Nine. v1.0.0 - Release Notes
Release Date: March 2, 2026
Product: Nine.
Version: 1.0.0
Status: General Availability (GA)
π Welcome to Nine. v1.0.0!
This is the first production release of Nine. β a modern desktop property management system designed specifically for landlords and real estate investors managing up to nine residential rental properties.
π Executive Summary
What is Nine.?
Nine. is a standalone desktop application that helps landlords efficiently manage their rental properties, tenants, leases, finances, and maintenance β all in one place. Built with modern technology and designed for simplicity, it provides professional-grade features without the complexity or costs of enterprise solutions.
Target Audience
- Real estate investors managing up to 9 residential rental properties
- Independent landlords who want to self-manage their portfolio
- New investors building their rental business
Key Differentiators
| Feature | Nine. | Nine. Professional (Future) |
|---|---|---|
| Properties | Up to 9 | Unlimited |
| Users | 3 (1 system + 2 login) | Unlimited |
| Organizations | 1 | Multiple |
| Deployment | Desktop (Electron) | Web + Desktop |
| Target | Landlords / Investors | Property management companies |
| Licensing | One-time purchase | Subscription |
| Complexity | Simplified workflows | Advanced features |
β¨ What's New in v1.0.0
Property Management
Core Features:
- β Property portfolio management β Track up to 9 residential properties
- β Property profiles β Complete property information with photos and documents
- β Property types β Single Family, Multi-Family, Apartment, Condo, Townhouse
- β Property status tracking β Available, Occupied, Under Renovation, Off Market
- β Unit management β Track individual units within multi-family properties
- β Property documents β Store leases, certificates, insurance documents (10MB per file)
- β Property inspections β Routine, move-in, move-out, maintenance inspections with 26-item checklist
Property Lifecycle:
- Add property details (address, type, units, rent)
- Upload photos and documents
- Mark property as Available
- Receive applications from prospects
- Create lease and convert prospect to tenant
- Property automatically marked as Occupied
- Schedule routine inspections
- Track maintenance and repairs
- Handle lease expiration and renewal
Tenant Management
Prospect-to-Tenant Journey:
- β Prospect tracking β Capture leads and inquiries
- β Tour scheduling β Schedule and track property tours
- β Rental applications β Digital application submission with income verification
- β Application screening β Background and credit check tracking
- β Application approval/denial β Streamlined decision workflow
- β Tenant conversion β Automatic conversion from prospect to tenant with audit trail
- β Tenant profiles β Complete tenant information with contact details and emergency contacts
Tenant Statuses:
Inquiry β Tour Scheduled β Toured β Application Submitted β Under Review β Application Approved/Denied β Lease Offered β Lease Accepted/Declined β Converted to Tenant
Lease Management
Lease Features:
- β Lease creation β Generate leases from approved applications
- β Lease terms β Start date, end date, monthly rent, security deposit
- β Lease status β Draft, Offered, Active, Expired, Terminated
- β Lease offers β Generate lease offers with 30-day expiration
- β Lease acceptance β Digital lease acceptance with signature audit trail (IP, timestamp, user ID)
- β Multi-lease support β Tenants can have multiple active leases simultaneously
- β Lease expiration tracking β Automatic notifications 60/30/14 days before expiration
- β Lease renewal β Streamlined renewal workflow
- β Lease termination β Handle early termination with reason tracking
- β Lease documents β Generate PDF lease agreements with QuestPDF
Security Deposit Investment Model:
- β Pooled investment approach β All security deposits invested collectively
- β Annual dividend distribution β Earnings distributed to tenants annually
- β Pro-rated dividends β Dividends calculated based on move-in date (mid-year = 50%)
- β Tenant choice β Apply as lease credit OR receive as check
- β Loss protection β Organization absorbs investment losses (no negative dividends)
- β Multi-lease dividends β Each active lease receives separate dividend
- β Post-move-out dividends β Dividends sent to forwarding address if tenant has moved out
