15 min read
House Rental Applications: How to Send Digital Forms for Free
Finding quality tenants is hard enough as it is, so why set yourself up for failure with a subpar house rental application?...
Property technology (‘proptech’) is a category of must-have tools for real estate operations. They range from affordable core functionality to expensive custom solutions. Decades ago, proptech meant carrying a pager, but today’s companies deliver so much more, which is powerful and welcome progress.
For small-to-huge real estate investors and companies, it’s all about buying, selling, and managing properties. And at approximately $40 billion in 2025, proptech is a rapidly growing industry, offering significant improvements in operational efficiency for just about anyone involved in real estate.
Today, we’ll focus on a wide range of the leading proptech providers used by everyone from individual landlords to large-scale investors. Most of these services utilize AI, and some have already adopted tomorrow’s headline technologies — including IoT, blockchain, and augmented reality. When the future arrives, these folks will be your tour guides.
Software/services: Property management software
Focus: Independent landlords with <50 units
TurboTenant is an all-in-one rental property management software that provides all the essentials independent landlords need — property marketing, renter applications, tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance coordination. Plus, its freemium pricing means all the basics are free, but premium services can be added for a low monthly cost.
More than 750,000 landlords are registered TurboTenant users, attracted by its robust services — “Everything I need is on one platform.” Plus, with the company’s recent acquisition of REI Hub’s powerful bookkeeping and tax software, its features continue to expand, adding even more popular features.
Ultimately, TurboTenant’s automation of routine tasks and reduction in call and email clutter are significant productivity boosts for busy landlords. Frequently praised features include automated rental marketing across dozens of listing sites, state-specific digital lease generation, and the ability to manage multiple properties from a single, intuitive dashboard. We might be biased, but we think TurboTenant is one of the proptech companies to watch in 2025 and beyond.
Software/services: Rental property accounting software
Focus: Rental property owners & real estate investors
REI Hub specializes in real estate accounting for rental property owners, landlords, and real estate investors. Its property-specific double-entry bookkeeping, automated amortization of mortgage payments, rule-based transaction logging, and full support for multi-unit and short-term rentals make it a popular choice among property owners.
TurboTenant recently acquired REI Hub, and they’re a perfect match, blending core real estate functionality with tightly focused accounting and tax management. REI Hub’s portfolio dashboard provides the big picture, and tax reporting is simplified with its automated IRS Schedule E reports.
Popular features include the syncing of bank accounts, receipt capture, mileage logging, and well-trained customer support. TurboTenant users see it as a seamless extension of their property management systems. Generic QuickBooks accounting is now a relic of the past.
Software/services: iBuying platform
Focus: Home sellers seeking quick transactions
OpenDoor offers technology that simplifies and accelerates real estate transactions. For example, its self-guided tour app unlocks homes for solo visits, which gives buyers flexibility while reducing agent workload. Further, its algorithm-driven pricing engine helps generate quick cash offers.
Additionally, OpenDoor’s AI-based technology also dynamically adjusts pricing in response to market shifts. Closing timeframes can be cut with its intuitive title, escrow, and mortgage services. And its photo-based inspection tool can predict repair expenses up front.
Buyers appreciate the quick and convenient evaluations and closings, and sellers value the automated workflow that reduces their timelines and frees up staff.
Software/services: Real estate brokerage
Focus: Buyers and sellers seeking tech-driven solutions
Redfin focuses on sharing its real estate expertise and simplifying the buying and selling process. Its popular tools take the guesswork out of buyers imagining their future homes. Integrated AI helps mitigate the challenges of forecasting market trends, valuations, and the closing process.
Furthermore, agents praise Redfin’s AI visualization tools, which boost buyer engagement with instant on-screen redesigns. Sellers get efficient staging and can update prospects with alerts for new listings or price drops. And a 24/7 AI agent answers typical buyer questions about zoning, HOAs, property taxes, and more.
The company’s self-guided tour technology kick-starts the process, saving everyone time and money. While exploring homes on their own, prospects can also access detailed AI responses to most neighborhood and community questions, including those about schools, transit systems, walkability, and nearby amenities.
Software/services: Access control systems
Focus: Multifamily and commercial properties
ButterflyMX’s video intercom system simplifies property access. Landlords and investors use it to avoid the hassle and expense of physical keys, streamline guest entry, and boost security. Trusted by 15,000+ properties, it’s a digital concierge that keeps property managers in control.
You can unlock doors, gates, or elevators with a smartphone, video-chat with visitors before granting access, sync and control smart locks, issue time-limited digital guest and delivery passes, and track entry traffic with photo logs. Ultimately, it’s cloud-based access management for multi-property portfolios, which makes it a great fit on our proptech companies list.
Tenants won’t miss fumbling for their keys; smart fobs or Alexa/Siri can handle all the unlocks. Some integrated smart lock and sensor systems can even notify property managers when doors are left ajar, depending on the building’s hardware and configuration. And when a lease expires, property managers can immediately revoke a departing tenant’s access.
