All Forum Posts by: Andrew Schultz

Interesting method, Aaron. I just moved to collecting a $200 deposit at the time of application, and I'll only accept the application if all information is there (pay stubs, copies of ID, fully completed application, and $200). I'm tempted to try it your way!

Last summer we had a supply line on a 2nd floor toilet let go. The tenants were home from college and it wasn't discovered for about 3 days. Damage to the 2nd floor bath, 2 2nd fl bedrooms, the 1st fl bed, dining, and living rooms, and basement bedroom, bathroom, and hallway.

http://imgur.com/a/A8SXP#0

This made me drool just a bit. Do you find you have extensive turnovers from vacation rentals?

Hi Yvette,

Send me a message with your email and I can forward it directly.

As far as how long to wait, chances are this person has no interest in the apartment or they would have at least been in contact. Leads move on with other places all the time. I always send the letter as a CYA and then move on. If they come back after the fact, it's your discretion as to whether you want to process them or not.

I require state issued ID cards with all applications.

In Buffalo, we have a huge issue with tenants not paying a gas or electric bill, which then turns in to a collections account, which eventually finds its way to their credit report. I can't rent to someone who can't open a utility account in their name, and the local utility companies won't open a new account for someone with past due collections. I've added a question to my application: "Do you have, or have you ever had, collection accounts with any utility company (gas, electric, water)?" If the applicant answers no, and I find a collection account with a balance, their application fee is now my application fee. Thank you!

I use Buildium to run my property management business, everything from tenant and maintenance management to accounting. I understand you are just looking to manage 1 owner (you), but the software can be used for that purpose. I find it very intuitive to use, and easy to grab the information I need quickly.

Just set yourself up as the only owner.

This might be the one feature that I haven't found in their software.

From my front page I can see how many leases I have ending in 30 and 90 days, as well as how many tenants have outstanding balances. Clicking either of these links takes me to the list of expiring leases or outstanding tenants, including what is owed at a glance.

I upload tenant's rental applications, lease documents, renewals, copies of IDs, etc and attach all of this to their lease page. I now have a 1 stop shop for all my tenant info, historic and current, no matter where I am.

Their iPhone app is very lacking, but they do have mobile web support which works splendidly on a tablet.

Hopefully this information helps you somewhat. I'm glad to answer any questions you may have, and they offer a free 14 day trial to get your feet wet a little.

We offer it as a service along side our other property management holdings. I have one client who owns about 150 units across 4 complexes who uses us exclusively for finding tenants for his properties. He self manages, so not running around to show and screen allows him the time to handle maintenance tasks and deal with other issues that surround his business. I also have clients who need 1 time tenant placement because they are not in the area, or just not sure how to screen properly. Sometimes these convert to full on management as well, which is nice.

Send a letter to the address on their application stating that their application has been declined because the application was incomplete. They failed to complete the application process in it's entirety, the credit check being part of that process.

If you had completed the credit check and were declining them because of bad credit, the tenants have a right to see their credit report by contacting the reporting agency directly. My understanding is that you as the person running their credit don't have to provide it to them, but you do have to provide the information on where they can get it.

From my form letter for rental declination (which I'll gladly email to you):

I'm in for anything after September 1.

In my opinion it depends on how nitpicky you want to be when classifying the neighborhoods. The major neighborhoods off the top of my head are Black Rock, Riverside, West Side, North Buffalo, University Heights, Kensington, LoveJoy, Kiasertown, South Buffalo, First Ward, Downtown, Allentown, Elmwood Strip, Delaware, and the Fruit Belt. You can break these down futher based on various criteria (zip codes, block clubs, etc).