Financial Management
Invoice & Payment Tracking:
- β Automated invoicing β Recurring rent invoices generated monthly
- β Invoice types β Rent, Late Fee, Maintenance, Utilities, Other
- β Invoice status β Pending, Paid, Partial, Overdue, Cancelled
- β Payment recording β Track payments by method (Cash, Check, Credit Card, ACH, Online Portal)
- β Payment allocation β Automatic invoice status updates based on payments
- β Late fee automation β Automatic late fee application after grace period (configurable)
- β Financial reports β Income statements, payment history, outstanding balances
Late Fee System:
- Configurable grace period (default: 5 days after due date)
- Automatic late fee application via background task (runs daily at 2 AM)
- Late fee amount: Configurable percentage or flat fee
- One-time late fee per invoice (no duplicate fees)
Security Deposit Tracking:
- Security deposit collection at lease signing
- Investment pool tracking and annual performance
- Dividend calculation and distribution
- Refund processing at lease termination
Maintenance & Inspections
Maintenance Requests:
- β Request tracking β Create and manage repair requests
- β Request types β Emergency, Urgent, Routine
- β Request status β New, Assigned, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled
- β Priority levels β Critical, High, Medium, Low
- β Vendor assignment β Track which vendor is handling the request
- β Cost tracking β Record estimated and actual costs
- β Completion notes β Document what was done and parts used
- β Request history β Full audit trail of all actions
Inspection System:
- β Inspection types β Routine, Move-In, Move-Out, Maintenance
- β
26-item checklist β Comprehensive checklist covering 5 categories:
- Exterior (4 items)
- Interior (6 items)
- Kitchen (4 items)
- Bathroom (4 items)
- Systems (8 items)
- β Inspection scheduling β Schedule recurring routine inspections
- β Inspection results β Pass/Fail/Needs Repair for each item
- β Inspection notes β Document findings and required actions
- β PDF generation β Create inspection reports with QuestPDF
- β Automatic scheduling β Move-in inspections auto-scheduled at lease start
Calendar & Scheduling
- β Event management β Schedule tours, inspections, maintenance appointments
- β Event types β Tour, Inspection, Maintenance, Payment Due, Other
- β Calendar view β Month view with color-coded events
- β Automated events β Rent due dates, lease expiration reminders, scheduled inspections
Notifications & Communications
- β In-app notifications β Real-time notifications within application
- β Email notifications β Automated emails via SendGrid (optional)
- β SMS notifications β Text message alerts via Twilio (optional)
- β Notification preferences β User-configurable notification settings
- β Notification center β Centralized management with read/unread tracking
Database & Security
- β SQLite file-based database β No server required
- β Database encryption at rest β SQLCipher AES-256
- β OS keychain integration β Secure password management (Linux Secret Service / Windows DPAPI)
- β Automatic schema migrations β EF Core managed migrations
- β Manual and scheduled backups β With staged restore and preview
- β Content Security Policy (CSP) headers β XSS protection
Multi-User & Access Control
- β Role-based access control β Administrator, Property Manager, Tenant
- β Maximum 3 users β 1 system account + 2 login users
- β Organization isolation β Multi-tenant data separation enforced at model level
Desktop Application
- β Native desktop experience β via ElectronNET on Linux and Windows
- β
Linux AppImage β
Nine-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImagewith desktop integration script - β
Windows NSIS Installer β
Nine-1.0.0-x64-Setup.exe - β
Windows Portable β
Nine-1.0.0-x64-Portable.exe - β AppImageHub catalog integration β Embedded license metadata
π Breaking Changes
Clean v1.0.0 Release
This is a first release with no upgrade path from any previous versions:
- All database migrations are squashed into a single initial migration
- Database schema version set to
v1.0.0 - Users start with a fresh installation
π Known Limitations
Product Constraints
| Feature | Limitation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Properties | Maximum 9 properties | Product positioning for investors |
| Users | Maximum 3 users (1 system + 2 login) | Simplified access control |
