property budget will be
• A feature I LOVE is their built in word processor and you can with just a couple clicks create automated Move In Letters, Move Out Letters, Applications, notifications, Late Rent notices, etc. (you can add your own custom letters too!)
• A nice clean "home base" page that shows vacants, tasks, leases ending, etc… really geared once again to the property manager… this doesn’t do a whole lot of good for an investor who owns 5 or 10 units.
• There’s a bunch more features too… it’s best to just check ‘em out yourself on their site.

The Cons: (what I didn’t like about Buildium software)

Like with any product… nothings perfect… and there were a few things I think Buildium may lack(in my opinion).  Here they are…

• In my opinion (I’m a simple minded guy I guess…) I like to have the actions that we/I do the most right there easily accessible on the "home page" with just one click.  So, I’d like to see a big green "accept a payment" button on the home screen and another "enter a bill" (red button) on the home screen as well.  That’s just me… but in a perfect world thats what I’d like to see to cut down my time.
• No "late rent" notification on the home page (as far as I could see… I could be wrong though)… this is something I like to see right when I get on the home page so I can see what’s going on.
• Like any web based property management software… you’re relying on having internet access to be able to get to your information (not a problem 99% of the time… but if your internet goes out at a bad time you’re outta luck for a little while).  This isn’t a big problem at all… just may become an inconvenience in certain cirtumstances.
• I’m a visual person so I’d like to see some charts and graphs for the financials area kind of like Quicken Rental Property Manager has… just me though
• This is a con for some… and plus for others… but Buildium is built with the property manager and someone who owns a bunch of units (50-300+) in mind … so it kind of may overwhelm a person who owns 5 or 10 units with all of the extra features.  So, this shows that Buildium is going after the property manager and large investor market more… which isn’t a bad thing at all… you can’t be everything to everyone.   So, if you’re a property owner who’s managing 5-100 units… you might check out both iRealtymanager.com and Buildium to see which one you like the best.

That’s about it as far as con’s… I didn’t find a whole lot I didn’t like.  There were petty things like the design is kind of "blah"… and the home base page doesn’t have some elements I want to see on it… but overall I’m pretty pleased with it for the person who owns 50-300+ units.

My Overall Impression Of Buildium Web Based Rental Property Software

Overall, I’m very pleased with Buildium compared to both offline and web based property management software that I’ve reviewed in the past.

It’s got great features that really help to automate the business a bit more… has robust reports… and is pretty economical.

Really, I can’t say that I like Buildium over iRealtymanager.com or any of the other software I’ve reviewed (except for a few that I really didn’t like) or vice versa… to me Buildium goes after a completely different prospect than the others.

If you’re managing over 50 units … and up to several hundred (really… pretty much any number of units you want)… and you want extra "efficiency" features… Buildium is worth a try.

If you’re managing less than 100 units … try out both iRealtymanager.com and Buildium … and go with the one that you feel the most comfortable with.  They’re both pretty close in price… so really it’s up to preference. You can start at just $9.99 for 5 units with Buildium and work up in price from there (just $30/month for 40 units and $175/month for 650 units).  iRealtymanager.com starts at $15 for up to 25 units and just $75/month for up to 300 units.  Just check them both out for yourself and see what works best for you.

As far as versus traditional PC hosted software … I like Buildium more than LandlordMax (as a software)… it’s very comparable to Tenant File software.  Really, you just need to decide whether web based software paid by subscription (monthly, annual, etc. payments)

How Do I Grade Buildium Software ?? (out of 5)

Design: and 1/2
Affordability :           and 1/2
Features:
Ease of Use : and 1/2
Overall (1-10 Units): and 1/2 (4.5 out of 5 )

To Try Buildium For 15 Days For Free Yourself (or to buy it)

Like I’ve said in the past… my reviews are great to help you see with different eyes the benefits and drawbacks of certain property management software.  Then… it’s up to you to try them out yourself and choose the one that you like the best.

So… head on over to Buildium and give it a try FREE For 15 Days.

You can go through the entire software and use all of the features for 15 days… which is plenty of time to see if you like it or not.

Then, if you do like it and want to use it… be sure to sign up and buy through our site to get your free property management forms package that I use in my own rental property business worth over $67.  Just forward me your receipt and I’ll shoot you over your forms package as my gift to you.

Here’s the link again. .. let me know if you have any questions.

>> Try Buildium Free For 15 Days <<

or

>> Buy Buildium Right Now <<

… and if you own less than 100 units… you might try out iRealtymanager.com as well just so you have a couple different choices to choose from.

Here's A Few Related Articles...

• Irealtymanager.com Review Online Property Management Software
• Landlord Max Property Rental Management Software Review
• Rent Tracker Property Management Software - In Depth Review…
• Quicken Rental Property Manager 2.5 In-depth Review
• Tenant File Software Questions and Answers

Categories: Property Rental Management Software, income properties, landlording
Tags: buildium, buildium reviews, buildium software, irealtymanager, online property management software, property management software reviews, web based property management software, web based property management software reviews