All Forum Posts by: Alyssa Wright

Contact a Section 8 representative, preferably whoever your tenant's rep is if they have one. You will also want to check in on your local laws about increases as well as compare them to Section 8's regulations. 

It's great that you have some prior experience overseeing STRs for Airbnb, but to be completely honest with you, being a property manager is by no means an entry-level position and requires a wide variety of experience to do. Air BnB's and property management are two VASTLY different areas and what you've learned being a co-host does not necessarily qualify you for PM. 

I would recommend shooting smaller as well as working on getting your real estate license if you do not already have one as that is a big deal for most PM companies. Maybe try starting out as a admin assistant for a PM company first; just something to get your foot in the door and start building your experience. 

I would definitely recommend looking into the Western Pennsylvania market, especially for Section 8/subsidized housing! At least in the Pittsburgh area, there is a crazy demand for section 8 properties right now and not nearly enough properties for the amount of vouchers out!

If you're ever looking for any additional advice/information feel free to reach out! 

We use appfolio for our tenant screening process and the UJS site to do background checks! Appfolio lets you pull credit reports, calculate if income is met, etc... 

All of our apps are first come first served so we dont rank them super often, but I believe appfolio allows you to set your requirements and will advise you whether or not an applicant meets the requirements as well. 

We currently have about 250+ units throughout Western PA and personally, Appfolio is a great tool! 

Congratulations on your growing portfolio! I hope you are able to keep growing and learing! 

Hello Miguelli, 

We're not located in Ohio, but if you're ever looking to expand into the PA/Pittsburgh market for Section 8 please reach out! 

We work closely with Section 8 and are currently trying to get the majority of our owners to open their properties to Section 8 as well! 

Does your agent have any recent experience with leasing or just sales?  As Russell mentioned, agents are pro's at sales while PM's are more for leasing; which I totally understand is not feasible for you! I would definitely make sure you have the best agent for you that has a good understanding of the rental market in your area as well as how to get people in the door. 

There's certainly other aspects that you need to consider such as pricing, quality of photos & overall listing, is it clean/repairs are done, if there's tenants are they being decent to people during showings, are you requirements reasonable etc... 

Also, is your agent providing you feedback from their showings? If not, they 100% need to be doing that. Seeing what people are saying/how they feel about your property is a huge help! 

Hey Kevin, 

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

If you ever need any help with anything from investment deals, sales, renovations, or property management, feel free to reach out! I work with a one stop shop brokerage and we'd be happy to help you with anything you could need! 

I wouldn't necessarily say you would need to increase the rent, unless the lease is already coming up on renewal and is due for an increase anyway.

If you have a general application, have the incoming tenant just submit an application that way you can still ensure that they meet the criteria whether it be credit, background,etc... 

Then just make an addendum that adds them to the lease, upholds them to the same standards of the other tenant, and also makes them equally responsibility for making rent payments on time.