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They manage the property. Merit protects the relationship.
Property management software runs one side's business: accounting, listings, workflows. Merit is something they don't have: a neutral, tamper-evident record of the tenancy that landlord and tenant both see, both shape, and both can rely on when it matters.
A different category
Three things only Merit does.
A shared record, not a portal view
In traditional tools, the landlord owns the data and tenants get a payment portal. In Merit, both parties see one identical, append-only history. Nothing is silently edited or deleted, by either side.
Tamper-evident and independently verifiable
Every message, request, agreement, and document is sealed into a per-tenancy cryptographic chain. Export it any time as a PDF or data bundle a third party can verify, designed to be defensible when disputes happen.
A track record that travels
Tenants build a verified Merit Passport from real history · not self-reported claims. Landlords earn a Property Score computed from receipts. Both are shareable with a time-boxed, revocable link.
Side by side
How Merit compares.
| Merit | LOFT (RealPage) | Buildium | RentRedi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built forWho the product serves first | Both sides of the rental | Residents at large management companies¹ | Property managers & associations | DIY landlords |
| Shared, identical recordLandlord and tenant see the same append-only history | · | · | · | |
| Tamper-evident historyCryptographically chained; edits and deletions are detectable | · | · | · | |
| Two-party resolution"Fixed" means both sides agreed it's fixed · sealed on the record | · | · | · | |
| Live message translationBoth sides read & write in their own language; the original stays the record | · | AI announcement drafting only (paid tiers) | · | |
| Building announcementsOne update, delivered and sealed into every tenant’s record; provable notice | Community feed updates¹ | Portal announcements | In-app notifications | |
| Photo & receipt evidenceJob photos and receipts fingerprinted (hashed) into the record | · | Attachments only | Attachments only | |
| Concierge data entryMerit’s team stages your history; nothing is written until you confirm it | · | · | · | |
| Rent collectionWhere the money moves | Attested ledger today; processing coming soon | Yes · incl. flexible / split rent¹ | ||
| Move-in / move-out condition reportRoom-by-room, photo-backed, both parties confirm | Moving checklists only¹ | Inspections (manager-run) | · | |
| Verifiable export & dispute packetIssue-specific record a third party can check | · | CSV / Excel export | Standard reports | |
| Portable tenant track recordVerified history the tenant owns and shares | Rewards & credit-building only¹ | Rent-to-credit reporting only | Rent-to-credit reporting only² | |
| Property reputationA score computed from receipts, not marketing copy | · | · | · | |
| Unit minimums & setup feesWhat it takes to start | None; start free with one tenancy | Free for residents, only via a participating manager¹ | From $62/mo + per-transaction fees⁴ | From $5–29.95/mo⁵ |
| Full trust accountingBank rec, owner statements, 1099s | · | Via the RealPage suite | Via paid add-on | |
| Listings & syndicationAdvertise vacant units | · | · |
Comparison reflects each vendor's publicly available product and pricing information as of July 2026. Sources: loftliving.com¹, rentredi.com/pricing²⁵, RentRedi help center³, buildium.com/pricing⁴. Details may have changed; verify with each vendor. LOFT™, RealPage®, Buildium®, and RentRedi™ are trademarks of their respective owners, which are not affiliated with and do not endorse Merit. "·" indicates the capability is not described in the vendor's public materials.
An honest note
Sometimes they're the right tool.
If you manage hundreds of doors and need trust accounting, listing syndication, and leasing CRM today, a full property management suite may fit, and several do it well. Merit is for what those suites weren't built to do: give everyone on a home one trustworthy record, proof when it counts, and a reputation that's earned. Many landlords run Merit alongside their existing tools. The record doesn't care where the rent ledger lives.
Put your next tenancy on the record.
Free for your first tenancy. No minimums, no contracts, no setup fees.