Buildium Erfahrungen

Vorteile

We have been live for just over a year now. We use the applications, electronic rent collection (epay), accounting, Resident Center, and task tracking (maintenance) features of Buildium. Their automation has saved us so much time and money.

Nachteile

Wishlist rather than cons as the system is very good: 1) multiple applications would be good based on the type of property rather than being limited to just 1 application, 2) the ability to move a tenant out and move a new tenant in on the same day, 3) better tenant communications (emailing and messaging) above and beyond what is built-in, we adopted Follow-up Boss for this, 4) API should be open to Zapier

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

We were so fragmented, although we still kept Rentec Direct for Off Market Listings

Zuvor genutzte Software

QuickBooks Desktop

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

It was the best fit

Vorteile

Buildium is incredible. We came from PropertyWare which is old and lame. The UI dated and lame, but Buildium is all improved. We love it!! The leasing process and managing tenant move it’s is a breeze. Honestly every part has been great. Support is also very good if a question comes up.

Nachteile

The only thing that tenants have complained about are the fees associated with online payments. They are close to $15 for a transaction (tenant pays). We were used to our tenants only need to pay a $1-$3 fee per transaction. But it’s not that big a deal.

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AppFolio Property Manager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

PropertyWare needs to be shut down, it’s old and a pain to use. I’ve used it as a tenant for years and it’s rough.

Vorteile

Easy to use even if you haven't used any management software before.

Nachteile

The ease of going back and forth between sheets and reports could be easier.

Vorteile

Nothing. They overpromissed and didn't deliver.

Nachteile

They charge credit card fees from the landloard and can't provide information about who paid with a credit card. I think what they are doing is a fraud. I didn't even receive the amount of money through their system that they charged me a fee. The way they transfer money, it's inconvenient. They combine and split the transfers a weir way.

Vorteile

Ledgers are clear, easy to adjust, and helpful for tenants.

Nachteile

At the plan we're on we don't speak to live people. I think that in this model everyone loses issues take 5x longer to resolve, the user gets frustrated and everyone's time is wasted.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager und Yardi Voyager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

Wasn't robust enough and a bit hard to use.

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

Was a better fit for what we needed- not too costly, and had the clarity and simplicity that we needed.

Vorteile

Buildium continues to innovate and improve their property management software and have not raised fees much from when I started over 10 years ago. I originally began its use because Buildium was one of the few that was web-based and fit all of the criteria that I was looking for. I can access it from my smartphone, tablet, or laptop anywhere that I have internet access.

Nachteile

Nothing, Buildium satisfies all of my needs

Vorteile

I like that Buildium is affordable and easy to use. I would also say they have better than average support for a PM software.

Nachteile

It is not as customizable as other property management software, so it is important to review this software carefully before choosing it. It needs to be a good fit for your property management model.

Vorteile

Buildium offers a wide range of features including tenant and lease tracking, maintenance management, accounting, and communication tools.

Nachteile

Buildium can be expensive, especially for smaller property management companies or individual landlords managing a few properties.

Vorteile

I like the package of features Buildium has inclusive of property management, including efficient tracking of lease, automated rent collection streamlined maintenance management, etc

Nachteile

Pricing is higher for for smaller property managers

Vorteile

Very easy source to use for any company and can be easy access

Nachteile

Sometimes you would have to refresh the application but that’s it

Vorteile

Buildiun is a very easy to use software. New features are normally well received by my staff.

Nachteile

Missing some features. 3rd Party (FORTE) is not customer friendly.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager und Yardi Voyager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

Propertyware was too complicated to the point the my clients start complaining.

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

It was a small company with a simple product. The team at the time was very friendly and committed.

Vorteile

Love how simple this is to use! I personally didnt have a big bookkeeping/accounting background so setting up, implementing and using this was much easier than other software that is for more of an advanced user. Tenant messaging is great! Love the use of resident website.

