Owners and who owns each property

Who this is for

Property managers. Owners exist only in Property Manager mode. Only the account owner can add an owner, assign owners to a property or change how an owner is paid. Any team member can look at them.

Before you start

• Have the owner's first name, last name and email. Middle name, phone and company are optional.
• Add the property first. See Add properties and units.
• A property's owners must add up to 100% or less. eSamaHomes refuses an assignment that would go over.

Steps

1. In the menu, open Rentals → Owners and click Add Owner. Fill in First Name, Middle Name (optional), Last Name and Email, then click Add Owner in the form. The owner appears in the Owner directory. A middle name is printed on the owner's leases and used when they sign online, and nowhere else.
2. Click Profile on the owner's row (on a phone, under ⋯) to open their profile.
3. In the Properties card, click Assign Property. Choose the property, enter the Ownership % (it shows how much is still available) and click Assign. You can also do this from the property's Owners tab with Assign Owner.
4. In the Payout details card, choose how you pay this owner in Pay by: Check, ACH, Wire, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, Apple Cash or Other. Then fill in the one field it shows: the Zelle email or phone or Apple Cash email or phone, the Venmo username (@ and the name), the Cash App $cashtag, the last four digits in Account ending in for ACH or Wire, or a Note for Other. Check shows no field. For Zelle and Apple Cash, the owner's phone and email on file show as Use … buttons: a click fills the field, and nothing is saved until you click Save, because the phone on file isn't always the one their Zelle uses.
5. Click Save. It shows "Payout details saved." and the owner gets an email saying how you pay them changed, showing only the first few characters of a handle. This is the method monthly payouts are prepared with, and New Payout starts at it. While Pay by is Not set, the card says what monthly payouts use instead: ACH when an account ending is on file, else Check. eSamaHomes doesn't send the money and keeps no full bank account or routing number: you send it yourself, from the account that holds the owner's money. Only Check prints a check.
6. If you pay this owner by check, set their Mailing address at the bottom of the Payout details card, marked "Needed to print a check": click Add (or Edit), fill in Street address, Apt, suite or unit (optional), City, State and ZIP code, and click Save address. Payout checks are printed with this address. Leave every line empty if this owner isn't paid by check. Any team member can do this. See Owner payouts.
7. Optional: set the Maintenance Approval Threshold, and switch on Approves new tenants or Signs leases. See Owner approvals.
8. To fix an owner's name, click Edit name next to Full legal name in Owner Information, change First name, Middle name (optional) or Last name, and click Save name. Any team member can do this. Changing the name cancels any lease on this owner's properties that is out for signing; send it again. See Sign a lease online.
9. To let the owner see their properties and statements, invite them to the owner portal. See Invite tenants, owners, vendors and your team.

Example

Maple Court has two owners, Dana Whitfield and Luis Ortega.

• Assign Dana at 60%. The form now shows 40% available for Maple Court.
• Assign Luis at 40%. Maple Court is fully assigned at 100%.
• A $2,000 rent payment is credited $1,200 to Dana and $800 to Luis. Fees, repairs and reserve are split the same way.

What happens next

• Every rent payment on the property is credited to its owners by their ownership percent.
• The owner's profile shows Available, Deposits held and Reserve held, and the Payout History table lists every payout at the net paid, after its deductions. A payout whose newest check is void shows its number as "Check #1001 (void)".
• Assigning the same owner again changes their percent instead of adding a second row.

If something looks wrong

• "No owner assigned — payments cannot be recorded until an owner is added." A property with no owner can't take a rent payment in Property Manager mode. Click Assign an owner on the banner, or use the property's Owners tab.
• "Ownership would total …% Only …% is available for this property." The owners already on the property leave less room than you entered. Lower the percent, or change another owner's share first.
• The owner card shows Pending Distributions and Total Managed Value as "—". Those two figures are not built yet. Use the owner's profile for their balance.
• The field under Pay by turns red and Save stays grey. The value doesn't fit the method, and the line under the field says what it needs, such as "@ then 5 to 30 letters, numbers, - or _." for a Venmo username or "Enter the last four digits of the bank account." for ACH. Fix it, or choose another method.
• "Only an account Owner can change payout details." Team members see how an owner is paid as one line, such as "Zelle, (561) 555-0142". Ask the account owner to change it.
• "Fill in the street address, city, state and ZIP code, or leave every line empty." A mailing address needs all four. Fill in the missing ones, or clear every line to remove the address.
• You removed an owner by mistake. Removing an owner from a property doesn't change their balance or ledger. Assign them again with the same percent.