Our Rating: 8.5
Our Verdict
I would use Hemlane as a property management software for my small real estate company if I want a simple and straightforward system to help me manage all aspects of property renting. The lowest-tiered software has all the features you need to personally manage rental properties, and I would choose the higher-tiered plans if I wanted a more hands-off approach to property management.
I would not use Hemlane if I needed more detailed accounting, if I needed integrations with third-party software, or if I needed the functionality of a dedicated mobile app to conduct my business.
Hemlane is a property management software with comprehensive features to help users easily manage the entire life cycles of residential rental properties located in the United States. Users can access this cloud-based service from anywhere in the world from any device with an internet connection.
The base software plan includes tools for marketing, tenant screening, lease tracking, rent payments, and conducting maintenance and repairs. The two advanced plans grant users access to services like 24/7 emergency maintenance support and networks of service professionals and leasing agents.
| Pros | Cons |
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Our Ratings
| Usability - 8.7 | Has a clean and modern interface; allows users to easily create new properties, tenants, and payments; there could be more integration between the property and tenant sections. |
| Support - 8.2 | It has a Help section on the software with suggested articles and links to their main support center; includes zendesk support that helps you find articles with answers to questions; I had to navigate to the home page to find a phone support number, but no hours of operation are listed. |
| Features - 7.0 | Has all the features I would expect from property management software (tenant management, property management, rent payment, tenant portal, etc.); has a mobile-friendly interface but does not have a mobile app. |
| Security - 8.2 | Developer has had no known data leaks; only financial data can export to PDF or CSV files; offers multi-factor authentication for all plans |
| Value - 8.7 | Plans start at $34/month plus $2.50 per unit; plans are available at a discounted yearly rate; base plan has all vital features for self management; higher-tiered plans include services for maintenance coordination and more; more expensive than some competitor products. |
| Performance - 10 | No performance issues; performing tasks is fast and easy; no issues when jumping between tasks. |
| Key Features - 9.2 | Creating new tenants, and properties is straightforward; keeping track of rent payments is easy; I can store descriptive information on tenants and properties; tenant payment history is only available through financials tab; it is sometimes unclear when a task is completed (i.e. adding a new unit) |
Features
Adding New Properties
Adding a new property or a unit to an existing property is easy.
After clicking "Add Property" in the Properties tab, I was able to:
- Select housing type
- Add the address
- Add any team members to associate with the property
- Select the service package
- Upload any necessary documents like images or PDFs
- Add any unit numbers
Once the property and units are added, I can attach them to a tenant profile. I can also move an existing unit to a different property.
Onboarding New Tenants
Adding a new tenant is easy. Simply go to the tenants and leases tab, click add new tenant, and fill out the form. On this form, you can invite the tenant to sign up for Hemlane where they can access the tenant portal. I was also able to select whether they were pre-approved, or request an online application or background check. I added the lease terms including:
- Start and end dates
- Monthly rent
- Due date
- Security deposit
Tenant records appear to be sorted by the date that they were created. I cannot sort them in any other way, though I can search your tenant records by their name or email. For users with many tenants, this may present a challenge if they cannot remember the tenant name but they know what the unit is.
Managing Rent Collection
Managing payments is straightforward, and 100% of funds go to the account owner. You can add as many bank accounts as you need with no extra charge from Hemlane. Rent payment options include:
- One time or recurring payments
- Late fees
- Partial payments
- Automatic or manual rent payments
- ACH (free) credit or debit card (3% fee)
- Request /record offline payments
Your first ACH payment processed on Hemlane can take up to 10 business days. All others take 2-3 business days. It's easy to change the terms/details on rent collection, but you must delete any invoices that were already generated in order to change them. You cannot edit an invoice that was already sent. Other benefits include:
- Daily email summaries of payments
- Monthly email summaries
- Cash flow statements
- Income statement
- Lease ledger
- Download statements - export to CSV or PDF
Maintenance Request Portal
I was easily able to create a new maintenance request, select the unit, select the issue category, and describe the request. I was also able to upload an image to the maintenance ticket, which could show the problem needing attention. I was able to select a tenant (or opt not to) to associate it with the maintenance request. I then selected a tenant to contact for scheduling the maintenance. There was also a button to select if no tenants occupy the property. If that is selected, I can add a contact of a team member to help me coordinate the maintenance.
While creating a request, I was unable to navigate to any other parts of the software without completing the request. I could exit the request, which deletes it completely.
Once the request is completed, there are options to add updates, more photos or documents, and work estimates. I can also easily create a work order, then assign it to a service professional with detailed information about the request.
Tenants can also easily create maintenance and repair requests through the tenant portal.
What Features Are Missing?
Through our experience using Hemlane, we desired:
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Mobile App: While Hemlane is accessible by any device with an internet connection and is mobile-friendly, it does not have a dedicated mobile app. A mobile app containing all the software features would enhance the user experience for users that are constantly on-the-go and need the simplified interface. An app could also give alerts to all users (property managers, tenants, leasing agents, maintenance technicians, etc.) regarding needed documentation, payments, and work orders.
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Integrations: It appears that Hemlane does not integrate with any third-party software at this time. Integrations with accounting tools like Quickbooks could expand functionality for users that need more robust accounting features and want to more easily transfer data.
Pricing Plans
| Plan | Pricing | Features |
| Basic | $2.50/unit + $34 base fee per month (billed monthly)
$2/unit + $28 base fee per month (billed annually) |
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| Essential | $2.50/unit + $34 base fee per month (billed monthly)
$12/unit + $28 base fee per month (billed annually) |
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| Complete | $2.50/unit + $34 base fee per month (billed monthly)
$32/unit + $28 base fee per month (billed annually) |
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FAQ
What does Hemlane do?
Hemlane is a property management software that also offers advanced property management services.
How secure is Hemlane?
Hemlane uses bank-level encryption security to protect payments. Their payment systems are current with banking industry security standards, and their processor is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1. Hemlane stores sensitive data as encrypted "tokens" which means that nobody on their team will be able to see the data, only the users who entered the data.
Does Hemlane integrate with QuickBooks?
No, Hemlane does not integrate with QuickBooks. Though, Hemlane does have a guide for importing your financial data from Hemlane into QuickBooks.
Alternatives
Summary
I recommend Hemlane for small real estate businesses that want to manage operations through one platform. Although the cloud-based software is mobile-friendly, many user reviews note that they desire a fully functional mobile app to conduct operations. Also, though there are many great features to help users manage their properties, more integrations would help users connect with other third party software to expand functionality for tasks like accounting.
The Basic plan starts as low as $30 per month. It includes all the tools you need to self-manage your rental properties.
Some property management software charges users for set numbers of units. Since Hemlane charges a base fee plus a fee per unit, you only pay for what you need.
With Essential and Complete plans, you gain access to Hemlane's 24/7 emergency support team which diagnoses and troubleshoots requests, manages work orders with your service professionals, and schedules maintenance and repairs with tenants. With the Complete plan, you also gain access to Hemlane's network of maintenance and repair vendors.
Though Hemlane is more expensive than some of its competitors, it is still a cost effective way to easily manage your rental properties from anywhere in the world.
Product Overview
User Reviews of Hemlane
Write a Review
Great software for my property management business. Software is easy to use and the customer service has been great. I can imagine do what I’m doing without Hemlane.
Easy to use, complete service (Background check, listing properties on many website with one time input, reliable). Great customer support!!
