AppFolio Property ManagerReviews of appfolio.com

Not having a dedicated customer service really doesn’t improve communication and solving problems 0

They started off great when I signed up back in 2013, there was definitely a learning curve but their service, at the time, was great at being available quickly, getting down to the problem and fixing it. Now, they got rid of their service completely it seems and it takes a week of pointless back and forth over email (because they got rid of our ability to call them) for usually, nothing to be resolved. The software is still working at a very basic level for us, but more and more we are being forced to use third party services now for even very core functions like taking application fees. I've already begun my search and preparing my company for the incredible pain it is going to be to change services. And they know it, which is why they put no effort into customer service or improving the product anymore.

The software is intuitive in many ways but has some major holes. Being a closed API limits your business to only things that their tech crew can develop in-house -- when they get to it. Their maintenance functionality leaves much to be desired but the biggest hole in the software is their lack of thought/effort put into payroll. No connections with any payroll companies and a lack of willingness to connect or develop on their own leaves payroll processing in the very manual dark ages.

I think this company has an awesome system in place, The only problem that I have had is, you can never get a hold of real person and no-one ever answers their phones when you call them directly. I'm in the process of switching over right now, and I'm not really happy or excited anymore.

The property management services offered by Appfolio are pretty good. They definitely have thought through a lot of the day to day tasks and have created a decent product to help manage properties. However, there is a big disconnect between the customer service and help received during your first 60 days with the system, and the continuing support and communication after going through the implementation process. In the fast paced field of property management you can't always wait 3 days to get a response through email about issues that you are having, and then once you get a response it often doesn't answer the problem and instead you get passed to a different department who then also takes a long time to get back to you with a sub-par solution to the problem. It was also disappointing not being able to do a trial run of the product before signing up. They give you access to a practice site after you sign up so you can play around with the different functions and get familiar with the system so that you don't make any big mistakes once you get all of your units input into the system, however, giving access to a practice site before signing up would give people a better idea of the functions that can be performed and the reports that can be created so that we know exactly what we would be getting. Don't get me wrong, the software does have a lot of very useful features but it isn't the most user friendly interface that I've worked with in a property management software. Lastly, while they do offer an open forum for suggestions and ways to improve the system, in my time with Appfolio I noticed that they are slow to provide the features suggested (including ones that have a lot of votes) and are very restrictive with certain customize-able aspects of the software. One of the biggest issues that we faced was with the online lease template. Although it seems that you can customize the lease to fit the template that you currently use, it doesn't allow for complete customization or for you to add all the necessary fields to make the online lease template feature useful. It is limited to simple fields that you can enter such as rent, start and end dates, and unit address, but doesn't allow for you to add other necessary fields such as parking stall number, termination fees, or other fees that are currently part of your lease agreement. It also doesn't allow for you to add customize-able addenda or a field for concessions. Needless to say, our company was looking forward to the ease of the online lease agreement but it failed miserably to meet our needs and we couldn't use it. Overall, if you don't mind that it can be a little tricky to use at first, and that when you need help you might not get it right away, Appfolio might be a good fit for you. Definitely do your research and compare with other services before signing up.

We keep up-to-date with our reports from the top 3 Reporting agencies. Appfolio reported information that was outdated and should not have been included in what they sent to a prospective landlord. 2 evictions & 1 judement that were dismissed/terminated without predjudice! This has caused us to lose housing that we were supposed to move into this summer! Even 1 of the management companies that filed and quickly dismissed an eviction notice in 2014 took us back as tenants without hesitation the following year! Appfolio even discloses on their reports the following statement: "This report does not guarantee the accuracy or truthfulness of the information as to the subject of the investigation, but only that it is accurately copied from public records, and information generated as a result of identity theft, including evidence of criminal activity, may be inaccurately associated with the consumer who is the subject of the report." How fair is that???

This program was very disappointing if you manage for many different residential property owners. Although the website integration is very good, the rest of our experience was not. Maybe your company is too new in the field and because of your fast rate of growth, or your employees are not properly trained. In this field we cannot wait 1-3 days for help. Clients and vendors need to be paid and do not want to wait. I've read a lot of positive reviews of customer service, which puzzles me. I bet they are not past the first 60 day period yet , when help only comes by sending an email request. I bet they have not tried to make their old software reconcile(and reconcile owner reserves and fees) with the first month of Appfolio yet. I bet they have not tried to exit a tenant and return a partial security deposit with in the state deadline using your programs SODA form, and then not been able to get timely help. Without getting into too much detail, as I did at another review site, Appfolios' customer support for existing clients is your weakest link. Slow customer support was ultimately the deciding reason we gave up, and decided to start over with another software program. The next problem, is that your sales team, gives false information to clients considering Appfolio--Either because they will say anything to get the account, or because of a lack of knowledge in property management and Appfolio. Since I found many other reviews citing this same issue in the past 2 years, the company leadership must permit it. Not cool! These two issues cost us thousands of dollars in wasted Appfolio fees, employee wages, and my personal time lost that should have been spent getting new clients. Switching to Appfolio was a colossal mistake for our company. We still had to keep separate lists on whiteboards, keep separate photo files, separate email documentation per unit and client, separate appointment and calendar tracking. Not to mention the fees imposed on tenants to pay with a debit or credit card are so extremely high, that the tenants are not choosing it. The only other choice is e-checks(which are still checks that need to clear and have NSF fees and other problems we found) The marketing on the Appfolio website does not represent what we experienced. Very exaggerated and grossly under delivered what was promised. We are leaving and grateful we had the smarts to keep using our old software, so that our data for the past 6 months is not lost. Note to anyone considering Appfolio: they do not allow you to preview or learn the program before implementation. I strongly suggest, you demand it and do not sign up if they don't allow it.

I really needed help last Friday as I was in the middle of owner checks. I emailed and called and was told that the request would be expiated. I got an email after 5pm Friday stating that my request was being researched. I had to send out owner checks to 60 owners that were for the wrong amount because I could not solve this in a timely manner. I got one answer today, by email and I still am waiting for the response to my reply. this is my only gripe with appflio...support requests that you need NOW take way too long.