All Forum Posts by: Brandon Kamm

Of course all states vary, but to manage for another the individual shoud be working under a broker and the funds moving through the brokerage. The situation you described where someone is doing it "on the side" has caused many problems in the industry as they don't understand all the laws and complexities involved in property management. In addition, The pm needs the rent to operate and run your property. He should not have to be out of pocket for repairs for which it sounds like he would if you have to send funds to him and rent goes to you.

Try and add amenities, wireless Internet, laundry if not there, dishwasher, etc. Go for something that adds utility not just cosmetic appeal

We started in 2004 and have about 1,000 units, no buildings bigger than 30 units so alot of sfh, duplex, quads. The money is in volume . In theory you can manage a sfh that's rented and a good tenant who takes care of the place and it's easy money. It's when you have vacancy, maintenance nightmares, and bad nonpaying or destructive tenants that the job becomes less profitable per hour invested. It's sounds easy, but the best first impression tenants can turn out to be nightmares, and when AC units go bad in the summer get ready for a mess. Also, the most underrated aspect, your liability for when anything goes wrong at the house. Broken this, got hurt, etc etc, the manager will be the first one sued.

I cant tell you how many people have said to me " oh you collect rent and fix toilets, must be easy money"... There is a reason propery owners are willing to pay 7% for just management, plus leasing fees, and for maintenance....because it's to much of a headache to deal with.

Most tenants are great and easy, but like many things it's that one bad apple that can push you over the edge.

Just make sure you document all work and are working within the legal imelin and you should be fine

I am a pm and that is crazy, if they manage for 60 owners do they have 60 debit cards, only one guy can buy materials, sounds inefficient to me.

Also, here the deposit must be kept in a separate escrow account.

Fwiw, we don't mark up subs and charge 40/30 for first hour and those additional. Those terms you list I would feel guilty charging, $65 an hour for a maintenance tech being paid $10-$15 hour is way to much.

People tend to throw around the word "contractor" to much. Is this a licensed contractor doing work or a handyman fixing toilets, huge difference

Philip,

Would I buy that property, no. However I am an active investor in the city and I am certain I can find better deals. As another poster mentioned, for someone who wants to put no time nor effort into owning the property and receive a small return, it may work for them. They may not be able to obtain that in their hometown. That's what many investors looking for the turnkey (just mail me a check) property each month may find attractive.

I never claimed that this property was a good deal, but that to determine if it were a good deal you would need to do more research than comparing the sales price to zillow.

You will need to check with your attorney for certain, but in general your back balance due will be a part of their bankruptcy and at some point you may get a small chunk each month of that amount. Going forward hopefully they will pay rent on time and no problems, however, don't be surprised if they fall behind again soon and then you could move to evict

I know these rules change all the time, but i had to go through this in buying a new house in March. We rented our previous house but could not claim the income on our DTI ratio as it was not included on a tax return. In getting the new loan we had to factor in the mortgage on the new and old house but no rental income from the old house to calculate DTI

I have read for a bit this post and a previous one with the same topic with I believe the same person starting the thread so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I have never met Chris, but I have been a broker in Memphis for several years and deal in the same business as his company. I am certain we know many of the same people and I can say that he does have a good reputation around town. That's from a competitor, not an associate.

My thought in reading the OP is that the level of thinking isn't thorough enough to pass judgment on valuation. I am familiar with many of his listings and when performing properly I would reason that they could obtain those results. The consideration has to be made to whether the tenants will pay and whether maintenance and unexpected expenses will be a factor (theft/vandalism/eviction). Those are issues that unfortunately are prevelent in Memphis rental markets, ones that we obviously don't like to shed an emphasis on when selling a property. If you were to run numbers under an optimum scenario of collection of rents vs. normal maintenance the property probably performs as advertised. What has to be considered is the likelihood of that actually happening. While management is a factor in that result, the neighborhood and thus the related tenant base can give a good indication of the likelihood that optimum results can be achieved.

In evaluating the property and its related value, expected performance combined with the probability of those results being achieved lead to the valuation of said property. I do seem to see the mention of zillow and its valuation of the property. While some may use this tool, it is no substitue for knowing the area and the circumstances that actually contribute to the valuation, not just a computer formula. If anything, zillow may have contributed more harm than good with valuation, but thats another discussion.

While I am sure some properties havent performed, and he would probably acknowledge not all do as planned, his company must have a number that do with as many deals that they complete.

A better question may be what they do for the clients when a property doesnt perform as advertsied.