All Forum Posts by: Davartay Miller

@Deshawn Peterson Welcome sir! How exciting! BiggerPockets is definitely a great platform to not only learn but network – as well.

Best of Luck!  

@Brian Long We tell our clients we (the PM) do not get paid until you do (the owner). Which means exactly that. . . . If the property is not rented, the resident is not paying, etc. We retain management fees on rent collected. Hope this helps!

Best of Luck! 

@Sean Dezoysa

Please read some of the tips above. Great tips that @Nathan Gesner mentioned. Look when you are searching remember 5% management sounds good until you get into asking the tough questions:

So ask your questions, get your data, and do your research.

Are you an investor?

Do you own in the exact neighborhoods you are managing?

How many investors do you work with?

Do you own all aspects of the operation? (or do they hire third party companies)

Do you offer rental or maintenance guarantees? If they answer yes, ask them why. Then ask them if they will put the guarantee on year three.

Do you defer maintenance?

How many properties do you manage?

Do you sell properties and if so, do you own the properties you sell?

How long have you been in the business?

What is your average vacancy rate?

What percentage of expiring leases will renew their lease each month?

What percentage of signed leases fulfill their full term?

What is the average number of days a property is vacant between residents, move-out to move-in?

What percentage of billed rent do you collect each month?

What is the cost of an average repair bill after move-out?

Do you mark up maintenance costs?

What are your management fees?

What percentage of collected rent goes to yearly maintenance on average?

What is your average number-of-months occupancy per property?

What is your average occupancy rate?

What programs do you have in place to keep residents happy?

What customer service programs do you have in place for owners?

Will you call me every month with an update on my portfolio?

How many team members are dedicated solely to providing service to your clients?

If you are an investor, What has been your biggest mistake as an investor? How do you protect your clients from making the same mistakes?

Again, these questions have a bit of turnkey flavor to them, @Chris Clothier always share this with our clients but they work very well when interviewing management companies. Make sure you take good notes and remember how you feel talking to the companies. 

I would love to get you connected with our team. If we can be of any service, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best of Luck!

@Charles Tucker Kimbrough I would be remise if I did not say thank you for serving this country! Your service is greatly appreciated it, sir! I hope all is well with you and your family during these unusual times in the world today. It's sad to see anyones dreams being crushed based on things not unfolding the way they envisioned. However, I truly believe that the effort you have displayed is the same effort that is going to be the reason you will soon have 100+ properties. See there is 10 Things that require Zero Talent! 

1. Being on time 

2. Work Ethic 

3. Effort 

4. Body Language 

5. Energy 

6. Attitude 

7. Passion 

8. Being Coachable 

9. Doing Extra

10. Being Prepared

If you are doing these 10 things the rest will fall in place. You have to keep grinding. The market is competitive. In fact, in BiggerPockets there is some of the same people who is beating your offers. But it comes down to resilience. The capacity to recover when things get tough! While I know I may have not given you the secret sauce or the answers I do not have . . . . I just wanted to say keep pushing sir. 

Best of Luck! 

@Nathaniel Ringelstein

Welcome to BiggerPockets! Guess what? Everyone here did not have experience at some point, they all took a different path, and now most are in the real estate field. The same can go for you! Coming out of college, I had a passion for real estate! I read, slept, and ate real estate. 

Thankfully, years ago, I started working as a Project Manager learning the ends and outs of the company and the rest is history. I would recommend working for a property manager in any department. It is all a ripple-effect. One department speaks to another and the other speaks to another and so forth. It's a revolving door. So any department is experience and experience = opportunity. Opportunity knocks when you set forth the effort of learning and being coachable in any department. There's a certain level of "I want it and I got to have it" you have to have to see that any position is beneficial. My grandmother once said you can learn from the custodial staff – only if you are coachable. I am not sure if this was helpful at all but I can only hope this helps you in some way! 

If I can be of any service to you now or in the future – Never hesitate to reach out! I will be more than happy to assist if I can. 

Best of Luck! 

