Lotly vs. Buildium for Mobile Home Parks
Buildium is a solid mid-market platform for apartments, condos, HOAs, and single-family rentals — built around a generic unit. For a park that means no lot model, no lot-vs-home rent split, no park-owned-home tracking, and no infill pipeline, with vacant lots still counting toward your tier and e-signature carrying a per-document fee on the entry plan. Lotly is built for parks, ships the park workflow native, and makes vacant lots free.
| Feature | Lotly | Buildium |
|---|---|---|
| Built specifically for mobile home parks | ✓Yes — the lot is the core object, built for parks from day one | No — residential/apartment/SFR-focused PMS |
| Lot-level occupancy tracking | ✓Native — in every plan, nothing to license | Generic unit model; lots are not represented |
| Lot rent vs. home rent split | ✓Native — lot rent and home rent billed separately by default | Not MHP-native — manual workaround with notes and charges |
| Park-owned home (POH) tracking | ✓Native — park-owned homes are a first-class object | No dedicated POH model |
| Infill / home-sales pipeline | ✓Native multi-stage pipeline: inquiry, showing, application, financing, docs, closing | Leasing prospect CRM only — no home-sales pipeline |
| Built-in tenant screening | ✓Native and park-aware: TransUnion credit, criminal, eviction/housing — wired into the eviction manager | TransUnion credit/criminal/eviction — apartment-tuned, per-screen fee |
| ACH-first rent collection | ✓ACH-first by default; sub-$1 per transaction | Online ACH/EFT; per-transaction fees |
| Mobile-first tenant portal | ✓Included; sub-90-second pay flow | Resident portal + app — apartment-tuned |
| One-click certified mail + state notices | ✓Native one-click certified mail (LetterStream) + state-specific notice templates | EZMail print-and-mail + generic notice templates; not one-click certified mail |
| Eviction case manager | ✓Native, state-law-aware, AI-assisted case manager | Eviction-pending tracking + guides; no case manager |
| Automated past-due outreach | ✓AI-drafted days-past-due ladder across email, portal, and SMS | Rule-based reminders; not an AI days-past-due ladder |
| In-app AI suite | ✓Native and MHP-tuned: assistant, maintenance agent, doc OCR, AI drafting — included | Lumina AI — tier-gated (Growth/Premium) and general-PM tuned |
| Lease e-signature | ✓Built-in and included in every plan | Per-document fee on the entry tier; unlimited only on higher tiers |
| AI-assisted data onboarding | ✓AI-mapped import from any PMS (CSV/Excel/ZIP) — live in days, no consultant | Template import + implementation specialist; not AI-mapped |
| MHP-formatted owner statements | ✓Native MHP-formatted owner statements — no QuickBooks required | Owner statements, but not MHP-formatted |
| Pricing model | ✓Per-lot, vacant lots free, month-to-month — no annual lock-in | Tiered per-unit + add-ons and transaction fees; vacant lots still count toward your tier |
| HOA / condo association management | Built for parks — no HOA or association module | ✓Deeper — genuine HOA and condo association management |
| Breadth across SFR, condo, and HOA portfolios | Park-focused by design | ✓Deeper — one platform across apartments, SFR, condo, and HOA |
What Buildium does well
Buildium is a genuinely capable mid-market platform: strong double-entry accounting, a clean resident portal, online ACH, integrated TransUnion screening, listing syndication, and the Lumina AI writing tools. Under a few hundred units it is typically cheaper per door than AppFolio, with implementation specialists to get you started.
The catch for parks: all of it is built around a residential, apartment-style unit. A lot where the resident owns their home, a park-owned home you rent out, lot rent billed separately from home rent, and a vacant lot you are trying to fill are four different things — and in a unit-centric tool they collapse into one generic unit you work around with notes and manual charges.
Why Lotly wins for mobile home parks
Lotly was built for mobile home parks from day one, so the park workflow is not something you configure, license, or bolt on — it is the product. The lot is the core object. Lot rent and home rent bill separately by default. Park-owned homes are first-class. Vacant lots are free.
Just as important, the work a park operator actually does every week is native and included: park-aware screening, lease e-sign, one-click certified mail with state-specific notice templates, a multi-stage infill sales pipeline, a state-law-aware eviction manager, and an AI suite tuned for parks — in one platform, on month-to-month per-lot pricing, live in days.
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A true lot-and-home data modelLots — not apartment units — with separate lot rent and home rent and native park-owned-home tracking, and vacant lots free under per-lot pricing. This is the difference between software that models your business and software you work around.
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Compliance built for parksNative one-click certified mail via LetterStream with state-specific legal-notice templates, plus a state-law-aware, AI-assisted Eviction Manager — the notices and procedures parks actually send, backed by Lotly guides for all 50 states.
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Infill sales, not apartment leasingA native multi-stage pipeline from inquiry through showing, application, financing, docs, and closing — built to fill vacant lots, which is where park value is actually created.
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An MHP-native AI suite, includedAI assistant, maintenance agent, paper-application OCR, AI listing descriptions, and an AI-drafted days-past-due ladder across email, portal, and SMS — tuned for parks and included, not tier-gated or sold as an enterprise add-on.
The verdict: choose Lotly for mobile home parks
If you operate mobile home parks, Lotly is the right choice. Every workflow that defines a park — lots, separate lot and home rent, park-owned homes, infill sales, certified mail, state-aware evictions — is native, included, and built for parks from day one, on per-lot pricing where vacant lots are free and you are never locked into an annual contract.
Buildium is a capable product, and the comparison above is honest about the places it leads. But those strengths are aimed at a different asset class, and none of them is the reason a park operator gets out of bed. For parks, Lotly wins on the points that decide the day — and it is live in days, not months.
Best for
Lotly: Any mobile home park operator who wants lot-level workflows, separate lot and home rent, park-owned-home tracking, certified mail, infill stage tracking, and per-lot pricing with vacant lots free — native and included, with no apartment-DNA workarounds.
Buildium: Small-to-mid-size apartment, condo, HOA, and single-family managers who want solid accounting at a competitive price. Its unit-centric model is a genuine fit there — and a poor fit for lots.
Pricing
Lotly: Per-lot pricing with vacant lots free. Month-to-month contract — no annual lock-in. See pricing →
Buildium: Tiered per-unit subscriptions with unit minimums and overage, plus add-ons and transaction fees (ACH/EFT, screening per report, e-signature on the entry tier). Billed on unit count, so vacant lots still count toward your tier.
Competitor names and logos are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and comparison only; their inclusion does not imply affiliation or endorsement. Feature and pricing statements about other products reflect Lotly’s understanding of publicly available information, are not guaranteed to be complete or current, and may change at any time — please verify current pricing and features on the vendor’s own website before making a decision.