Software/services: Real estate investment platform
Focus: Fix-and-flip investors
Backflip wants RE investors to flip homes smarter & faster. Its fix-and-flip loans, typically between 6 and 12 months, cover up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the renovation costs. That’s how investors can turn rundown houses into successes while revitalizing neighborhoods and generating profits.
The company’s deal analysis engine helps investors quickly understand their profit potential based on recent comps. Plus, once you’re ready to pull the trigger, short-term loans can close in days, not weeks.
Compared to traditional lenders, Backflip typically closes loans within a 10- to 14-day funding timeline, which can significantly expedite the property flipping process.
Software/services: Vacation rental management
Focus: Short-term rental operators
Hostfully streamlines short-term rental management by automating listings, guest communications, and the control of property smart devices. It also helps transform chaotic calendars and cluttered inboxes into a smooth, simplified workflow. Users report much-appreciated reductions in their administrative workload.
Hostfully, when customized by users, can even utilize AI to simplify guest communication. Further, hosts with integrated smart devices can remotely control smart locks, thermostats, and lights while automating check-ins and pricing. It’s also great at helping non-technical staff build high-converting booking sites.
Software/services: Co-ownership platform
Focus: Luxury second-home buyers
Pacaso manages high-end vacation homes co-owned via LLCs. Think of it this way: You split a luxury vacation home with six or seven others, and Pacaso handles all the design, maintenance, and activity scheduling.
Fractional ownership is based on shares ranging from 1/8 to 1/2 in turnkey homes, with available days divided accordingly amongst investors. Pacaso books stays 2 days to 2 years in advance with its SmartStay technology. It can also arrange financing for up to 70% of a share. Pacaso’s marketplace facilitates high-net-worth ownership through an app, eliminating awkward calls to co-owners.
Software/services: Flexible workspace solutions
Focus: Freelancers, startups, and remote teams
Landlords and investors use WeWork’s smart tech to manage flexible, high-end office space for individuals and teams. The company’s SaaS tools coordinate space usage and services, plus predict tenant needs across 360+ locations in 30+ countries. The focus is on real-time booking of desks, meeting rooms, and offices.
For those who like to think ahead, WeWork’s software leverages occupancy data and workspace analytics to help businesses anticipate future space needs. A single dashboard automates space scheduling and payments, providing data insights that inform IoT integrations, such as occupancy tracking and environmental controls. Their mobile app combines book-anywhere simplicity with concierge services and global listings.
Software/services: Vacation rental management
Focus: Short-term rental operators managing multiple properties
Hostify’s intuitive platform for short-term rentals can centralize your bookings and operational tasks. It’s popular with multi-property hosts because it automates their marketing, calendars, pricing, and guest communications. No need to rely solely on all the antiquated spreadsheets you’ve used in years past.
Hostify syncs your listings across Vrbo, Airbnb, and many others. Let it handle your guest messages, reviews, and updates to pricing and policies. Then, manage most everything from a mobile app dashboard.
Software/services: 3D modeling and property data solutions
Focus: Contractors, insurers, and homeowners
Hover’s AI-powered modeling tools enable real estate professionals to turn photos into precise 3D models. Landlords and investors use it to visualize renovations, accelerate insurance claims, plan upgrades, and coordinate with contractors. Plans can sync directly to CAD software, reducing the need for blueprints or manual measurements.
Hover has partnered with major brands like Home Depot to bring its precision to retail customers. And contractors are impressed by its pinpoint accuracy.
How many of these proptech companies have you heard about or use?
We hope you’ve put a few of these brands on your “must investigate” list. As a real estate pro, it’s difficult to keep up with a rapidly changing field like ours, so consider this a homework assignment to keep you at the forefront of advanced property technology.
We humbly suggest that you open a free TurboTenant account as a great way to go hands-on with a powerful and polished example of modern proptech. Our freemium pricing model means you can use all the core functionality for free, so you can learn a lot with zero risk.
Proptech companies provide software and services that innovate and streamline processes within the real estate industry, encompassing buying, selling, renting, managing, and investing in properties. Proptechs use SaaS platforms, data analytics, automation, and smart devices to improve efficiency, transparency, and user experience for RE professionals and consumers alike.
The U.S. has more than 2,000 proptech companies in 2025, most focusing on the residential sector. That makes the U.S. the world’s leader in proptech ventures.
The U.S. number also includes submarkets like construction technology, smart building solutions, IoT for real estate, and real estate FinTech solutions.
FinTech (‘Financial Technology’) companies offer software and services that utilize innovative digital technologies to enhance, automate, and deliver financial services to businesses and consumers. PropTech (“Property Technology”) refers to software and digital platforms that streamline and modernize real estate activities. Many industries rely on fintech services, including the proptech sector.
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