State Farm and Rentalutions Help Landlords Manage Their Small Business

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., March 24 -- State Farm Companies, an auto, home and individual life insurance provider, issued the following news release:

Royce Yorgason is not alone in his struggle to work a full-time job, raise a family, and manage a few rental properties on the side for extra cash. A "do-it-yourself" landlord in Minnesota, he is one of the more than 8 million part-time landlords in the U.S., managing rental properties while trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

The rental process can be complex, time-consuming, and frustrating. Historically, these DIY landlords haven't had access to the same tools or resources as big real estate investors -- even though they manage 55 percent of the rental market.

As the largest property insurer in the country, State Farm recognized the challenge faced by these small business owners. Rather than develop solutions on their own, the insurance giant has developed an affinity relationship with digital innovator Rentalutions to provide online resources for DIY landlords and renters.

For State Farm, the relationship goes beyond insurance.

"Innovation is integral to improving the customer experience," says Pat Culligan, Assistant Vice President - Marketing for State Farm. "Young, innovative companies like Rentalutions help State Farm meet the changing needs of customers by providing solutions that help life go right."

Rentalutions, a four-year-old startup, provides a simple online property management tool. It helps DIY landlords find tenants, access credit reports, create and sign digital leases, and collect rent -all online and in one place. Renters also benefit from the convenience and privacy offered by the platform. For renters, it's possible to make payments online securely, eliminating the need to mail a check or pay rent in person.

Ryan Coon, co-founder and CEO of Rentalutions says they started the company to help people like Royce.

"We started Rentalutions four years ago to help make renting easy for DIY landlords. Historically, rental owners had two options - hire an expensive third party manager, or do things entirely on their own. By bringing together all of the tools and resources owners need to one place, with Rentalutions, doing it yourself no longer means doing it alone."

Since March 2015, Yorgason has been using Rentalutions to help him streamline his property management.

"Rentalutions has attracted leads for our rental properties, coached me to better qualify those leads, simplified the rent collection process and given me several extra hours a month. I am far more efficient and effective now than prior to using Rentalutions."

Diane Tavarez is a DIY landlord in California who has had an equally positive experience.

"Rentalutions has helped me on many levels," says Tavarez. "As a landlord, Rentalutions has helped me appear more professional and BE more professional. This is the most useful program I have ever found."

Rentalutions is free for landlords managing one unit, with premium plans available for landlords managing multiple rental units. To help offset the cost for landlords managing multiple units, State Farm has an exclusive offer with Rentalutions. It helps reduce the price of the subscription fee and makes managing a small business easier. Landlords can visit the State Farm-Rentalutions website to sign up. Individuals who manage two or more properties will receive a 25 percent discount off of their monthly Rentalutions subscription fee for the first year.

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