All Forum Posts by: Christa Rimonneau

The property management company I work with used Rent Manager, switched to Appfolio and is now back to Rent Manager (within 2 months). I would say the Landlord tools available from Appfolio were awful and were impossible to follow.  Rent Manager allows Landlords to pull reports for all sorts of time periods and situations.  When I refinanced pulling all of the reports was easy and I didn't need to bother my team.  I tried to see if my PM company had a bad version of Appfolio, but from what I can tell the landlord reporting is basically reports pulled by the management company and uploaded.  I imagine they had tons of complaints since the prior access was so transparent.  They also claimed the overall invoicing and tracking of Work Orders was much more time consuming than they expected.  

Seems in the comments everyone is self-managing - so if you expect to bring on other landlords in the future, I would take a look at Rent Manager.  At the current time, Appfolio doesn't seem owner friendly, but instead PM company friendly.  I used Buildium at one point which was good for my small local portfolio, however, I didn't expand locally, so I discontinued use.  

Good luck!  

I am no mentor, but a long time Brooklyn owner of both condos and a multi-family.  Rumor is the market is softening a bit in Brooklyn (not as much foreign investment said one RE broker), I would look to buy into the fall and winter.  You will not be disappointed.  We lived in one apartment of our 4 family to start and combined 2 apartments recently - you may have to give up a bit at first.  

Also your comment about rent - $3K in rent (for one apartment) takes a huge chunk out of a $2million mortgage add another apartment and you are golden.  Good luck!  

Great thread.  As an owner in Park Slope of a multi-family I receive a few letters a week and never do anything.  I am living in my building and not currently looking to change, although I will always listen. I also receive a call or more a week, they usually happen while I am at work and I tend to pick up and talk.  I also usually pass along my email for an easy follow-up in the future.  Generally the guys on the call don't have an offer at hand and probably don't know much.  My advice would be to save your money on yellow letters and instead either make phone calls, walk the streets or put together a very professional packet type of letter.  I received one recently that almost made me call.

Question - does anyone ever send letters to condo owners?  Especially in self-managed situations (although not sure you would be able to find this).  I know these are not the desirable MFHs, but I have some experience with condos and self-management which tends to see owners move out of state, but still rent or owners that stop paying building fees.  Has anyone ever made an offer on a full condo building - with multiple owners involved?  I know of one that sold a few years ago by me.  Seems like a much more intensive situation - but probably one of the few opportunities in super desirable areas of BK.  If anyone is interested in discussing reach out!  

@Jason Noah Choi - yes, that is the way to go!  I was able to purchase my 4 family before it hit the market because a friend of mine was property managing it.  It wasn't quite the market it is today, but things are cooling a bit, so it might be a good time to take your landlord up on connections.  

Yes, the numbers are tough to make work these days in Brooklyn, but at one point they did. I think the FHA max actually decreased over the last few years from 1.3 to 1.2 million for a 4 family. I imagine it's possible to make it work in Bed Stuy or Bushwick. Become friends with your landlord, he's likely taking care of other properties for people and may know of some deals!

I am looking for a solid accountant who understands real estate.  I am reading the new BP book and I feel I need a better accountant to help me through.  Any recommendations?  I am located in Brooklyn, but Manhattan is fine as well.  Thank you!  

I am new to BP and reading this chain.  I did this 4 years ago in BK.  I am in North Park Slope.  A lot has changed in 4 years, but my mortgage broker was instrumental in making this happen.  @Diana L. is correct, you need to find a lender that can work with Brooklyn and FHA. It may be harder now with all of the competition - I was lucky and paid asking before the building hit the market. I paid 10% down, but that was all factored into the loan and closing. I have refinanced since. Happy to pass the name along, but I am not sure he is still working on these types of loans.