Best Software for Real Estate Investors in 2020

Software can make life a lot easier, and now more than ever, it’s possible for the real estate investor to manage properties from nearly anywhere in the world. There’s a lot out there, but the following are definitely among the tried-and-true choices of the best software for real estate investors.

Best Software for Real Estate Investors in 2020

1. Property Evaluator

You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to find a deal, and you run home to start crunching the numbers. That takes all afternoon, and by the time you’re done, the property is gone. If that sounds familiar, put an end to it with Property Evaluator.

You can run hard numbers on properties right on the spot in less than five minutes. You can also get a quick 30-year performance projection that takes into account all the key financial metrics, from CAP rate to cash flow. Use the app to compare several properties instantly and then just click a button to create a professional PDF report.

Features and Costs

The free standard version lets you evaluate up to three expenses on a single property, edit the values, save changes, store a photo, and use the built-in mortgage calculator. You can also do semi-annual compounding if you’re considering Canadian mortgages, and you get full support for international units and currencies. You get access to the reports but can’t print or email them.

If you move up to the Premium version at $20, you can add multiple properties and create what-if scenarios. You can email or print performance projections and compare and evaluate multi-unit and commercial properties. Finally, there’s a $40 Pro version with all the features of standard and Premium plus the ability to create portfolios, add multiple photos with captions, estimate costs of improvements, and create your own custom categories for itemizing closing and improvement costs.

2. DealMachine

Dealmachine allows you to enter an address, or even just take a picture with your phone, and get instant data on who owns the property, when it was last bought and for how much, and the approximate current value. If you’re interested, you simply click a button to send an automated note to the owner expressing your interest. If you want to send a more personal message, for a small fee, you can get property owner emails, physical mailing addresses, and phone numbers. Dealmachine is a great way to get talking with sellers, fast.

Features and Costs

In addition to what’s already been mentioned, this app will keep track of your driving route for you, so you never waste time in areas you’ve already been. Even better, if you’ve got more than one person working on finding properties, it will integrate the whole team, so everyone’s map shows what’s been covered. It will also keep track of mileage for tax purposes.

The Basic version runs about $50 a month and allows unlimited owner lookups but only one full-access user. The Professional version is close to $100 a month but allows two full-access users and two limited-access users, more sophisticated personal letters to send to sellers, and lowers the fee for accessing detailed contact info.

3. Property Fixer

If you’re looking to flip properties, this is the perfect software for getting it done. Simply input the information about a property and then get a detailed flip analysis with profit, return on investment, and a thorough analysis of the property before you buy. Whether you’re looking at a short sale, REO, or commercial property, Property Fixer can do it all.

Features and Costs

The free Standard version lets you evaluate up to three expenses and one property. Change your holding period anywhere from 0 to 30 years to see how the numbers update and use the built-in mortgage calculator with payment schedules to get a clear view of expenses. The $20 Premium version lets you create scenarios, compare multiple properties, figure for unlimited expenses, and then create reports you can send by email or print.

The $40 Pro version allows for property portfolios, multiple photos for each unit, and more control for estimated, categorizing, and itemizing your closing and improvement costs.

4. Property Tracker

Property Tracker will replace your accountant and tax adviser costs while saving your hours of time and missed opportunities. This is a Jason Hartman-approved piece of software that makes it simple to make smarter decisions about when to refinance, sell, or remove your PMI.

Features and Costs

There’s a free 30-day trial with this software. After that, you get access to everything for $37 a month or an annual membership of $347. Track monthly income and expenses, get detailed and customizable performance reports, create Schedule E and Schedule of Depreciation documents for your taxes, store all your documents online, and much more.

5. Call Porter

When you’re in the midst of making a deal, you don’t want to miss a single call. Unfortunately, that’s just not possible sometimes. With Call Porter, you never have to worry about that again. This amazingly sophisticated software is actually your access to a live answering service. When you get a call, Call Porter routes it to expertly trained staff who only work with real estate. Meanwhile, the software alerts them to who is calling and why so they can turn the call into whatever you need: an appointment, a lead, or even a negotiation.

Features and Costs

Reps are available to take calls from 8 am to 10 pm, Monday through Saturday. If a call comes in after hours, it gets transcribed and instantly sent via email to Call Porter’s team, who will contact you if it’s something urgent. All the Call Porter reps are based in the US, highly trained exclusively in all things real estate, and go through a 90-day probationary period. Plus, all conversations are recorded, and you can access recordings or talk to the person who took the call.

Pricing is based on your estimated monthly call volume. If you get up to 25 calls a month, the cost is $500 a month. If you’re expecting 150 calls a month, expect to pay just over $1,000, and so on.

Use Them to Your Advantage

The most successful investors know how to find the best software for real estate investors and make it work for them. With the market getting more crowded by the day, keep your place within it through the best software choices.