| Organizations | 1 organization only | Desktop application scope |
| File uploads | 10MB per document | Performance and storage management |
| Database | SQLite (single file) | Desktop application architecture |
- Adding the 10th property will show an upgrade message
- Third user registration will be blocked with guidance
- Single organization enforced at data model level
Technical Debt
Calendar Feature:
- Calendar uses legacy
PropertyManagementService(5 usages) - Impact: No functional issues, code cleanup needed
- Status: Accepted technical debt, will be refactored in v1.1.0
Integration Tests:
- 9 UI integration tests require a running application to pass
- Tests are end-to-end and need a live Blazor server
- Impact: Excluded from CI pipeline
- Coverage: Validated manually during UAT
Code Signing (Windows):
- Windows builds are unsigned
- Users may see SmartScreen warning on first run
- Status: Planned for v1.1.0
π» System Requirements
Operating Systems
| Platform | Status | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | β | AppImage (x86_64) |
| Windows | β | NSIS Installer + Portable (x64) |
| macOS | β³ | Planned β not included in v1.0.0 |
Supported Linux distributions: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 35+, RHEL 8+
Hardware Requirements
Minimum:
- CPU: 2-core processor, 1.5 GHz
- RAM: 2 GB
- Disk Space: 500 MB for application + database
- Display: 1280Γ720 resolution
Recommended:
- CPU: 4-core processor, 2.5 GHz
- RAM: 4 GB
- Disk Space: 1 GB (allows for growth)
- Display: 1920Γ1080 resolution
Software Dependencies
Bundled with Application:
- .NET 10 Runtime (embedded in Electron build)
- SQLite / SQLCipher 3.x
- All necessary libraries and dependencies
No installation required β Application is self-contained.
Email/SMS Services (Optional)
- SendGrid account β for email notifications
- Twilio account β for SMS notifications
Email/SMS are optional β Nine. works fully without them using in-app notifications only.
π¦ Installation
Linux Installation
# Download AppImage
chmod +x Nine-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage
# Option 1: Desktop integration (recommended)
./install-desktop-integration.sh Nine-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage
# Option 2: Run directly
./Nine-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImageWindows Installation
Option A: NSIS Installer (Recommended)
- Download
Nine-1.0.0-x64-Setup.exe - Double-click to run installer
- Follow installation wizard
- Launch from Start Menu or Desktop shortcut
Option B: Portable Executable
- Download
Nine-1.0.0-x64-Portable.exe - Place in desired location
- Double-click to run (no installation required)
First-Time Setup
After installation, Nine. launches the New Setup Wizard:
- Create your organization (business name, contact info)
- Register your administrator account (email, password)
- Choose theme (Light/Dark/Auto)
- Configure notification preferences (optional)
- Application is ready to use
Data Location:
- Linux:
~/.config/Nine/Data/ - Windows:
%APPDATA%/Nine/Data/
π Getting Started
Quick Start (15 Minutes)
- Add Your First Property β Property Management β Properties β Add Property
- Add a Prospect β Tenant Management β Prospects β Add Prospect
- Submit an Application β Prospect record β Submit Application
- Approve and Generate Lease β Applications β Review β Approve β Generate Lease Offer
- Accept Lease β Leases β Accept β Tenant converted and property marked Occupied
- Generate Invoice β Financial Management β Invoices β Create Invoice
πΊοΈ Roadmap
v1.1.0 (Q2 2026)
- π― Windows/macOS keychain integration
- π― Rate limiting and antiforgery tokens
- π― Code signing for Windows builds
- π― Calendar feature refactoring (remove legacy service dependency)
π Links
- Website: nineapp.co
- GitHub: github.com/xnodeoncode/nine
- Releases: github.com/xnodeoncode/nine/releases
- Issues: github.com/xnodeoncode/nine/issues
- Quick Start Guide: Documentation/Quick-Start-Guide.md
π Technical Details
- Application Version: 1.0.0
- Database Schema: v1.0.0
- Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
- Framework: ASP.NET Core 10.0 + Blazor Server
- Target Framework: net10.0
- Desktop: ElectronNET.API 23.6.2
- PDF Generation: QuestPDF 2025.12.1
- Email: SendGrid 9.29.3
- SMS: Twilio 7.14.0
- Database Encryption: SQLitePCLRaw.bundle_e_sqlcipher 2.1.11