Blanket is property management software that centers on portfolio growth rather than reactive, day-to-day oversight of rental properties. It can do the latter, but the former makes it a unique entry to the market worth consideration for anyone who wants become a full-time landlord.
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Blanket is property management software for the single-family and small multi-family markets
Platforms: Browser
Ideal for: Aspiring full-time owner-operators; investors; property managers
Top selling points:
• Portfolio-growth minded
• Modern, consumer-driven UI/UX
• Financially-oriented features/tools
• AI expense notifications
• Tenant retention planning
Top concern(s):
Blanket may be trying to offer too much for some of its intended audience. The solution is multi-faceted and thus could be a lot to chew on for small portfolio holders. A delineation of account levels according to portfolio size or goals could help users adopt, then up their use of the software, as one suggestion.
What you should know
Blanket is property management (PM) software that centers on portfolio growth rather than reactive, day-to-day oversight of rental properties. It can do the latter, but the former makes it a unique entry to the market worth consideration for anyone who wants become a full-time landlord.
Blanket offers a slew of portfolio performance metrics, automations for resident retention, AI capabilities to call out unusual expenses, in-app search tools for like-properties, a referral mechanism, vendor marketplace and a tailored investment strategy builder, among other features.
The overall user experience will be familiar to any landlord or property manager who’s been in the business for a while. It centers itself on existing properties and what’s happening with them. Simple enough.
But where Blanket excels is in helping users grow that number of existing properties. For example, most PM systems rely on lease-date automations as a retention strategy, e.g., “Tenant in Unit 406 is approaching lease expiration.” Fine, but it’s not strategic.
Blanket users create a custom retention strategy as they onboard, stepping through an AI-backed survey that is contextualized to each lease. It asks if you prefer to meet the tenant in person or prefer email outreach. Are you comfortable offering discounts in exchange for an early renewal? What tone of advice would you like to apply for this campaign?
It then goes on to generate its own advantages and disadvantages for each tactic within the greater plan, encouraging the owner or manager to take action in one way or the other. The system provides reports and lease history data to assist in the process.
Considering the cost and hassle of turning a unit, there is no better tenant than the one you have. I worked in the small portfolio investment property space for years, often working with managers to explain tenant characteristics and lease records to potential investors. The more turnover, the less attractive the investment.
Blanket’s dashboard displays in an easy-to-scan layout all the numbers one needs to have to understand what might be next for their portfolio. Total equity. Expenses. NOI. Cash flow. It’s all there, and each can be pursued in more detail as needed, and then should the numbers encourage it, the user can jump into the Grow section of the system to look at what other properties are out there.
Blanket has an on-board search portal that feeds the user, or property manager, similar properties to what’s already owned, ideal for savvy managers wanting to add value that’s not merely organizing evictions or processing rent. There’s also custom email marketing, much of which can be set up and automated.
There’s a mechanism for managers to organize and respond to leads, a referral feature to connect with any agents or industry players in the market who may want to earn a few bucks by sending tenants or property owners your way.
The investment planner offers Blanket customers a tool to document goals for their rental property business, which can be shared with their property management partner. This puts everyone on the same foundation in terms of future sales, new investments and overall management strategy.
As my chief concern states, Blanket can do a lot for both individual landlords and property managers. There isn’t a lot for the consumer here, which worries me a little when the industry is clearly moving in the direction of providing a higher level of tenant care. But, if you’re a good manager, or an owner that allows their management team to do what they’re good at, occupancy rates will reflect that.
It’d be cool to see Blanket work in some more direct tenant benefits in its retention tools and email outreach. All said, I think Blanket’s integrated, growth-minded approach sets it apart, as does the intentional collaboration and its ability to turn the property manager into a long-term strategic partner, a concept the industry has allowed itself to veer from, likely because it’s so easy for some in the space to just grab a percentage of rent and call it good.
Heck, if you’re an agent struggling with sales in this market, a shift into property management and a Blanket account might just be the recipe for a refreshed career.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
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