Properties and units
A property is the building or the house. A unit is a lettable space inside it — a flat, a shop, a floor. A single house is still a property; it simply has one unit.
Add the property under Properties, then add its units. For each unit record the type, the size and the expected rent. New leases default to that figure, so keeping it current saves typing and catches mistakes.
Record the owner first
Owners are whoever the rent belongs to after your fee — their contact details, bank details for payouts, and agreement terms.
Ownership can be recorded at two levels:
- Property level — the whole building belongs to one owner, or to several sharing it. The common case.
- Unit level — individual units are owned separately, as in an apartment block where each flat has its own owner.
Unit-level ownership overrides the property's. If a unit has no owner of its own, the property's applies — so a whole building with one owner only needs recording once.
Do this before you collect rent. Payouts are calculated from ownership, and rent collected against a unit nobody owns has nowhere to go.
Co-owned property
Where several people share a property, record each with their share. Payouts split along those shares automatically rather than being calculated by hand each month.
Keep occupancy honest
Mark units occupied, vacant or under maintenance as reality changes. A unit left marked occupied after a tenant leaves overstates both your occupancy rate and your expected income.
The properties chapter of the EstateIQ manual has the full detail.