How I Self-Manage Five Rental Properties Using Apartments.com
Disclosure: This post is not sponsored, and I don’t receive any commission from Apartments.com. I’m simply sharing the system I’ve personally used to manage all five of my rental properties from the very beginning because it’s worked well for me, especially as a busy mom managing rentals on the side.
One of the first questions new landlords ask is:
“How do I actually keep everything organized?”
Between marketing vacancies, screening applicants, signing leases, collecting rent, tracking maintenance, and preparing for tax season, there are a lot of moving pieces.
You can absolutely manage everything manually. Plenty of landlords do. But having one platform that keeps everything together saves a tremendous amount of time.
I use Apartments.com to manage all five of my rental properties, and the best part is that it’s free! If you’re just getting started, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Marketing Your Property
Apartments.com allows you to create a listing title, detailed listing description, add photos, add virtual tours with platforms such as Matterport.
Here’s an example from one of my recent vacancies:
- Listing was rented in 13 days
- 22 email inquiries
- 7 phone leads
- 5 completed applications before anyone had even toured the property
Apartments.com will ask if you’d like to upgrade to Go Premium to reach more renters. Personally, I’d save your money and start with the free version. If your property isn’t generating interest, I’d first evaluate your asking rent, listing photos, property description, and other marketing efforts before paying for additional exposure.
The platform also offers a rent comparison report that can help you gauge where your property’s rent falls compared to similar rentals nearby.
In my experience, professional photos are one of the best investments you can make when marketing a rental. Spending a couple hundred dollars on quality photography often helps generate more interest, reduce vacancy time, and attract stronger applicants. I also think it gives prospective tenants confidence that they’re working with a professional, organized landlord.
All leads are managed inside your Apartments.com account, and you’ll receive notifications each time someone reaches out. Many prospective tenants use the built-in prompts like “I’d like to request a tour” or “I’d like to confirm availability.”
To save time responding to inquiries and weeding out non-serious renters, I use a set of email templates and a pre-screening process before scheduling tours. If you’d like to use the same workflow, I’ve included my templates in my Landlord Starter Bundle.
Screening Applicants
In the application process, applicants pay Apartments.com’s screening fee directly, and the screening report can often be reused for additional Apartments.com listings for a limited period.
As the landlord, you’ll receive access to the applicant’s credit report, criminal background report, and eviction-related history.
Before approving an application, I always review all aspects of the application and background reports including income, credit score, credit history and current liens, rental history, employment, landlord reference check, and overall application quality.
Tip: I always require every adult living in the property to complete an application.
For more tips on screening applicants, check out my First Time Landlord Checklist blog post, Step 6.
Creating and Signing Leases
Once you’ve selected a tenant, Apartments.com walks you through creating a lease. It asks a series of questions and allows you to add your own custom clauses.
Throughout the process, Apartments.com also provides guidance on certain state-specific requirements, such as security deposit limits or maximum late fees.
I still review every lease carefully before sending it to ensure it complies with my state’s landlord-tenant laws. For our small rental business, the built-in lease tools have been more than sufficient.
Once complete, tenants can electronically sign the lease directly through the platform.
Collecting Rent Online
You can easily collect security deposits, set up recurring monthly rent, and receive payments through direct deposit into your bank account. Paper checks are also an option if needed.
A few payment features I especially appreciate:
- Easily credit a tenant if a mistake is made
- Add one-time charges, such as tenant-caused maintenance costs
- Automatically assess one-time late fees (though any ongoing daily late fees must still be managed by the landlord)
Tracking Rental Property Expneses
One feature I don’t think gets talked about enough is expense tracking.
Apartments.com allows you to assign expenses to individual properties, categorize them, and upload receipts or invoices.
At tax time, having everything already organized saves me a tremendous amount of time compared to digging through receipts months later.
You can also generate reports showing your income, expenses, and overall profitability.
Managing Maintenance Requests
I explain our maintenance procedures in my Tenant Lease Information Guide.
Emergency maintenance requests—such as major plumbing leaks—must be reported by phone. All non-emergency maintenance requests are submitted through Apartments.com.
I receive an email notification when a request is submitted and can update the request throughout the repair process.
Keeping everything inside the platform creates a clear record of maintenance requests, communication, and completion dates, which can be incredibly helpful if questions ever come up later.
Creating Reports
If you use the platform consistently, you’ll have access to reports including:
- Income Statement (Profit and Loss)
- Expenses Statement
- Transactions Statement (payments received in the platform)
- 1099-K Forms (tax documents)
- Overdue Balance Report (shows tenants who have outstanding balances)
- Rent Roll Report (current state of a specific property, including vacant units, current residents, and total rental income)
- Upcoming Availability Report (shows current and upcoming vacancies)
.
Things to Keep in Mind
No software is perfect. A few things to be aware of:
- You’ll still need to understand your state’s landlord-tenant laws.
- Apartments.com doesn’t replace thoughtful tenant screening.
- You are still responsible for coordinating repairs and communicating with tenants.
- If your portfolio grows significantly, you may eventually want a more robust property management system.
Final Thoughts
If you’re just getting started as a landlord, Apartments.com is worth considering. It allows you to market vacancies, screen applicants, create leases, collect rent, manage maintenance requests, and organize expenses all in one place—and the core features are free.
While there are many rental management platforms available, Apartments.com has met all of my needs for managing five self-owned rental properties. As my portfolio grows, I may eventually explore additional software, but for now it has been a reliable system that keeps everything organized.
Just Getting Started? Don’t miss my First Time Landlord Checklist where I walk through the entire process—from buying your first rental to screening tenants and signing your first lease. It’s the guide I wish I’d had when I started.
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