A MagicDoor alternative built for a few units, not a management company.
HomeRelay is a MagicDoor alternative made for landlords who self-manage a handful of units. It coordinates tenant maintenance end to end for a flat $69/mo with no per-text or per-payment fees, and it never takes a cut of your rent.
What is a good MagicDoor alternative for a landlord with a few units?
HomeRelay is a MagicDoor alternative aimed squarely at independent landlords with roughly 3 to 10 units who manage their own places. It handles the part that eats your evenings, the maintenance requests and the vendor back-and-forth, without pulling you into a property-management suite built for companies with dozens of doors and their own back office.
Does HomeRelay charge per text message or per rent payment like some tools?
No. HomeRelay is one flat price for your whole account, $69/mo for 1 to 4 units or $99/mo for 5 and up, with no per-text and no per-payment charges. Some AI property tools, including MagicDoor's entry tier, meter the exact things a maintenance workflow uses most: they add a fee for each text message sent and a fee for each rent payment processed. HomeRelay runs a text-heavy coordination loop and does not bill you by the message, so a busy month does not cost you more.
Is HomeRelay for property managers or for landlords who manage their own units?
HomeRelay is built for landlords who manage their own units, not for property-management companies. Several AI property platforms market to small landlords but are shaped for management companies underneath, with owner distributions, management-fee accounting, and trust accounting in the core. HomeRelay has none of that. It assumes you are the owner doing the work and wants to hand you leverage, not a back office you did not ask for.
How is HomeRelay different from a tool that just opens a tenant and vendor group chat?
HomeRelay runs the coordination for you instead of dropping everyone into one chat thread. Some tools open a shared tenant-and-vendor chat and leave the three of you to sort out timing. HomeRelay talks to each party on its own, reads what they mean, and brokers the schedule between the tenant's availability, the vendor's proposed times, and your approval. You get a clean record of what happened rather than a thread you have to babysit.
Do my vendors need an account or an app to use HomeRelay?
No. Your vendors never need a HomeRelay account, an app, or a login. You bring your own plumber, electrician, and handyman, and HomeRelay reaches them by text and phone with the job details. They reply to accept, and that is it. Your vendor relationships stay yours, and if you leave HomeRelay they are unaffected because HomeRelay was never in the middle of them.
Can I control how much HomeRelay does automatically?
Yes. HomeRelay has an Automation Hub with three modes you set per trade: Full Auto, where AI handles the whole request and sends you a summary; Approve First, where AI triages and waits for your go; and Manual, where you handle it yourself. There is also a global pause for everything. Emergencies with a safety or habitability flag always go out right away.
Does HomeRelay take a cut of my rent?
No. HomeRelay never holds your rent and never takes a cut. If you collect rent through HomeRelay it runs on your own Stripe account and lands with you directly. The only thing you pay HomeRelay is the flat subscription: $69/mo for 1 to 4 units, or $99/mo for 5 and up.