Nachteile

Wish I could do more with the tenant emails, notices. I have to use a third party to get really cool looking emails/notices. You cant even really put in a image which would be helpful. Reports are customizable enough. As we are all different I would love to have more options for the reports not just on what info they show, or filter out but the actual width of columns, etc. I dont like to export to spreadsheet then edit. More ability to communicate with all parties on a work order, right now you can only update by checking tenant or owner. Would love to be able to send messages to vendors separate from tenants/owners. Also hate having to make a task then work order, it should really be just a work order. Then you can create a task for other things.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

Price and simplicity. On boarding for both is a long process and they charge (which is crazy). Buildium was setup quickly, then we added the extra services. It was really easy to set up and is still very simple to use.

Vorteile

Easy to use and can cope with multiple properties.
Reports can be generated for variations in financial year reporting of different counties.
You can set up recurring bills so they appear on your list of things to do which reminds you and you don't have to re-enter all the data each time you have a bill to pay.

Nachteile

This is an American based program and for American users, it offers the ability to pay bills direct from your bank account etc. For me in Australia, this facility is unavailable.

Vorteile

The software is pretty easy to use, intuitive. Buildium does not really encourage integration with other Apps easily.

Nachteile

That Tenants can't do Independent Home inspections. OR that We can't tie another software into Buildium easily to allow us to customize a few things.

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Yardi Voyager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

Wanted better immediate /automatic posting to ledgers when tenants paid and wanted better download and organizing of owner files.

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

Because we are a smaller company and did not need to manipulate software as much as Yardi allows (therefore costing more). FYI - I recently tried to upgrade my buildium membership but it absolutely did not make sense financially. I think it would be beneficial for there to be an option for smaller companies of less than 100 properties to be able to get the premium package for a lesser price. (I want open API and will not ever be more than 50 properties, so a package for a smaller number of properties would be something the big companies like Yardi don't offer)

Vorteile

This software allows me to communicate efficiently with tenants and owners and to find information quickly when needed. I also love that it is always adding new features and updating existing.

Nachteile

I would like to be able to text owners the way that I can tenants. I would also like to be able to do the owner PM agreements as well. Sometimes I need to add an addendum so it would be nice to be able to add documents to be signed as needed.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

We did not have enough properties to use Appfolio

Vorteile

Residents can pay their rent and management billed utilities on line. Even those residents who are not computer savy, we can set up their payments for them (with their written permission, of course).

Nachteile

Sometimes I feel the techs who write the instructions forget that not everyone is computer savy, so it takes time for the average user of the product some time to figure it out.

Vorteile

Easy of use from the user end. What I like about the company is the always are trying to improve in areas that need it.

Nachteile

I don't like the website. It looks old and not professional. Other software companies allow the use the ability to have a website made for them for a cost and buildium does not. As my company has grown it would be nice to show how we are professional and a good management company with a modern more professional website.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

Payments online, user login for remote locations not just office.

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

At the time cost. I was ok not having a good website at the time cause we needed better software. But the competition offer better looking websites even at that time.

Vorteile

They are simple to manuever and easy to implement the functions. Overall compared with other products on the market, it is relatively easy to use.

Nachteile

Many times the system is more geared to apartment/residential type buildings and residential tenants. This might be something to consider when you are commercial property manager since the reporting functions for commercial management are some what limited and not so friendly. I strongly suggest that they implement more functions and reporting options for different types of commercial properties.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Warum Buildium gewählt wurde

The cost of monthly fee is the key factor for small property management company.

Zuvor genutzte Software

AppFolio Property Manager

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Buildium

The cost of monthly fee is the key factor for small property management company.

Vorteile

I've been a customer of Buildium since 2010. I really like the fact on how Buildium saves me many hours throughout my workweek and helps me cover my tracks at the same time. This is helpful especially during the busy part of my day. One of the many great features that I like in Buildium's is the seamless integration they implemented into their software using a top rated property inspection software. It stores the inspection report with all of the photos and notes in one place for reference at a later date. I use my tablet onsite and the software does the rest. Another plus about Buildium is when I need to open a new work order (either onsite or in the office) for maintenance or a repair issue, I open the work order tab and everything you need is in one convenient place to manage the task from start to finish. Also, on Buildium's home screen, I have a dedicated section where I can review and update the progress of all work orders. In addition, each property manager has access to only their managed properties (specific authorization can be customized too). At the end of the day, all of this information is easy to locate, view, share and export and I know where to go if I need it. There Is So Much More...!

