AppFolio Tutorials - Ep. 17 Rental Applications and Features

Hello everyone, and welcome back to APM Help Academy. In today’s video, we’re going over all things rental applications and the options available in AppFolio.

Managing Multiple Rental Applications

1. Example: We have two potential tenants — Thorn Oakenshield and Tom Badale.
2. If they are moving in together, you can group their rental applications:
   • Select one of the applications.
   • Click Task → Group Applications.
   • Search and add the other pre-existing application (e.g., Tom Badale).
3. Once grouped, any action (conversion to tenants, lease generation, etc.) applies to all grouped applicants simultaneously.

Charging a Holding Deposit

1. Navigate to Task → Charge Hold Deposit.
2. The system will default to the unit the applicants intend to move into.
3. Enter the holding deposit amount (e.g., $1,500).
4. When converting to tenants, only the remaining deposit will be charged (e.g., $1,000).
5. Holding deposit payments make the applicants temporary tenants, not fully moved-in yet.

Adding Additional Tenants

• If a third roommate was missed in the initial application grouping:
  1. Go to the Tenant Page → Task → Add Additional Tenant.
  2. Add their pre-existing rental application or enter information manually if needed.
  3. Save to include them in the group for move-in.

Completing the Move-In

1. Select the unit (e.g., Rivendell Unit 2).
2. Enter lease details:
   • Rent amount (e.g., $2,100/month)
   • Remaining security deposit
   • First month’s prorated rent if applicable
3. Scroll down and click Continue → Generate Lease with Lease Template.
4. If tenants do not have emails, physical leases must be sent manually.
5. Select the lease template (e.g., Middle Earth Lease).
6. Complete any manual fields in the lease template (pink/purple boxes).
7. Click Prepare Lease → Continue.

Sending and Signing the Lease

• Lease will be sent via email or text.
• Tenants sign electronically through their AppFolio portal.
• Once signed, as the property manager:
  1. Go to the Tenant Page → Lease Information.
  2. Click Counter Sign.

If a lease contains inaccurate information, you can Cancel Lease, adjust details in the move-in flow, and resend.

Finalizing Move-In

1. After counter-signing, click Done.
2. This ensures tenants are fully realized tenants in AppFolio.
3. Tenant portals are activated, and if bank accounts are enabled, online payments are available.
4. Always click Done — failing to do so can cause move-in queues to stack.

This concludes the overview of rental applications, grouping, holding deposits, and the move-in workflow in AppFolio.

Thank you for watching APM Academy, brought to you by APM Help.
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If you want, I can take all your AppFolio transcripts so far and combine them into one complete “APM Help AppFolio Training Manual” with sections for leasing, applications, tenant management, deposits, payments, late fees, and communications — fully structured for easy reference.

Do you want me to do that next?

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