Co-Founder & Head of Product

Marketing Manager

Journalist, Stacker

Guaranteed rent, innovative financing, 24/7 support, a world-class app and cash referrals are just some of the ways Belong is leaving property management behind

9 Ways Belong Flipped Property Management on its Head

Renting is rarely described as ‘lovable’ — but we’re on a mission to change that.

Belong’s vision for the US housing market is one where homes empower individuals, not just corporations. We want to help homeowners find financial success, while ensuring renters feel a true sense of belonging in their homes.

Property management has failed to do that. 

Renters endure disrespect or indifference, while homeowners face frustration with hidden fees and a lack of communication. It’s time to restore confidence that long-term renting can be both profitable and lovable. 

How? By being high-tech but human. Belong is a proptech company on a mission to fix long-term renting by focusing on innovation and services that support everyone. Here’s a glimpse at some of the ways we’re doing that and flipping property management on its head. 

9 Belong Innovations That Make Renting Lovable

1. We made rental payments flexible and predictable

As 2020 reminded us, life is unpredictable. Flexibility is now a top priority for people and many industries such as airlines and events were forced to accommodate this. But property management didn’t budge.  

Renters need flexibility to pay on a schedule that won’t put them behind, but homeowners need predictability in their rental income. So Belong found a way to offer both. 

Every resident on Belong has the flexibility to choose their rent payment schedule. Homeowners get this rent guaranteed, every month. If your residents want to pay weekly, you’ll still get predictable payments every month. Some homeowners even get their entire year upfront for the year — no catch. It’s your money, your cashflow, your choice. 

Read more: How Guaranteed Rent is Changing Property Management Forever

2. We allowed control over expenses and cashflow

Rental homes have their fair share of expenses that eat into cashflow. So Belong has found a way to make this smoother and more predictable too. 

Belong homeowners can spread costs like maintenance work and insurance across a lease. The same guaranteed income every month, less a repayment for any expenses you need to defer. This makes your cashflow smoother and more predictable, even if you didn’t budget for that unexpected plumbing emergency!

We didn’t forget our residents here either. They can spread the cost of renters insurance and even their security deposit. Residents also get credit for every on-time rental payment to build towards priority access to future rentals or even buying an eligible home on the Belong network in future.  

Read more: How Flexible Payment Options Are Unlocking Positive Cash Flow for Landlords in 2024

3. We took a ‘radically honest’ approach to fees

Flexibility with payment is important, but so is honesty. Traditional property management companies are notorious for hiding fees. There’s sneaky extras for essentials like setup costs, lease renewals or marketing photos. Or the realization that the “eviction protection” you paid a premium for is capped at a measly $500. 

Belong went the other way. Full transparency. Our management fee is a flat 8%, it’s capped so it never gets unreasonable, and it includes everything you need to market and run your home well. We’re so confident in our resident placement that we include up to $15,000 in eviction protection for anyone we place if we ever need to start eviction proceedings. 

Read more: How To Avoid Costly Evictions With Belong’s Game-Changing Safety Net For Homeowners

4. We took the guesswork out of pricing rental homes

Property management companies use guesswork and your neighbors to set the market price for your home. But in this day and age, it’s not fast or adaptive to real shifts in the market. Pricing medians rarely work either, giving false expectations due to the huge range of homes it encompasses. 

Belong developed smarter tech and pricing algorithms that identifies what your home is really worth on the rental market. True market data and real-time interest from potential residents work to maximize the value of homes on the Belong network.

5. We ditched the static ‘portal’ for an industry-leading app

Sure, property management has online portals to log a request and maybe pay rent online. But Belong has built an industry-busting app that connects everyone seamlessly to the services they want and need. 

The Belong app gives everyone access to 24/7 support (yes, with real people replying to your residents on weekends!) and lets homeowners respond in real-time to maintenance requests with our 10,000+ strong vendor network. It puts everything at your fingertips, from tracking your cashflow and financial goals, to buying insurance or even approving new residents. 

6. We made it easier to protect your asset

Homeowners need insurance to protect their property (especially if you have a mortgage). But what many don’t realize is that home insurance only covers owner-occupied homes and claims can be denied if you rent out a home. 

But getting the right insurance is arduous and time consuming. Not all companies offer dedicated landlord/rental home insurance. Or they make you jump through hoops like combining policies with your own home. It was time for that to change too. 

Insurance is available in just a few clicks through the Belong app. Homeowners can add a rental policy to their account anytime, anywhere. We ask all residents to get insurance for extra peace of mind, which they can buy (and spread the cost of) through the Belong app. Simple! 

Read More: What Type of Insurance Should I Get For My Rental Property?

