All Forum Posts by: Alon A.

Hey 

I’m almost finishing remodeling 

3/2 house -1200sqft home 

zip code 33610

I wanted to ask if it’s worth to rent long  term for $2400 month 
Or
Rent as short term rental ? It’s 15min from downtown but , not close to the beach 

plus another questions

What cities are good for Airbnb ?
im interested in Clearwater , St.Pete , all pinelles county , but I know it has some restrictions , could you explain me what is those restrictions , what is good areas for Airbnb in general .

Thank you 

Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. All you need is a single place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, and a few other things. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet and it will take less time to track than it would to find and learn a new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it.
2. Software does have extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. But do you really need that for your one rental?
3. There's no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws or you'll salivate over a feature that shows up in other software.

Some common names you'll see thrown around a lot: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend you search for each of those apps online and see what they offer, how much they charge, etc. Make a simple spreadsheet or written list with the features of each and see which ones appeal to you most. Try to narrow it down to your top 3-4. Once you have a short list, get an account with each one and run them through the wringer to see how they really function. Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.

• Load a property with pictures and details.
• Market that property.
• See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
• Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
• Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
• Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, attach a fake invoice.
• Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
• Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
• Sign documents electronically.
• Run owner reports.

After testing a few apps, one of them should stand out for you. Choose that one and use it. No system is perfect, so don't waste your time chasing after the next shiny object. You should only have to change when your current software has a flaw or lacking feature that is causing you to spend too much work on a work-around. Then you can consider researching and finding something that meets your needs better.

There have been many good answers above. I know many online tools that empowers investors nowadays. I've been managing a few of my single family houses myself, both local and remote. It's not hard with a good network of professionals (handyman, and folks who have the knowledge or can direct me to the right person). You can certainly test them and see what you want to do yourself vs. outsourced.

My summary of such tool:

• Listing and leasing: Zillow, Tenant Turner, and others (I said “Others” as many platforms can no longer list on Zillow timely and effectively)
• PM software (lease and esign, rent collection, maintenance etc.): Azibo, Avail, Innago, Apartments.com, Hemlane, Turbotenant, Rentredi, Tenant Cloud, eRentpayment, Zillow
• Rental accounting tool: Azibo, Stessa, REIHub, Quickbooks (not specifically for rentals and pricier though)
• Rental banking: Azibo, Stessa
• move-in/move-out inspection: rentcheck

Hope it helps! I’ve used a few and tested many. Happy to share more details.

 No most PM cos get you a better price on repairs, and they handle it. I know for a fact the ones I work with are still below what I would pay . I am not speculating. Tenants are terrible, repairs are a pain to deal with. The PM fee is meaningless. 

All the best