All Forum Posts by: Chris McHaney

Hi David. We have an AirBnb unit that we have an Igloo Smart lockbox for. $170 and it integrates with the listing to where any new bookings are sent a pin Code the day of Check in and its only valid for the times of the reservation. So, you could certainly use the associated app to manage the pin codes remotely. It’s been a life saver for us in making sure our guest have the ability to do a self check in.

Hi @Lauren Hass! I came across your post after a search. Would have certainly loved to see other people's response to your post. How did things turn out for you? 

Hi Jim. I think Bettina makes a good point in her last question. To me, it depends on what your goal is with the unit. If adding additional bedding differentiates you from the competition that is out there, it might make sense. It's certainly great to have additional options for guests, but already having 3 bedrooms going seems like the top of the market for the amount of people who are travelling and utilizing Airbnb. Even though our place accommodates 6, we frequently only have 2 to 4 at the most. Good luck!

If you’re only looking for them to have the ability to pay online, Cozy has a good reputation. However, there are two apps that work much quicker. Zelle and Venmo. Essentially each person creates an account with user name and password, add your bank account info and then they initiate the payment form their end. No fees involved whatsoever for either party that I’m aware of. We use a site called www.tenantcloud.com to accept payments, but it also has the features you said you don’t need, like their contact, lease info, online applicants, etc. We pay $9/month for this. good luck!

@Kim Lisa Taylor @Percy N. Thanks for the advice. We should have an appointment with an attorney soon to discuss all of these items, and will certainly make sure all of this is discussed. Thanks for the input. Certainly want to make sure we do right by everyone involved. 

Absolutely, thanks @Ivan Barratt! We've doing the smaller multi-families for many years, but the commercial side certainly has it's own language. Nothing that can't be figured out right? Looking forward to taking the next step in the journey. :-)

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. @Ivan Barratt, thanks for the comment on preferred equity. This is they type of thing that I am speaking of. A commercial lender we spoke to will do 80/20 LTV. Other stipulations were that there be no one in the second position (whether it be owner financing or friends loaning us money for down payment/initial capex costs). I understand why totally. I keep wondering how we can structure an LLC or LP to satisfy the lender, but yet still be able to allow our partners to contribute their funds to purchase the property. These are good friends of ours that would rather see us put the funds to use at a better interest rate for them than sitting in the bank earning almost nothing. Preferred equity sounds like a possible solution. Will keep researching.

@Account Closed I have friends that we've done deals with in the past that have been our private/hard money lender, but we've typically either refinanced after a few months after improvements have been made in the case of a primary mortgage or they have leant us money as a recorded secured second mortgage. Since I'm leaning more toward putting this not in our personal names for asset protection, I want to make sure that we are putting together a deal that is equitable to everyone. 

When I find a MF deal that we want to purchase, needing help of partners to help with downpayment and possible upfront CapEx money to address deferred maintenance on a property (roof, exterior, etc), what is the best way to structure the relationship?

I see two scenarios, one being a limited partnership or LLC where we are the general partner/member and partners who are helping us being the limited partner/member. The other being that we could create notes that are unsecured, essentially unsecured loans.

If done through an LP or LLC, what's the easiest exit strategy to return their investment over the course of a couple years, thus leaving us with the property, and allowing them to reinvest in another project with us down the road? Considering we are the ones finding the property, the deal, operating it, etc.

Hi Michael. My wife and I have been using a website called Tenant Cloud. It's very similar to Cozy sound like. We have the ability to let our rental tenants pay their rent online via PayPal, Stripe(Credit Card), or what most people do is use their ACH option powered by Dwolla. The tenants love it. I would imagine that it would certainly handle a storage situation. We pay a flat $9 monthly fee for processing our payments from tenants.

As far as what to put into a letter, we have purchased rental property where we were inheriting the tenants from the previous landlord. We did do an introduction letter that stated that we were the new owners, the details of when/where they should start paying rent, etc. I guess mainly just be factual and what your plans are with the terms of their lease. Good luck with the project!