How Shaw Real Estate gives back to its community while maintaining rapid growth
Sherry Kent
Owner and Founder, Shaw Real EstateEstablished: 2010 \ Location: Wilmington, NC
Why AppFolio: \ Wanting to spend more time on making an impact in the community and less time on manual tasks, Sherry Kent knew she would need a technology solution that could automate and streamline their business-critical processes.
Multifamily, Single-family
Units Managed
470+
Customer since
2020
Finding purpose in property management
“I realized early on that you either love property management or you hate property management. There is no gray area, but I love it. It's allowed me to do what comes naturally to me, which is paying it forward and helping people. It's taken me about 10 years to get to where I am today, but it's been that slow chug that has allowed me to learn a lot so that I could just keep thriving and make my owners and residents happy.”
In search of a simpler solution
“Before AppFolio, we had Yardi Breeze. From filing 1099s to reconciling accounts to handling basic, daily tasks, it made my life difficult. And it wasn't saving me time; it was costing me time. So I started looking around and noticed a lot of our competitors were using AppFolio Property Manager.”
“I talked to a few of my buddies in property management that worked for large companies, and they all used AppFolio. So I was like, ‘alright, we’re going to try this,’ and it was the best thing I ever did in my life, truly.”
Growth and efficiency powered by one platform
Looking to grow her business, Sherry realized she needed a software solution that would allow her team to spend less time on tedious, back-office tasks and more time winning new business. Since transitioning to AppFolio, the Shaw Real Estate team has been able to cut the amount of time they spend on accounting in half and nearly double the number of units they manage from 250 to over 470.
“The system was so easy to learn, and now we can process 1099s and year-end statements and reconcile accounts in half the time. With the time we’ve gotten back, we have been able to focus on other things, like bringing on new owners and giving back to the community.”
Sherry Kent,
Founder and Owner, Shaw Real Estate
Confidence that comes with a true partnership
“AppFolio is a necessity to me. I can’t run my business without it. The partnership I have is incredible. We were up and running, not missing a beat, in a matter of weeks.”
Additionally, training new team members used to be a time-consuming, frustrating process for Shaw Real Estate. Thanks to the guided workflows and intuitive design of AppFolio, the team can get new hires ramped up faster and more efficiently with less stress. Sherry explains:
“With AppFolio, my new hires never get lost. It saves me time on training employees, and they’re not frustrated because they don’t understand the software. I can hire a new employee, and they can understand how it works in a matter of hours versus a matter of weeks.”
Meeting the needs of the modern renter and owner
“The Online Portal within AppFolio has been huge for us. People don’t want to talk on the phone anymore — everything has to be convenient and quick. With AppFolio, renters can do 90% of the things with a click of a button that we used to have to talk to them 14 times on the phone about. It’s the kind of experience they want and have come to expect.”
Along with providing a better resident experience, AppFolio also helps the team at Shaw Real Estate exceed the needs of their owners.
“AppFolio makes life easier for my owners. It doesn't matter where they are or what they’re doing. They can go to the portal, and it's all right there for them — all of their statements, 1099s, and invoices. It’s priceless, and they love it.”
Sherry founded Shaw Real Estate with the goal to grow and give back to the Wilmington community. By helping to streamline their workflows, AppFolio has given Sherry and her team back the most important thing in the world: time — time they are able to spend paying it forward.
“We manage quite a few properties that assist veterans. We try to get them out of homeless shelters and into positive living. We do everything we can to help these folks, whether through housing, clothing, or food donations. When I know I can count on my software to run my business, I get to think about what is important to me, and that's where all that extra space is priceless.”
Customer Story
Erfolg Properties Customer Story | AppFolio Investment Manager
Erfolg Properties is a Santa Barbara commercial real estate firm built on personal relationships. See why they chose AppFolio Investment Manager to scale investor transparency, not headcount.
Focus Property Management | AppFolio Performance Platform
See how Focus Property Management uses AppFolio’s trusted data, AI, and automation to improve operations, empower teams, scale their portfolio, and elevate the resident experience.
Advanced Management Company: Space for More Results | AppFolio
Advanced Management Company struggled with disjointed systems and slow communication. Now, with AppFolio Property Manager, they operate faster, smarter, and more efficiently, delivering exceptional…
MasterKey Property Management: Unlocking Growth Through Performance-Driven Tools | AppFolio
MasterKey Property Management’s confident partnership with AppFolio from day one delivers performance-driven results. See how their confident commitment to performance and integrated AI is unlocking…
Real Property Management Express: Driving Growth Through AI-Powered Tools | AppFolio
Real Property Management Express's growth ambitions outpaced their old platform, leading to manual workarounds. See how AppFolio Max provides deeper automation and infrastructure for long-term…
An Investor's Take on the AppFolio Investor Portal
See why an experienced real estate investor makes the AppFolio Investor Portal his first stop, from K-1s to subscription agreements, all in one place.
Prosper Capital: Moving From Reactive Tasks to Proactive Performance | AppFolio
Prosper Capital needed more structure and automation to grow, hitting their old software’s limits. See how AppFolio delivers a unified platform to reduce operational headaches and elevate the…
Rent Right: Moving Beyond Tasks to Deliver True Results
Discover how Rent Right uses AppFolio to power performance, scale smart, and manage 730+ units efficiently.
See what AppFolio
can do for you
can do for you
Your success is our passion. Whether it’s onboarding, support, or strategic advice, product
experts are on call to answer your questions.