Managing a Healthy Business with AppFolio Property Manager

YEAR ESTABLISHED

2010

UNITS

650+

ONLINE PAYMENTS

97%

Company

Maple Leaf Management, LLC
Seattle, WA

Portfolio Type

Single Family &
Multifamily Residential

Previous Solution

Tenant Pro 7

A Bit of Backstory

Lee Nichols had the unique experience of being a customer of Maple Leaf Management before she joined the all-women team as a property manager. Lee has been in her role for over four years now, and treats her units under management as if it were her own business, taking ownership of the growth and success of the business.

 

Interview with Lee

We met with Lee to learn more about how AppFolio Property Manager helps her manage properties efficiently and focus on for the business.

Why did you switch to AppFolio Property Manager?

Before AppFolio, we only had one computer in our office being shared between five or six people. Our old software required that you pay for each individual user, so we felt very limited in our capabilities. With AppFolio, we have been able to grow our office, our staff, and our units. We are no longer being limited by our software. Since switching to AppFolio, we have grown from 200 units to nearly 680.

With AppFolio, we have fully embraced technology, and are free to work wherever we need to. When I'm at my desk, I use AppFolio all the time. When I'm out in the field, I'm always on the mobile app looking for things. It's great. I would be lost without it.

How has the health of your business changed?

We're absolutely able to better monitor our business. We can actually physically see the health of our business, watch it grow, or find challenging spots that we need to amp up. It gives us a good variety of what we need to do to manage our business.

I don't know that I could do my job without having such a comprehensive database and reporting at my fingertips. I rely on many reports to make sure I am managing everything within my property group well. My favorite reports include the owner occupancy report, the monthly management reports, owner statements, and the delinquency reports.

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"With AppFolio, we have fully embraced technology, and are free to work wherever we need to. When I'm at my desk, I use AppFolio all the time. When I'm out in the field, I'm always on the mobile app looking for things. It's great. I would be lost without it."

LEE NICHOLS
Property Manager, Maple Leaf Management, LLC

AppFolio Property Manager gives me peace of mind while conducting my business and it makes me more efficient and faster in quite a few different areas of my job. Each of us property managers manage our properties as if it was our own business, and I can't imagine trying to be a property manager without having AppFolio and its features.

AppFolio is a huge benefit. It has taken our business to the next level. We wouldn't be where we are today without AppFolio.

A Public Market Center sign & a separate image of two ferry boats with mountains in the distance.

What has your experience been with AppFolio's maintenance features?

We use AppFolio for everything related to maintenance management and requests. We rely on our tenants to submit their maintenance requests online, through the Tenant Portal. We can easily take the words straight from the tenant's mouth, add our notes to the vendor, and submit the work order. We copy the tenant's email, and blind copy the owner's, on all communication with the vendor so that everybody knows that there is a maintenance issue and how it is being handled. AppFolio makes this very, very helpful.

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"AppFolio gives me a great amount of confidence that our data is secure and that we can do business no matter what the circumstances are. We can operate from anywhere and that gives me a lot of confidence."

LEE NICHOLS
Property Manager, Maple Leaf Management, LLC

Can you talk more about your use of AppFolio's Tenant Portal and Online Payments?

97% of our renters use the Tenant Portal to pay their rent online and submit maintenance requests. Having the tenants pay rent online is genius. This saves us tons of time and money. We no longer have to go to the bank or do online deposits each month. It's a real lifesaver.

What is your favorite thing about AppFolio?

There are so many! My favorite thing about AppFolio is that it allows us to do business in a much more efficient manner. We can keep a pulse on what's going on within different areas of our business.

We have access to all the information at our fingertips just by quickly pulling it up online. There are so many things about AppFolio that are just wonderful. We wouldn't be where we are today, and we're very successful. I think AppFolio has really taken us to the next level. We're very grateful for that. You guys rock!