Insights from the front lines of property management

The property management industry has a platform problem. Every major vendor wants to be the "one platform to rule them all" — and the result is a graveyard of half-baked features that don't solve any single problem well.

At UnitStack, we do the opposite. We build standalone products, each one purpose-built to solve a specific challenge. Here's why.

The Platform Trap

When a software company tries to be everything to everyone, it spreads itself thin. Features get shipped to check a box, not to solve a real problem. Support teams can't go deep. And customers end up duct-taping spreadsheets on top of the "all-in-one" platform anyway.

We've talked to hundreds of property managers. The #1 complaint isn't "I need more features." It's "I need the features I have to actually work well."

One Problem, One Product

Every UnitStack product starts with a single, clearly-defined problem. TransitionTrack exists because acquisition workflows lived in spreadsheets. PostFolio.ai exists because property marketing was repetitive, manual, and disconnected.

By giving each product its own team, roadmap, and identity, we go deeper than any platform could.

What This Means for You

• You only pay for what you need — no bundling tax
• Each product is built by people who deeply understand that workflow
• Updates ship faster with no monolith to maintain
• Products work alongside your existing stack, not instead of it

The future of PropTech isn't one giant platform — it's a curated set of best-in-class tools. That's what we're building.

If you've ever managed a property acquisition, you know the pain: dozens of deals at different stages, documents scattered across email, checklists in spreadsheets, and updates through a game of telephone.

TransitionTrack was built to fix all of that.

A Pipeline Built for Real Estate

Unlike generic CRMs, TransitionTrack speaks the language of property transactions. Every stage, field, and workflow is designed around how acquisitions and dispositions actually work — from underwriting through closing.

Key Capabilities

• Visual pipeline with customizable deal stages matching your workflow
• Centralized document management with version tracking
• Built-in due diligence checklists with automated reminders
• Role-based dashboards for analysts, deal leads, and executives
• Timeline views showing your entire pipeline at a glance

TransitionTrack focuses exclusively on making property transitions seamless, transparent, and fast.

Every property management company markets their units. Most do it manually — writing the same descriptions, posting one channel at a time, hoping the photos work.

PostFolio.ai automates the tedious parts so your team focuses on strategy.

How It Works

Upload property data and photos. PostFolio.ai generates professional descriptions, marketing copy, and social content tailored to each property and channel. Review, edit, then publish everywhere in one click.

What Makes It Different

• AI trained specifically on property marketing — not generic copy
• Multi-channel: ILS, social, website, email — one place
• Brand voice customization for consistent messaging
• Performance analytics showing which content drives leads

The goal isn't to replace your marketing team — it's to give them superpowers.

We surveyed 50 property management companies ranging from 500 to 50,000 units. The question: how well does your tech stack actually serve you?

Key Findings

• 78% use an "all-in-one" platform but still rely on spreadsheets for key workflows
• Average company pays for 3.2 unused features for every 1 they need
• 62% said switching costs — not satisfaction — keep them on their current platform
• Teams spend 6.5 hours/week on workarounds for platform limitations

The Real Cost

The license fee is just the beginning. Factor in workaround time, training overhead for unused features, and opportunity cost of workflows that could be 10x better — the true cost is staggering.

For specialized needs like acquisition tracking or portfolio marketing, purpose-built tools consistently outperform the platform module.

We're a small team shipping two products simultaneously. Here's an honest look at how we move fast without sacrificing quality.

Weekly Cycles

Monday: plan what ships Friday. Friday: demo what shipped. No two-week sprints or elaborate ceremonies. Just focused building with a clear end point every week.

Our Stack

React and Next.js frontend, Node.js backend, PostgreSQL database, deployed on Vercel and AWS. Boring, proven technology — because reliability matters when property managers depend on your tools daily.

What We've Learned

• Small PRs merged fast beat large PRs merged slowly
• Feature flags let us ship to production daily without risk
• Writing docs before code forces clarity of thought
• Talking to customers weekly keeps us honest about what matters

Nothing revolutionary — just discipline about the basics and relentless scope-cutting to what moves the needle.

We skipped the buzzwords and asked property managers directly: what technology would actually make your life better this year?

What We Heard

• Better data, not more data. Teams are drowning in dashboards but starving for actionable insights
• AI that saves time, not AI for AI's sake. Automate descriptions, scheduling, anomaly flagging — not chatbots
• Integrations over platforms. Best-in-class tools that play nicely with existing PMS, not another monolith
• Mobile-first workflows. Property managers are on-site, not at desks

Our Take

The industry is maturing. Early adopters tried the big platforms and found them lacking. Now they want focused, high-quality tools built by people who understand their workflows. That's exactly where UnitStack lives.

When we started UnitStack, we had a choice: build one product and bet everything, or build a studio that ships multiple focused products over time. We chose the studio.

The Studio Advantage

Multifamily property management isn't one problem — it's dozens of distinct problems. Acquisitions, marketing, maintenance, compliance, renewals, vendor management. Each deserves dedicated tooling.

A studio lets us attack these one at a time. When a product ships and stabilizes, we turn to the next unsolved problem while continuing to iterate on what's live.

What's Next

TransitionTrack and PostFolio.ai are just the beginning. We have a roadmap addressing specific gaps in property management. Every product we ship makes the next one better — deeper industry understanding compounds.

We're not building a platform. We're building a catalog of best-in-class tools, each earning its place by being excellent at one thing.