All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

 I used to use a bookkeeper and it was expensive, especially considering the size of my portfolio at the time. Worse, she used Quickbooks and I found it to be unnecessarily complex. It was just something neither myself nor my husband could really work with and so it created a dependency on our bookkeeper. I have since transitioned to Baselane for my banking and bookkeeping purposes. I love the simplicity, the functionality and it's made me a better investor because I'm doing the financials myself and therefore have to really understand what is happening in my business. I really think they do a great job with product development, too, and are always releasing new features. They offer regular demos so if you're interested, I recommend you schedule a demo.

Are you looking specifically for insurance placement companies or corporate housing or a mix? I'd reach out to Shona Lepis with She's Got Assets if you're looking to source insurance companies. And I don't know anyone more tied in to the corporate housing market than Elaine Quiroz. PM me if you want Elaine's contact information.

 It's understandable that you want to see your property's performance. Ideally, you have the terms for doing that outlined in your property management contract. I don't use Buildium so I can't speak to what it can or can't do but owner's can sometimes be added on other platforms as co-hosts for the purpose of visibility. In other words you can see, but not edit. If you're new to this, it may take some time to adjust your expectations and get comfortable. If they're making the returns you expected, I'd give it some time for you to get comfortable having someone else holding the reins. As an aside, it's not difficult to manage your own property so if this doesn't work for you, you could always pivot.

If you have a small home (1/1 or 2/1) it may work for travel medical professionals and digital nomads. A larger home (3/2+) could be a good fit for insurance rentals. San Jose is so large and has so many reasons to travel there that there's always demand. The question is, what is your bottom line and will the rents you can charge cover that? What is your goal in investing? Is it long term buy-and-hold with appreciation as your primary objective or short term cash flow? All of those questions help you determine what is the best fit for your property.

Airbnb & Furnished Finder work so differently and I think people often struggle to adjust their expectations when toggling between the two platforms. What I hear again and again from hosts who are accustomed to Airbnb for their STRs and even some MTRs is that they expect FF to work the same way when, in reality, FF is just a lead generation platform. It requires a lot more work, follow up, and it's necessary to have systems in place to support the tenant vetting, rent collection and creating lease agreements. I personally use FF exclusively for MTRs. I won't list them on Airbnb because of Airbnb's arbitrary and guest-forward refund policies. I think both have their place, but what I'm really excited about is MiniStays. I know the founder and I know the company has been very intentional about taking the best features of both and expanding on them while leaving the problems (Airbnb) and wonkiness (FF) behind. I highly recommend you consider listing your property on MiniStays as well. I'm not a brand ambassador - I just really like what they're doing and I think it works for both guests and hosts. 

Couldn't agree with you more! I hate to see  new members being shot down when they dip their toes in the water. If you feel their questions are a waste of time then scroll on....and don't waste your own time answering. We all had to start somewhere.

 I can't think of anyone better than Erin Spradlin and @James Carlson to point you in the right direction. I don't think Erin is taking on new clients any longer but she probably knows someone who is.

 I didn't have any prior bookkeeping experience. This is something my husband used to manage and he had worked with our bookkeeper to set up QB. He'd also used it for years in a different business. However, when he got sick, this was one of the things I had to take over. I immediately struggled with QB and found it annoying that I constantly had to tag all the transactions for the bookkeeper AND pay her to manage it all. I felt the price tag was excessive for the 2 properties I had under property management and the 3 I managed myself. The transition was surprisingly easy, but I had sat through a few Baselane demos and had tried some other platforms as well so I was pretty certain it would work for me before I made the change.

Scott, I took a quick look at the property link. I can't speak to the location or the type of visitor who might be traveling to your area so I'm addressing the property itself only. This is a nice looking unit in what appears to be a well kept building. A lot of people assume the rent-by-room model works best for travel nurses. It can, but I find that the majority prefer their own space. Travel nurses have also seen drastically reduced per diem rates so they don't like paying for additional space they can't use. I would look for other types of travelers in addition to traveling medical professionals. The property configuration is nice and having in-unit washer and dryer will definitely be in your favor. Indoor parking will surely be a bonus. HOA's can be a negative so be sure to check the HOA regulations to see if they have any rules around 30+ day stays. Even if your town or jurisdiction has regulations, the HOA can choose to pass rules that are more restrictive. If pets are allowed by the HOA I would strongly recommend you consider allowing pets as more than 50% of travelers travel with their pets and that will make your priority more desirable. I personally allow pets and have never had a problem situation. If you haven't already, consider reading 30 Day Stay by Sarah D. Weaver and Zeona McIntyre. It's packed with great information about starting out in MTR. Best of luck to you!

 Hi, Karina. I don't enjoy bookkeeping either but I couldn't stomach paying a professional bookeeper and paying for a QB subscription either. I switched to Baselane for my banking and bookkeeping and it's been surprisingly simple to do it myself. Baselane was built by real estate investors for real estate investors so it's really tailored to this particular business. They get it and they've made a platform that speaks directly to what we, as investors need. It is very simple to set up bank accounts, assign virtual credit cards, and tag revenue and expenses so you can stay on top of it. I highly recommend you check out.