All Forum Posts by: Audrey Ezeh

Yep as long as he can swing the $10k spending requirement in 3 months to get 50k points or $20k in 3 months for the full 75k then that's a fantastic option. 

Got it! Amex points transfer to Delta and SPG 1:1 so the gold card is a great choice. If you are looking primarily for points you can convert to airline miles then I would go for the Delta Platinum Business instead. You get a lot more points plus MQM upgrades. Again Delta is not the most flexible airline to book points with which is why I prefer Chase and their partners but I think you'll be just fine with either card. 

Of course if you take the AMEX Gold and after a year you do not think you will spend enough on it to justify the annual fee, you can always call them and downgrade to the Simply Cash Business card. That is a good way to get out of an annual fee card without closing the account and hurting your credit score. 

If you are not tied to AMEX I would suggest Chase. They have the most versatile points (in terms of redemption) and generous sign on bonuses. You can get the Ink right now for 80k bonus points. Transfer those points to Southwest 1:1 and you've got a lot of flights coming your way (when Southwest has their legendary $59 dollar sales you can get them as low as 6k points round trip). 

 Great, thanks!

 That is what I am transitioning to. I am closing on Friday on 5 units and I set up a business account last week for them. They do not need an account number, just my business name is all they need to make the deposit. I do wonder, how do you differentiate payments when the rent is the same? I have not gotten around to checking with my bank but can they write a 'memo' stating their name, that way I know to whom to credit the rent? Have you had this problem and figured out a solution? 

 Exactly!! After a few months of using them for rent collection I also came to the same realization and I am moving to a more robust PM software that ALSO handles rent collection. I trialed Verticalrent for a few weeks but I am biting the bullet and heading over to Buildium, a system that can grow with me. 

 Hi Nick, congratulations on your first deal. 

I am fairly new to this also so I will tell you what I have picked up from much more experienced and smarter people.

1: Never accept cash...you are just asking to be robbed :) Money order, cashiers check, personal check etc. I wouldn't have them coming to your house to drop off rent either (I am buying from a couple who have their tenants come to their house to pay them rent). 

A few ways to go about it...

a: Online...there are lots of property management software that can easily handle this, many for free e.g cozy, tenant cloud, unit dash, verticalrent etc.

b: Pay into your bank account directly...ie they drive to your bank and deposit into your account. Some people say have a separate account and move the money out as soon as they deposit it. I've never heard anyone say a tenant was able to access they money after they deposited it so this may be overkill.

c: other services like 'pay near me,' dwolla etc

d: Mail the check...get ready for the occasional "my check got lost in the mail" excuse.

2: Make your rent due on the 1st without exceptions other than grace period. It may not matter right now that you have one property but when you keep adding units and everyone is on a different pay schedule, it becomes a headache to keep track of who is on time and who is late...everyone pays on the 1st, easy to see who is delinquent.

3: Get very familiar with your state landlord tenant laws ASAP. There very strict rules for what you can and cannot charge. In my area, I cannot charge more than 10% of rent in late fees. Seriously though, google that and download it (yes it is a beast to get through). Follow the rules to the letter. 

4: Get this book and read cover to  cover : https://www.amazon.com/Book-Managing-Rental-Proper...

and/or this one : https://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Autopilot-No-Br...

Congrats again and good luck.

 Dang! I know ABQ is rough man :) For more expensive units, i totally agree, don't cheap out. Those will do for my 2 small studios. The tenants have nothing so valuable someone would take the time and risk to cut through the doors without being seen! 

I just had them installed in my duplex. Thevast majority of rentals and private homes in my city have them. I didn't wait for them to ask, I had them installed. I don't want to get that "i just had a break in" phone call. $89dollars at home depot plus1hr for a handyman is way cheaper than turnover costs if they decide to leave because they feel unsafe.

 Partner...that's wicked smart!! I took on a big rehab for my first deal...tiny little 480sqft studio, how bad can it get? Well...that's a story for another day :)