All Forum Posts by: Dave Clauson

I sold the house that I had under management with Home River. Currently, I don't own property in the KC market. I wanted to be able to manage the properties myself.

I can give an update on Home River. I did have a house in KC with them during my first post. It was the first house I bought and I bought it from a turnkey provider. I wouldn't do that again. The turnkey provider managed the house at first. He then sold the PM to Home River. I fired Home River after lots of problems with them. The house became empty in July of that year and wasn't renting. In September I asked for keys to house so I could see why it wasn't renting. That's when I discovered it was dirty and had foundation problems that had actually caused the kitchen floor to buckle. The house was becoming unlivable and Home River never told me about it in spite of me paying for inspections and maintenance from them. I fired them when they admitted that they had never set foot in the house to view it or inspect the work of their cleaners and maintenance people. So my experience is limited but I would never use them again.

We've owned a number of properties in Topeka and are currently at 9 doors. It's a good market for cash flow though not really appreciation. And I totally agree with the comment that if you have a good, clean, well-maintained property in a good area, you will have zero problems renting it and for a premium. However, from an out of city perspective, there are so many cheap neighborhoods that seem so attractive if you don't know them. But personally, I wouldn't buy a house in most parts of the city.

I've used it for a couple of years in my markets and in those 2 it's pretty accurate. But I love Ian's point @Ian MacDougall. I offer cute, clean, well-maintained properties and I can usually get 10-15% more than Rentometer says I can get. It does give me a good picture of my competition.

@Blake Choisnet

Blake I’ve done seller financing and a sale without a realtor. Many title companies have a for sale by owner packet that explains the process and can give you a contract template. For the loans we just used the title company to set up the loan and manage payments. It really wasn’t hard with a good title company. Good luck.

Dave

Alec, I own a number of properties in Topeka. It's a great place for cash flow but not so much for appreciation. If you own a well-maintained property in a good area of town, you'll have no problem keeping it rented. But there are definitely areas I would never invest in, especially from out of state. I can recommend a good PM if you message me.

Dave

Hi Laurie. I own a number of properties in Topeka. I live nearby in Lawrence so it's not long-distance for me. It's not a good appreciation market but it's a great cash flow market. If you have a well-maintained property in a good area of town, you won't have any problem keeping it rented. There are definitely areas of town I would never invest in especially from a distance. I can recommend a good PM there too.

Dave

@Sacha LaCoss

I would also take them. One of my tenants ever was a couple very similar to them and the way you describe them. But like suggested above make sure you have a Roommate Econimic Unit addendum that says you get paid no matter what happens to them as a couple.

@Johnny Sung

Johnny I might deny the applicants. However with roommates or a couple living together I always make them sign a Roomate Economic Unit Addendum. It basically says that it doesn’t matter if they break up or part ways if their name is on the rent it’s due in full each month. It came in especially useful on k e of my units where a couple living together broke up. She still pays me her part of the rent though she’s moved out and her ex boyfriend knows if she chooses not to pay me he owes me the rent in full.

@Javier Cuevas Santos

I’ve got 10 doors right now and have used Stessa to track expenses and prepare for taxes and Cozy to collect rent. Keep it simple while your business is simple. Plus both tools are free and very easy to use.