All Forum Posts by: Alexander Stringfellow

excellent photos are non-negotiable. Especially in the winter when leasing is slow, you cannot afford to have bad photos. 

Put together this guide here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/899/topics/1160462-how-...

In terms of pricing, here's what you can do:

-Pull up Zillow, center it around your property (depends on how dense your neighborhood is)

-Set the right filters (beds, baths, amenities. Then I also like to do "listed in the last 30 days", to remove overpriced stale listings)

-Click on each of the remaining listings. How does your compare? Especially take notice of the # of contacts relative to the days on Zillow. The more contacts/week the more realistic the pricing is

-Use that to find your sweet spot. If after two weeks you have a ton of leads then you can rasie by $50-$100. Or if you don't get many leads then lower by $50-$100. But I'd suggest waiting two weeks before making a change

also you can check out RentEngine, it does most of the leasing work for you with a simple flat fee

RentEngine for leasing, Baselane for payments/expense tracking. And then just a great local handyman for the occasional issue (you don't need maintenance software or a PMS for a small portfolio)

RentEngine platform for the leasing (advertising, 24/7 lead response, showings, follow ups, screening). Baselane is great for the payments/banking/expense tracking. And then just a great local handyman you trust

check out RentEngine. This is exactly what they do and recently just launched in Orlando

check out RentEngine instead of ZRM. advertising on more sites, lead response, showings, follow ups, and deep screening. The screening verifies that the reported income is actually going into their bank account and has selfie+ID verification to confirm identity

not much you can do now, other than show the place and tell them it will be fixed up/cleaned before move in. For future you can make a detailed video tour (prospects love these). I would budget 15 days for transition, but you should start marketing at least 30 days before the current tenant moves out. Also check out RentEngine for the leasing work

don't forget about sales tax. It depends on the state but typically rentals of less than 6 months are subject to sales tax and requires registration with the state's Dept of Taxation. 

Also you should aim to buy near hospitals, universities or corporate campuses. The type of tenants using MTRs are there for work and usually care about proximity more than anything

In terms of leasing you could check out RentEngine. Their platform handles all the marketing for MTRs and LTRs, lead response, screening, etc

you could check out RentEngine, screening is included in the platform

Besides price, this is the most important conversion factor when advertising your rentals. put together this quick guide

- Take your photos 60 minutes after sunrise or 60 minutes before sunset. You'll get the warmest natural light. Otherwise, do it on an overcast day to avoid ugly shadows and harsh reflections

- Hold your phone horizontally - makes the space look bigger and shows better on screens

- Shooting from lower chest height, holding the phone with both hands and rest your elbows onto your lower ribs. This stabilizes and makes the photos crisper

- Use the volume button instead of the shutter button on the screen for even more stability

- Never use digital zoom. It’s not really zoom, it just crops the picture and magnifies it - leading to blurry photos. Just get closer

- Get to the corners. For spacious room shots, put yourself in corners or doorways, backing up until the door edges are visible in the lens, then scoot forward slightly to remove them. You’ll capture the widest view of the room and create “depth” as the walls guide the prospect’s eye to the opposite corner

- Floor is better than ceiling. You want to show as much living space as possible - that’s what they’re paying for. While holding the phone stable at your chest, tilt it down just a little to capture more floor than ceiling

I'm a PM in Florida and saw this company advertising called RentGod. It looks like they do all the leasing work for $500. From their website it says they use a combination of tech and human agents.

I think their website it www.rent-god.com

Anyone have any experience with them?