7. We created scheduled maintenance, so you can forget it

Homes need regular upkeep. But busy homeowners don’t want reminders, they need it done. So Belong introduced a way to make sure preventive maintenance runs like clockwork. Add, pause or remove recurring services, right from the Belong app. From lawn mowing to gutter cleaning, set and forget your seasonal home maintenance and let Belong do all the work. 

Read more: Why Ignoring Rental Home Maintenance Could Cost You More Than Repairs

8. We integrated with the top rental listing sites  

Going online is how people find rental homes. It makes sense that your home should be everywhere, not just 1-2 places. Belong starts with 26, plus our own popular platform. 

To innovate this process, we developed direct integration with top listing platforms such as Zillow and Zumper. When you list a home with Belong, it’s automatically featured everywhere. This gets 30-50% more views for your home and a direct feed of applicants into the Belong system. This lets us contact potential residents quickly and find the best applicant faster than a traditional property manager could. 


It’s another way that Belong reduces vacancy times and costs for homeowners, with 66% less vacancy than competitors and an average of 29 qualified applications for every home listed.


9. We dropped the labels and power imbalance

Inclusive language is important. It’s a powerful tool in creating empathy and understanding of each other as individuals, not commodities. Labels like landlord and tenant highlight the power imbalance in the rental market and treat people as financial transactions.

In creating a more lovable, humane rental experience, we dropped the outdated labels. We use inclusive terms like homeowners and residents, focusing on the emotional connection we have to homes (not just ‘properties’). We occasionally have to use the old terms when writing about legal or financial topics, but we include disclaimers because we think it’s time for these labels to be retired.  

Join the tech-forward property management alternative

From Charlotte to Durham and Wilmington: it’s time to meet Belong and find out how we’re changing renting and property management in North Carolina for good.

Belong Extends a Warm Southern Welcome to North Carolina

The rollouts don’t stop! Hot on the heels of our Belong PRO network expansion in Texas, Utah, and Florida, we’re ready to extend a warm southern welcome to the great state of North Carolina. 

It’s an exciting time to own a rental home in North Carolina and we’re ready to help rental homeowners make the most of the opportunities that 2024 brings. After wage growth outpaced inflation in 2022, CNBC again ranked North Carolina the top state for business in 2023. Workers are flocking there to take advantage of this booming economy and growing operations of major companies like Apple and Bosch. Mix in desirable universities and you’ve got the perfect formula for attracting renters all year round. 

For homeowners, this means there’s never been a better time to rethink how your rental home is cared for. It’s time to join a modern alternative to property management that’s designed for the North Carolina of today, not decades past.   

One that guarantees rent every month. Someone who provides real support 24/7 for both you and your residents. Who does away with hidden fees and gives you better control of your cash flow management. And does it all in one simple app. 

Partnering with Belong means managing your rental home on your own terms, knowing you have the support to achieve your financial goals sooner. 

The best alternative to property management in North Carolina

The mission of Belong is to create authentic belonging experiences — empowering residents to become homeowners and homeowners to become financially free. We’ve set about changing every aspect of renting that fails homeowners and residents (we’re even binning the terms landlord and tenant!). We’re challenging the status quo of property management by putting people first, enabled by best-in-class technology and services.

By partnering with Belong PRO, you won’t have to deal with the common complaints of outdated property management companies. Our team inspect your rental home and help you get it move-in ready. We’ll use clever tech and real-time demand to find the right rental price. We’ll find and vet great people that will care for your home as you would. And we’ll treat them exceptionally well too, so that they stay longer, reducing vacancy.

Earn $1,000 by referring NC homeowners to Belong

Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington — North Carolina is home to many great cities and neighborhoods with a high demand for rentals. If you know someone looking to rent out their NC home, learn about our referral program. You could earn $1,000 by referring a qualified homeowner when they join the Belong PRO network.

Check out our local pages for more information or to get started:

North Carolina Property Management Made Loveable

Almost 10 million Americans are behind in their rental payments. Guaranteed rent is a new innovation that protects homeowners when it comes time to collect.

How Guaranteed Rent is Changing Property Management Forever

A recent US Census pulse survey revealed that 9 million Americans were behind in their rent. That’s a figure sure to send shivers down the spine of anyone whose house is in the rental market, or who is considering it.

The last thing a homeowner wants to do is chase down a rent payment. Aside from the time, effort and stress, the obvious reality is that mortgage and expenses don’t stop adding up when a resident home stops paying the rent. Many homeowners resist the rental market for this very reason, even if it’s a better alternative to selling. 

Guaranteed rent keeps the bills in check by paying homeowners rent every month, regardless of when the resident pays. It’s a reflection of Belong’s commitment to creating a painless and friction-free experience for homeowners and confidence in their approach to finding someone to love your home.

Because Belong believes so deeply in their screening process — and because they refuse to leave their homeowners hanging — they step in at this point and start picking up the tab. Not only that, but they take on the responsibility of collecting any outstanding debts from the resident, or in the worst-case scenario, handling the eviction process.

