A big part of the American dream is owning your own home. Most of us, however, are renters before that dream becomes a reality. One Denver-based company has a new service that makes rental life a bit easier. Rentbits, a Denver-based company that organizes rental information, recently launched its new Resident Buddy communication portal.

Here’s how it works: Property managers register their communites on Resident Buddy, then send out an announcement to their residents. Once you’ve registered on the site, you can perform straightforward tasks like paying rent, submitting maintenance requests, and receiving notifications for things like fire alarm testing—all online. You can even sign up to receive texts or emails concerning the status of your requests (in other words, no more wondering when the maintenance man will show up).

But the more interesting (and fun) part of the service is the Resident Buddy Exchange feature. Here, residents can connect with others in their rental community for things like rideshares, babysitters, and dogwalkers. Want to sell your old couch? Post it on Resident Buddy. This type of low-key introduction to your fellow renters takes the weirdness out of those random property “gatherings,” and connects people with services they actually need. If only buying your first home were this easy.

—Image courtesy of Rentbits

Follow digital assistant editor Davina van Buren on Twitter at @davinavanburen or on Pinterest.