5 Buildium Checklists for Superior Management of Core Rental Processes

This is our third template pack composed of checklists that are designed to be worked through in conjunction with a specific property management tool.

We did a pack for Appfolio, Propertyware, and now here are 5 checklist templates for property managers out there who use Buildium to help them run their business.

Buildium is a powerful tool that addresses all aspects of property management.

The platform has built a stellar reputation largely due to its ability to facilitate the tenant-rental owner relationship by offering customizable rental applications, tenant screening, lease tracking, automated rent collection, and other handy features including a full general ledger for accounting.

It’s truly an end-to-end solution for property management firms of all sizes.

The software is entirely cloud-based, so requires no additional hardware or software installations and can be accessed from anywhere.

The platform is currently used by over 12,000 property managers and 175,000 property owners; numbers that will surely continue to rise as they gain popularity and look to bring in more enterprise-level customers.

Why combine Process Street with Buildium?

First-class property management really comes down to excellent communication between a range of stakeholders, in particular, property owners, tenants, and maintenance workers.

While this of course requires a significant amount of face-to-face interaction, a lot of communication can be done through the use of workflow software, property management software, or even better, a combination of the two.

Why is a combination better than one or the other?

Because a workflow management software tool like Process Street enables you to track in real-time the progress of workflows at a granular level, while also offering in-built features to streamline communication.

Here are a few other main benefits of complimenting Buildium with Process Street:

• Improve collaboration by assigning checklists and specific tasks to team members
• Capture important data with a variety of form fields
• Add rich media for more effective communication
• Always know who did what, when, with a full activity feed and audit trail

While Buildium remains your central data repository and primary tool for managing properties and communicating with owners and tenants, Process Street is your go-to tool for executing specific processes (e.g. a lease renewal) in a way that enables team collaboration and provides managers with detailed insight into how the workflow is progressing in real-time.

So, check out the following checklists to see how they could be customized and integrated into your business to improve performance.

Buildium Checklists: Quicklinks

There are quick links right below if you want to dive in and go straight to the checklists.

• Late Rent Payment Process
• Lease Renewal Checklist
• Tenant Move-In Process
• Tenant Move-Out Process
• Upcoming Lease Expiration Checklist

So that you can get the maximum value out of these checklists, watch this Process Street webinar where we explain the tips and tricks of using Process Street to manage your property workflows.

For detailed information regarding the checklists, scroll down.

Buildium Checklist: Late Rent Payment Process

It is all too common for tenants to pay their rent late.

While this is to a large extent, understandable and acceptable, it can become a serious issue that demands eviction proceedings.

If the tenant is persistently failing to pay their rent on time and have begun violating the lease agreement, then, unfortunately, eviction is the only choice.

Evicting a tenant is always the last resort. The process of eviction is costly and stressful for all parties involved, making it a lose-lose situation.

This simple checklist will guide you through the process of collecting late rent, and, in the case that the late payment is not received following reminders and formal notices, will turn to the process of eviction.

By running this checklist, you can be sure that you are handling the process of late rent payments in a timely manner and with extreme care to avoid costly legal battles.

Click here to get the Buildium late rent payment process

Buildium Checklist: Lease Renewal Checklist

Lease renewals are undoubtedly one of the most critical core workflows in property management.

As is the case with property management in general, the lease renewal process depends on a series of decisions made by the property manager, property owner, and the tenant which can be unpredictable and demands adaptability on the part of the property manager to avoid delays, frustration, and unnecessary costs.

The dependency on decisions made by owners and tenants means that it is absolutely critical to stay ahead of the game and maintain a consistent flow of communication with both the owner and the tenant to ensure mutual understanding, whether that be renewing the lease or vacating the property.

This checklist will take you through the entire process, from determining whether or not the rent price should change, conducting an inspection, creating a new lease, and completing all other documentation while maintaining a steady flow of communication with both the owner and tenant throughout.

Click here to get the Buildium lease renewal checklist

Buildium Checklist: Tenant Move-In Checklist

Much of the hard work is done.

You’ve successfully marketed the property, screened a bunch tenants, conducted flawless showings, and onboarded a tenant that you selected as the most suitable.

Don’t be fooled, however. There is still quite a bit to get done. A smooth move-in process is critical to setting a strong foundation for the tenant-property manager relationship.

From finalizing the lease to sending a welcome letter, determining maintenance needs, collecting the first rent payment, and handing over the keys, this checklist will walk you through the entire move-in process.

There is a fair amount of conditional logic built in. So, for example, if the property needs to be cleaned and re-painted, you can select those needs and the relevant tasks will be automatically added to the checklist.

Each action taken in the checklist is related back to Buildium to ensure that you are maintaining data integrity inside your property management tool.

Click here to get the Buildium tenant move-in process

Buildium Checklist: Tenant Move-Out Checklist

Efficiency is paramount when it comes to the tenant move-out process.

The more efficiently you get it done, the quicker you can re-list, market and attract new prospective tenants to the property.

This checklist takes you from confirming a move-out date to conducting an inspection, managing return of the security deposit, and finally collecting the keys.

A well-executed move-out process is important to overall business performance because you can onboard new tenants without delay and maintain the property owner’s trust that you are actively making sure properties are being occupied and don’t end up sitting empty for months or even years on end.

Minimizing vacancy time for empty properties means that your business is running smoothly and avoiding the heavy costs of prolonged vacancy that can seriously stifle growth.

Click here to get the Buildium tenant move-out checklist

Buildium Checklist: Upcoming Lease Expiration Checklist

Expiring leases are one of the most important things to track and manage in property management.

This is primarily because when they are addressed in a timely and professional manner, the risk of tenant turnover and facing the costs of a vacant property are minimized.

From the “Lease renewals” page under “Leasing” in the main navigation, Buildium provides an easy and simple way to view leases that are expiring in the near future.

When you identify a lease in Buildium that is expiring in the next 90 days, run this checklist to ensure effective communication with both the tenant and property owner, track the progress of various tasks like inspections, creating a new lease or taking steps to vacate the property.

The checklist has in-built conditional logic, so regardless of what decisions are made, it will enable you to manage the process with efficiency while keeping Buildium fully up-to-date.

Click here to get the Buildium upcoming lease expiration checklist

A handful of other useful resources for property managers

To get a better idea of how property management firms are using our software in real life, read about how Dodson Property Management manages 3500 homes using Process Street.

Also, read about how Alarca Realty, a growing property management firm based in North Carolina, transformed the way they manage their property management workflows by replacing spreadsheets with Process Street.

We have over a dozen other checklist templates designed for property managers and real estate professionals. Have a look through them to see if any would be particularly useful for your agency.

Here are a few other articles I’ve written regarding property management that you may find useful:

• The Ultimate Guide to Workflow Software Integration in Property Management
• Real Estate Software: Evaluating The Best Ways to Automate Your Processes
• Lease Renewal Process: Why It’s Important and How to Manage it More Effectively
• 9 Property Management Checklists to Keep Your Rental Processes on Track
• 5 Appfolio Checklists for Core Property Management Workflows
• 5 Propertyware Checklists for Keeping Rental Processes Running Smoothly

I hope you find at least some of these checklists useful for streamlining your property management workflows! Which ones are your personal favorites? Are there any core processes we’ve missed that you think should be included? Let me know in the comments below.