Field-tested workflows, lessons from real portfolios, and product tips for landlords, property managers, and investors using Tenantivo every day.
A rehab budget that lives in a spreadsheet drifts the week the first change order hits. Keep the scope on Rehabilitation Breakdown — planned and actual, by category — and use Figures for the deal rollup.
Read articleTenant rent should land in your bank, not in a platform balance you have to invoice later. Finish Stripe Connect Express, complete Get paid, and use Payment & Stripe to see when charges and payouts are actually enabled.
Read articleApplicants move through one wizard: personal details, history, your custom questions, and the documents you asked for. You review those sections, then screening and the lease stay in later parts.
Read articleA written application policy only works if every applicant gets the same questions, the same screening package, and the same decline path. Here is how to set that up in Tenantivo before you publish the listing.
Read articleScreening fees and agent application fees are not rent. Set who pays before the listing goes live, and show the applicant the amount on the card screen — not in a text after they apply.
Read articleA lease on the wrong tenant, or damage photos floating in email, will not help you at move-out. Attach each file to the property, tenant, or application it belongs to.
Read articleYear-end should be a tax-year PDF, not a folder of receipts. Run Schedule E support, a 1099 payee list, and a year-end summary from the reports you already keep.
Read articleInspections, showings, and turnover steps belong on the property calendar with an owner and a due date. Recurring tasks keep the next visit from depending on someone remembering.
Read articleThe plumber’s number should live on the property, not in someone’s texts. Keep vendors, insurers, lenders, and servicers as contacts you can open from the asset or the loan.
Read articleAn agent-submitted application should not arrive as a PDF in email. Link the companies with an org code, review the handoff under Transfers, then finish move-in on your own application.
Read articleInternal tenants are record-only residents with no portal login. External tenants can sign in, pay rent, and message you. Learn the differences, when to use each, and how to promote when they need access.
Read articleStop retyping every debit and credit. Link your rental checking account with Plaid, pull transactions into Tenantivo, review and categorize, then reconcile — without living in a spreadsheet.
Read articleDay-to-day messages belong in chat. Notices to enter, nonpayment, and lease violations belong in a letter the tenant can open later — with a copy you can download.
Read articleOccupant changes, deposit splits, and rent reallocation without rewriting the whole lease. Keep agreements written so “we never agreed to that” never becomes the story.
Read articleDocument damage, coordinate with carriers, and keep the unit file audit-ready — so you are not reconstructing the claim from texts and scattered photos.
Read articleRecurring rent, grace periods, and late-fee rules only work when they are clear and automated. Learn how Tenantivo’s Payment & Stripe settings let you enable auto-pay and apply late fees without chasing spreadsheets.
Read articleA budget only helps if you compare it to reality. Walk through a simple monthly loop — plan income and expenses, record actuals, then review variance — using Tenantivo’s Budget Tracking and reports.
Read articleConstruction and rehab financing falls apart when draws live in email threads. See how Tenantivo’s Loan workspace and Rehab Detail draw schedules keep planned, received, and applied funds in one place.
Read articleOpen work orders pile up fast. Learn how to triage by category and priority, separate tenant-visible notes from internal comments, and keep attachments with the ticket — all inside Tenantivo’s maintenance workspace.
Read articleGuessing list rent costs weeks of vacancy. Use HUD Fair Market Rent as a ZIP-and-bedroom benchmark on Tenantivo’s Rent Estimate tools before you publish a listing.
Read articleKeep your accountant’s books current without double entry. Map Tenantivo categories to QuickBooks accounts, push rent and expenses, pull vendors and bills, and monitor the Sync Dashboard.
Read articleRent roll, late rent, vacancy, lease expiration, income and expense, and more — the monthly report stack that keeps a portfolio honest, plus where each report lives in Tenantivo.
Read articleFrom application data through active tenancy and move-out history, keep occupants, pets, vehicles, and status on one Tenantivo tenant record — including Move Back In when a former tenant returns.
Read articleRun the full BRRRR loop — buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat — inside one platform. See how Tenantivo ties rehab tracking, draw schedules, investment metrics, and tenant onboarding together.
Read articleThree of the most-used real estate metrics answer very different questions. Learn when cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and DSCR should lead your decision — and how Tenantivo calculates all three.
Read articleNew to renting out a property? Follow the full path from listing and application through screening, deposit, lease signing, and handing over the keys — with the Tenantivo steps for each.
Read articleVacancy is the most expensive number in your portfolio. These seven listing details attract more qualified applicants faster — and how to build a complete Tenantivo listing with a shareable application link you can post anywhere.
Read articleReconciling your rental bank account keeps your books trustworthy at tax time. Here is a plain-English process any landlord can follow — using Tenantivo's built-in general ledger and Plaid transaction import.
Read articleOwning both commercial and residential property means two sets of leases, tenants, and metrics. Here is how to manage a mixed portfolio without two systems — using Tenantivo's commercial and residential modules together.
Read articleCard and bank (ACH) rent each have different costs, settlement timing, and tenant behavior. Compare the fee math, when to steer tenants toward ACH, and how Tenantivo’s Payment & Stripe settings let you preview and control who pays.
Read articleA bad tenant is far more expensive than an empty unit. Learn why screening matters, what a thorough background, credit, and eviction check covers, and how Tenantivo runs FCRA-compliant screening through Checkr.
Read articleEvery figure on Manager > Metrics explained — the formulas, real-world applications, and how Tenantivo calculates cap rate, gross and net yield, cash-on-cash return, rent-to-income ratio, break-even ratio, ROI, and DSCR.
Read articleComparable properties anchor acquisition, lending, and appraisal decisions. Learn what makes a credible comp and how Tenantivo keeps your analysis on the Rehab Detail record.
Read articlePurchase price is only the beginning. A structured overview of rehab cost categories and how Tenantivo's Rehab Detail workspace keeps planned and actual figures in one place.
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