According to David Duckworth, president of ePropertyTax, property taxes are "expensive, complex, and subjective." Translation: they may represent up to one-third of total expenses; over 9,000 jurisdictions administer property taxes; and 50% of appeals are successful. EPropertyTax provides web-based property tax management software and compliance services for $120 billion in real estate assets with $4 billion in annual property tax payments.

In softer rental markets, reducing expenses is probably more important than trying to increase gross rents. More efficient management is a higher priority than deal making. So it's no wonder that technology to improve the basic infrastructure of management, like ePropertyTax, is gaining traction. Duckworth points out that 8 of the 11 largest REITs now use ePropertyTax. ... What web-based services help you manage your properties better?

--Peter Pike