Interest rates are still at historic lows and property values continue to be depressed. However, recent actions of the Fed and growing seller demand appear to be forcing an increase in both. Those trends might not be reversing any time soon, so now might be the right time to invest in another rental property.

It’s a tired cliché, but it happens to be true. If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. Running your business is difficult. You’re being pulled in many directions and there aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done. Unfortunately, that doesn’t let you off the hook when it comes to planning. You need to have a documented property management business plan if you want to be successful.

When the housing bubble burst, millions of people were pushed from their homes, flooding the rental market. As a result, rents have been rising steadily and are up 4% in 2013 alone. In addition, some economists estimate the yield on rental properties is 6%, triple the 2% you get on ten-year treasuries. It’s no surprise then that investors are looking to obtain more rental units.

AppFolio partnered with Software Advice to create a benchmark survey and the results are in. The survey aimed to identify common property management challenges, benefits of technology, and what property management professionals are looking for when evaluating these products.