Nachteile

There's really not much that I could say about what I like "least" about Buildium. I say this because, they constantly make improvements and implement new features on a regular basis. There really is very little opportunity to say, "... I wish there was a better way to do this task..." They also ask for feedback on occasion and I like that too. I found that if there's a popular request made to Buildium they act on it and they implement those new features. All of their users can request and track new requests through their forum. A very transparent company who is serious about making my day easier, Buildium!

Vorteile

Tenant tracking, tenant ledger, and reporting of tenant payments. The tenant log on ease and the on line payment process. So for managing tenants - awesome! The features for managing the vendors for repairs - awesome! Love the bulk charges feature.. well designed and functional!

Nachteile

Some of the interface features.. like when entering a charge.. I always have to scroll to save it... little annoyance.. but why? .. Tighten the window. Allow tabbing and the enter key to move through the screen. I don't want to touch my mouse!
The big frustration is that I can't write a tenant security deposit refund check to multiple tenants - it is by law that all tenants be on the refund check - yes I have figured out workarounds - but it is silly. I now just physically write them on the finished check. It looks stupid - but I don't have time to do my workaround. Fix that! In addition, take a look at the " final report" for the tenant on their none of the important information is visible... (Call me - I can help you!)

The really big thing that would be nice is already programmed with your bulk charges feature.. I want to be able to "Bulk distribute checks to a list of investors" What that means is -I have my list of investors and instead of putting charges on a ledger - put a check entry onto the bank ledger so I could print checks and send them. Using all of the features of the bulk charges - except.. bulk payment. ( We have investors for each building - we pay them dividends several times a year -- same percentage, same names ... but I have to manually enter them. YOU CAN DO IT... I would be so happy!!!!!!!

Vorteile

There are several items within Buildium that by far surpassed other property management companies. The ability to upload subcontractor paperwork and have all the information in one place securely online with reminders set up when expirations or missing information is needed. The ability for everyone with accounts set up to communicate, check on tasks, and proposals all in one place for easy referral. One of the easiest implementations and setups for property management software. But the absolute best thing about Buildium for me anyways is that you can list as much information from sales, tasks, proposals, selections, etc. I truly believe that all companies need to keep as much information as possible on file and with Buildium you can put as much information as you need, place tags for easy reporting, and this information is for authorized users to see. To me, you can never have too much information and it makes is so much easier if you have a person leave and the new hire to move it and look at the information to be brought up to date.

Nachteile

When I first started working with Buildium I wished that there had been a step by step workflow check sheet because at times I had to go and research if I was entering the data correctly. But that was quickly solved while speaking with Buidium's excellent customer support team members.
Finally, I would recommend a Buildium forum where all users can go on and if they have questions can post it to the forum as another user may have had the same problem.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

AppFolio Property Manager

Vorteile

I had used the software at another company and thought it would work well at my current job. I really appreciated the customer service from my past experience. I have had only one less than favorable experience with the customer service received in my years of using Buildium. I like how easy it is for our tenants to use and navigate. It has encouraged most of them to pay online which is a huge time saver for me.

Nachteile

Since we do commercial leasing and not residential, there are some misses in my opinion. I'd say my biggest frustration with the software is the eleasing formatting. If you have a document with tagged information boxes, if you enter in one wrong piece of information instead of being able to edit just that one box, you have to cancel the whole document and start over. That's rather a pain. So I've been uploading forms more instead of using the saved elease documents for this reason. Also, I wish there was a way to tailor the communications better. My tenants want to receive monthly rent invoice yet your system only generates monthly statements. So I have to manually make these monthly, which is time consuming. It would be nice if I could create something like this. I worked with several customer service reps on this tasks and it was decided that what I want done is not possible at this time.

