All Forum Posts by: Connie Chan

@Dimitri Paspalaris think of photography as an investment. You can reuse the photos when you have to find the next batch of tenants.

Also tax deductible expense! :) the price you quoted does seem high for that square footage though.

@Mary Griffin hi Mary! I am a Bay Area based investor too.

I agree that rental yield might be higher in other cities but if you plan to live here and want peace of mind of living close to your rental then I think it makes a lot of sense. Happy to connect!

@Jerid Meagan it seems like the rent resiliency also really changes by type of home. The wsj article that came out yesterday seemed to suggest that single family rentals were performing the best right now. Invitation homes stock is way up!

@Adrian Smude they probably are the hottest area of residential real estate investing right now! I think the main downside is finding the opportunities since they’re getting harder and harder to come by. Also dealing with the potential judgement of other investors and friends who might think of it as raising rents on the people who are not able to easily move out.

@Bruce Dunphey I use an app called Tellus for rent collection, chatting with tenants and logging expenses. It’s a free app and younger renters in particular really like that it’s mobile. I have had tenants prepay one big lump sum and it works just fine in showing that rent is paid for the correct period of time. There’s a clear view for renters on what they owe versus what they’ve paid.

@Brandon Baker spreadsheets can definitely be helpful. My issue with them though is you also need to keep a photo of the receipt. Some people scan them separately or just keep them in a bag in case they need them in the future. The other issue I had was I really dislike google spreadsheets on the phone. And excel for me is best used on my laptop, which means I have to wait and gather all the receipts to do it at the end of the day versus just logging things right there and then as they come in.

I now use an app called Tellus. It’s fast to log expenses and I can snap a photo and also classify it into a tax deductible category. It also generates p&l reports whenever I want. There are other products out there that also help with expense tracking. Also I add my mom and husband as co-managers so they can log things in too which they have when they handle things when I’m out of town. The app is free so worth checking out!

Asking for a friend. Any landlords with commercial property going through issues where the tenant is seeking rent abatement due to the shelter at home requirement causing them to cease operations? Should my friend hire a lawyer? Evict eventually? What are her options?

@Blaine Alger yup! I find the Tellus app easy to use and it includes all the features you’ve outlined in your subsequent posts. It also has listings, free tenant screenings, tenant chat documentation, move in photo documentation, expense tracking, cash flow and p&l reports. Most importantly it’s made my tenants all start paying on time which is a miracle! Haha I use the notes and reminders feature too. For tracking basic things like the APN number for property taxes. Basically it’s become my notebook for anything rental related. The multi user is very helpful if you manage with a spouse or family member. For example my mom can add a pic of a Home Depot receipt and I can see it from my side. It makes it a lot easier for us to stay in sync.

@Lien Vuong hi! What software or apps do you use for the virtual showings? Is it just something like apple FaceTime? Or are you using something more professional?

@John Calafato I also recommend Zillow. Craigslist is good but I sometimes think people on Zillow seem to be more serious renters. Just my anecdotal experience though. I use a free app called Tellus for rent and property management. They have a listing feature that lists your home on a bunch of sites for you for free and this way you can manage all the applicants in one place. Free tenant screening too