@DJ Slivka While I might not have any property manager recommendations in the area – I do have somewhat of advice. The most important thing here is to see if the company is a great fit for you! Just because John Doe thinks the world of his property manager, John Doe is not stuck with the headache, if you are not careful. We try and remind potential clients it's about asking the right questions. We sometimes have to tell clients, "we might not be a great fit and that's okay." But a great Property Manager should know what is within his or her wheelhouse and how they operate within the markets they serve. So here are some questions we often tell people to ask: 

So ask your questions, get your data, and do your research.

Are you an investor?

Do you own in the exact neighborhoods you are managing?

How many investors do you work with?

Do you own all aspects of the operation? (or do they hire third party companies)

Do you offer rental or maintenance guarantees? If they answer yes, ask them why. Then ask them if they will put the guarantee on year three.

Do you defer maintenance?

How many properties do you manage?

Do you sell properties and if so, do you own the properties you sell?

How long have you been in the business?

What is your average vacancy rate?

What percentage of expiring leases will renew their lease each month?

What percentage of signed leases fulfill their full term?

What is the average number of days a property is vacant between residents, move-out to move-in?

What percentage of billed rent do you collect each month?

What is the cost of an average repair bill after move-out?

Do you mark up maintenance costs?

What are your management fees?

What percentage of collected rent goes to yearly maintenance on average?

What is your average number-of-months occupancy per property?

What is your average occupancy rate?

What programs do you have in place to keep residents happy?

What customer service programs do you have in place for owners?

Will you call me every month with an update on my portfolio?

How many team members are dedicated solely to providing service to your clients?

If you are an investor, What has been your biggest mistake as an investor? How do you protect your clients from making the same mistakes?

Again, these questions have a bit of turnkey flavor to them, but they work very well when interviewing management companies. Make sure you take good notes and remember how you feel talking to the companies.

Best of Luck! 

This comes down to personal opinions. While it may be easy for one to point you in a direction everyone has a different level of comfortability. Not everyone has kids and or knows what it takes to have a precious 10 year old that their raising and want the absolute best for. All to say, I am sure you will get differences of options here. But the choice is yours. 

I was in a similar situation coming out of college. My wife and I sacrificed the bigger price point home so that we could afford multiple properties from the start, pay them all off quickly, and let them all generate passive income. Now that came with its challenges but I knew challenges were meant to be met, addressed, and overcame. Fast forward... we bought a fixer upper coming out of college in an area some thought was crazy. Currently those same people are now looking at the numbers and saying it was one of the best decisions we made. Our kids are in a great school that is not in their district but they were accepted to this great school. So we checked off three great concerns. 1. A low mortgage 2. The kids being at a great school, that we deemed fit. 3. Cashflow, Cashflow! 

So remember, while you guys are searching for the right school do not let it make you loose focus. . . there might be an optional, private, and or performing arts school in the area that accepts families all around (with a great curriculum and affordable if cost is a factor). I am not sure if I was helpful at all but I just wanted to wish you all nothing but the best. Step out there and crush it! 

Best of luck! @Moneque Horsey
  

Welcome to BiggerPockets! I wish you nothing but the best in your journey! @Thomasina Pearce

Best of Luck, 

@Bradley Auclair

As a provider, I would say this comes down to software and the systems you have in place. Is it possibly to manage properties yourself and not live near? Yes. Will it be easy? No. I have total faith if you put in the work and implement the correct systems – you will see where it can be very beneficial. 

Communication, Communication, Communication. Over the top communication is the key to property management. Being out of state you will need a team member and or possible contractor who you can trust that will respond in a timely manner. Nothing is more frustrating, as an owner and or resident, than someone not returning calls, emails, inquiries, etc. This is the way to quickly fail. We have always said: "Over-the-top communication keeps residents happy, which means they stay longer. That means more profit and fewer cost to you! You can do it Brad. Just put your mind to it, sir. It will come with challenges but communicate, prevent any and all issues from happening again, and measure whether or not it worth it. 

Best of Luck! 

@Sebastian Garcia Hey! I would love to get you connected with our team of experts and help you identify some of those markets that we are activity buying in, moving into, and studying. If my team and I can be of any services, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Best of Luck!