Baselane Review: What You Need to Know

Operating a rental business is not simple, especially when dealing with rent collection, tax filing, and a slew of other paperwork. The good news is that options like Baselane exist, which provide banking and property management features tailored specifically to the needs of independent landlords.

In this article, you’ll get an in-depth look at Baselane, its features, and how it compares to similar solutions.

Overview of Baselane

Baselane is a fintech company launched in 2020. It aims to simplify the most challenging aspects of managing financials for rental properties. They offer various solutions that allow landlords and tenants to manage and track payments easily.

Key Features

Here’s a closer look at the features that Baselane has to offer: 

Banking

Baselane can offer banking services since they are affiliated with Blue Ridge Bank, an FDIC member. Using this platform, landlords can create separate savings, checking, and security deposit accounts. 

Other banking features that Baselane has to offer include: 

• Interest rate of 3.30% on all balances
• 5% cash back on debit transactions
• No minimum deposit, maintaining balance, and ACH transfer fee

Automated Rent Collection

Rent collection is one of the most daunting tasks of running a property rental business. Baselane’s automated rent collection feature can help streamline its process as it allows landlords to: 

• View payment records
• Edit and track invoices
• Automate Late fee setting
• Set up payment reminders and notifications

Unlike other payment methods, Baselane does not have daily limits. It also has fast payment features that allow you to get paid fast via your Baselane banking account. 

Bookkeeping

You can effortlessly keep track of your business's financial transactions using Baselane's one-click bookkeeping feature. You can also tag each payment and add notes, easily tracking the money coming in and out of the business. 

Reporting and Analytics

Baselane has an analytics dashboard that allows you to see essential data for your rental property, such as: 

• Operating expenses
• Cash flow
• Net income
• Estimate home appreciation

Lending

Lendency, a private lending company, is Baselane's business partner. This enables them to grant landlords loans to use for: 

• Buying a new property
• Refinancing an existing real asset
• Renovating an investment property

Baselane's loans are unique as they're based on the landlord's real estate portfolio instead of the W-2 income that traditional banks use. As a result, you can borrow a larger amount if your property values are high. 

Insurance

Baselanes can provide insurance for landlords because of its partnership with Obie. The application process is pretty straightforward, and the rates depend on the property and the coverage the owner plans to avail.

Baselane vs. Competitors

Baselane stands out from the crowd because it combines elements of two distinct industries—landlord management software and financial services.  

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Baselane’s features against its close competitors:

Although Baselane does not offer tenant screening and applicant tracking features, it has a rental performance dashboard. This provides landlords with detailed insight into their property valuations and cash flow.

Ease-of-Use

There's little to no learning curve in using Baselane's platform. It has an intuitive dashboard allows you to track payments and manage your property with just a few clicks of a button. 

Pricing

Landlords and tenants can access Baselane's features for free. However, they're planning to introduce advanced features for a small monthly price soon.

Of course, if you take out a loan with Lendency, you must pay fees and interest in accordance with its terms and conditions. These rates may differ from user to user, so it is advisable to weigh all of your alternatives and conduct research before making a decision.

Customer Service

Baselane's customer service is responsive. They have multiple communication channels, including: 

• A chat box on their website
• Customer service hotline: 888-586-1618
• Email support: [email protected]

The Downside

Just like with everything else, Baselane also has its weakness. As a platform tailored to landlords, it does not have features allowing them to advertise rentals and screen tenants. However, since it focuses more on the financial aspect of the business, the lack of these features is understandable. 

Bottom Line: Is it the Right Service for You? 

Baselane may be quite handy if you are an independent landlord trying to keep up with bookkeeping, rent collection, and document upkeep. Instead of using several applications and tools, you have most of what you require in one location.

However, the platform does not have capabilities that allow landlords to advertise and screen renters compared to other property management platforms. Yet, this should not be a deal breaker as its list of features still provides a lot of conveniences.