Belong offers two choices to landlords with guaranteed rent:

It’s as simple as it sounds. Belong will make sure payment hits your bank account each and every month, no matter what. You get paid like clockwork. And Belong manages the collection process with your residents if they fall in arrears; it’s their problem, not yours.

Option 2: Guaranteed rent for a year, upfront 

As further evidence of confidence in its community of residents, Belong gives you the option to collect the entire year’s lease upfront. So you can sit back, relax, and let someone else worry about collecting rent every month.  

Hand over the keys and let Belong take it from here 

Guaranteed rent is just one way that Belong is different from traditional property management services. Belong will list the house and use proprietary tech to find the exact right price for your market. Any necessary repairs will be handled by a professional from a vetted network of over 10,000 contractors to get it market-ready for marketing and showings. Belong shows the house, screens tenants, and arranges the move-in. Beyond guaranteed rent, you could say that Belong is guaranteed to be different in every way!

Belong is simplifying the rental experience and helping more homeowners reach their financial goals through real estate. Whether you’re self-managing a rental home or having your home loved by Belong, we're making the rental experience lovable for everyone. 

Visit our homeowner's page to find out more about how our services are helping people to ditch property management in Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami and many more.

Enjoy Guaranteed Rental Income

Bigger, better, easier support has arrived! Learn how Belong's new expert teams are making renting even more lovable for rental homeowners and their residents.

Easier, Better, Faster, Stronger: Our Customer Support Service is Growing!

Easier, Better, Faster, Stronger — our Belong PRO full service management service has gotten an upgrade! 

As of November 1st, we’ve added new teams of dedicated specialists to our full-service management experience. Still 24/7 and available to both homeowners and residents. 

This means when you contact us, in addition to support from your dedicated account manager, you’ll get direct and fast access to the team with the best knowledge and skills to answer your questions. We have dedicated teams with expertise in everything from Resident Placement and Leasing, Maintenance and Home Repairs to Taxes and HOA Management. 

Like your account manager, all team members will help to place high-quality residents, while maintaining, and generating income for years to come. The only difference you’ll notice is faster response times and a few more friendly Belong faces alongside your regular point of contact. 

We’re always striving to innovate and revolutionize the renting experience. We’ve reviewed feedback from homeowners and residents and concluded that specialist teams were a better way forward to speed up and improve the management of your home. While you can still get in touch with your concierge/account manager as you always have, direct access to a wider range of experts will get your questions or concerns taken care of quicker than if your account manager had to find an answer and get back to you. 

Do I still get 24/7 support? What about my residents?

You bet! No change here, open the Belong app or call/email/text us to access support from your success team at any time. This change also applies to your residents, so no need to worry about any late-night phone calls! 

What happens to my concierge and account manager?

Whenever you reach out you will speak to the correct person on your success team. For example, if you have a question about an ongoing repair, your home care associate will be the one to respond. This will allow for quicker response times without any bouncing around or waiting for a call back after being transferred.

But you can still reach out to your account manager as you always did. Moving forward, they may introduce you to other Belongers to support you, depending on your query. If you have any questions about the change or any outstanding queries on your home, your account manager would be happy to assist you.

No! This change will have no impact on your guaranteed rent payment or your management fee. 

Let us give you a brief introduction to who you may meet on your Belong journey:

First up — getting to know you and your financial goals, so we can help you achieve them through renting out your home. We’ll walk you through the process of getting your home loved by Belong PRO and will arrange for an initial inspection of your rental home. 

Stage 2: Getting your home ready for residents

Based on the inspection report, our home preparation and repairs team will take action to get your home listed at the best possible price. If your home needs a lick of paint or some TLC, they can arrange for a professional from our 10,000+ strong vendor network to complete the job to the highest standard. 

Stage 3: Listing your rental home and placing residents

When your home is move-in ready, our Resident Placement and Listing specialists will get your home seen, vet applicants, and secure a rental price that will meet your financial goals. They will also proactively manage the move-in experience to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Once a lease is signed, our exceptional customer service will extend to both you and your long-term residents. We’re a proactive bunch — nothing will slide into disrepair on our watch and you won’t need to worry about a thing. Our teams are experts at reducing vacancies and maintenance costs by keeping everything in top shape. 

24/7 support is just the beginning — Belong is always innovating and expanding to make renting lovable for homeowners and their residents. Want to know what all the fuss is about? Learn more about Belong PRO here. 

Tyler Infelise

Eric Vandekerkhove

Lauren Slagter

Melanie Kershaw

Jane Allison Gunn

Annalise Mantz

Eric Vandekerkhove

Lauren Slagter

Melanie Kershaw

Jane Allison Gunn

Annalise Mantz