Resident Portal Survey

What are the most important features that a resident portal must have for you to use them?

Obviously, the answer will be dependent on how many units you manage and what software you currently use, but I'm interested to hear, on average, what features are the most in demand. If you currently use X, is there anything that would make you switch to Y?

I'm not actively on the property management side anymore, and I have a bit of a bias since I used to own a resident portal company, BUT I think it should have all the "basics", such as account information, online rent payment, maintenance requests, and that sort of thing. But that is just the basics, in my opinion. After that, I think it is important to be able to showcase fellow residents, giving opportunities for interaction. It's crazy what close proximity our residents are in, yet so many of them have no idea about what interesting people may live just one building down. A resident portal has the ability to offset some of the biggest challenges of traditional resident events to facilitate resident connections, namely consistent interaction and a comfortable environment. With gamification, the opportunities are endless for a social space within the resident portal, and fortunately, I think property management companies are no longer scared of their residents interacting, or at least less so than when we were rolling ours out.