Vorteile

The customer service is OUTSTANDING! There is no way to be able to solve all the problems of transitioning to a new program on your own; I tried that with another program, using the excellent documentation they had provided but was never able to overcome some of the posting problems I encountered. I ended up frustrated and stressed out from being unable to understand how the program wanted me to do things. However, when I ran into any problem with the Buildium program, all I have to do is submit a support ticket. I normally recieve an answer back within 24 hours. If it is a serious problem, I call customer service and I am ALWAYS able to reach a LIVE, FRIENDLY, American speaking Specialist that is able to see what my program is doing and walk me through the problem to the point that I can manage it and they always explain what is going on so I can understand it!! It is the absolute best program I have ever used, in any field, in my entire 40 year career in Property Management! And they are constantly updating the program and making it better! I don't think I have ever been happier with a buying decision in my life. I highly recommend this program and company to anyone who is going to be managing real estate.

Nachteile

The ONLY thing I can think of that I don't like about this program is that one of the report sorts I use is done by the owner first name, instead of last name and the security depsoit breakdown report is done by Owner name, instead of the Tenant Name. Other than that, I can not think of a single thing to complain about. It is a great company!

Vorteile

I mainly work with application processing and screening, as well as applicant/prospect communication. I've experienced other softwares where it's super difficult to track stages or completion of certain "checkpoints" but with Buildium it's super easy! You can customize checlists on the application to easily keep track of what needs to be done and also so your team can easily view the current status. Another great bonus point is the screenings are very thorough and are ready within minutes of requesting them and overall the platform is super user firnedly, all information has a place and I find it really easy to operate.

Nachteile

Overall I really don't have any major issues with the platform, my only one is the security measure it has in place sometimes while running payments with the same payment method. If it happens to be that 2 applicants submitted a payment with the same card, it requires a small buffer time between each application payment being processed. It's not really a big deal but I'm big on having my "flow-state" so it just kills my vibe sometimes a litte bit, but outside of that I believe strongly that Buildium is a tool that is constantly maintained and updated and there's no major flows to its functionality!

Vorteile

The software is easy to use across multiple platforms; I can use it from my smartphone, tablet, or from a PC with an internet connection. It has lots of useful features.

As a six-property small company, we only use a few of the features so far. We started using it for the accounting. But there is more; I especially like the applicant tracking feature which we used for the first time in the past month. It happened to be integrated with a product we actually already used for credit/background checks. I was able to send a prospective tenant a link to the website Buildium produces for you where the tenant could complete the application online. I then sent links for the SmartMove credit/background check to the prospect. It all fed back into Buildium and even notified the prospects of our decision by email.

There is also a way to post new listings online with Zillow, Trulia, etc. from within Buildium. As we were already set up for another method, I have not used it yet but will likely try on the next property we have available. It allows you to add property pictures, property descriptions and leasing information that would save time on properties with higher turnover. There is a built-in website-making function that has a lot of potential to set your tenants up with accounting and other information online.

There is a method for setting up payments online too, but it's tied into just one vendor. As I don't want to give up any percentage of the rent we receive to a credit card company, I'm not using that one myself. I'm not sure if you could use other vendors for online payments. I do plan on setting up my tenants online so they can see the payments we have posted for them and their lease information. They will also be able to request maintenance items online, too, which would be helpful in our tracking of such items.

Nachteile

There is a learning curve to figuring out how to effectively use the software. Also, there are some things it won't do without a workaround from an accounting standpoint. We have mortgages on some property which takes a workaround to account for properly. Also, the payment method assumes you cut a check or use their EFT system. In reality, we usually use a credit card and pay off that bill. But we have to account for it by pretending that we cut a check. Not a dealbreaker, but it takes some work sometimes to figure out the workaround for a given situation. The Help function is useful, and I am sure contacting the company would work too (although we have not needed to contact them for questions so far).