All Forum Posts by: Erin Church

@Selena Williams

You're very welcome :) If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask! :)

@Selena Williams

If they apply right away, then there's nothing you can really do about it. You will get to see an great view of them and can decide about showing them the unit then. :) 

When I list my property, I use the google doc, go to shorten URL and then paste the URL in the ad. I also state my criteria in the ad. This keeps people from being fussy since they know the expectations ahead of time. If you don't have the criteria at least, I would suggest adding it. It would keep people from feeling like they were "throwing away money" on an application if they get denied for something like an eviction (or any other criteria you have). 

Also, no sob stories from anyone - don't bend at all and verify everything. People are amazing at concocting stories that make your heart bleed, but don't do it. 

When you call previous landlords, ask them questions about their property that a friend may not know. I'd suggest looking the property up on tax records, then you can ask when they bought it (If they have a bunch of properties, they may not know exactly), ask what LLC owns it (if an LLC owns it), verify the mailing address on tax records (maybe give the street and ask for the number of the address), etc. Stuff that a potential tenant's friend likely doesn't know. :)

I hope you get the perfect, long-term tenants! :)

@Selena Williams

You’re very welcome :) I hope you get amazing tenants! :)

@Destiny Rich

Congrats on getting your license! I would recommend my brokerage- Revolve Real Estate. We were formerly Red Barn Cityside but changed names to get into property management also. 

I LOVE my brokerage and broker! (Like seriously, she is amazing and so is the rest of the team!) They provide free leads, free training (like, amazing training that I hear is similar to some of the KW stuff, but I've never worked for KW), killer fee schedule and they're super investor-friendly. I literally only pay FMLS fees on any property of mine that I sell and no commission on properties that I buy. This is the only firm I've heard of that does this for personal investment properties as well as primary. 

We also have (free) direct access to an RE attorney to help with any tricky special stipulations we need to put in a contract or if we have general questions. That's a really nice safety net to have, especially when starting out. :) 

Let me know if you'd like to chat with my broker and I'll gladly do an introduction. :) 

@Account Closed

You have some awesome suggestions already and I agree with @Jingru Sui and @Carl Millsap. VA loans are AMAZING!!! They are a bit less attractive to sellers, so plan on that when you make an offer (realizing that you'll likely want to offer a bit more than if you were conventional so you have a chance to beat out the competition.). How quickly are you wanting to buy and in what areas? I've seen several small multifamilies come on the market lately. Have you nailed down the areas you're looking in?

@Shanice Stewart

Awesome that you're taking the first big step! Ask about:

• - Their average tenant turnover time
• - Fees - For placing a tenant, monthly fee/percentage, fee for renewing a tenant, eviction, repairs (repairs are the biggest moneymaker for MANY PM companies).
• - Find out what they require for their contractors (insurance, experience, etc).
• - Make sure you're the one making the final decision on the tenant(s) and the one setting the criteria
• - What they do to market the property
• - How often they're inspecting the property, what they look for, and how they document.
• - How they will communicate with you and what they will communicate with you about (find a happy medium so you know what's happening with your property, but you aren't spending the same amount of energy as you would if you self-managed). 
• - What happens if their "go-to"/assigned property manager for your property is sick or quits.

There's probably more besides what I have and the great points that @Charles Carillo mentioned, but this is a good start. :) 

Hey @Evan Yates, 

Welcome to the area! I lived in Roswell for a few years (just under Alpharetta) and am over in Marietta and Kennesaw now. What kind of property or deal are you planning on getting started with? Wanting a wholesale, flip, BRRRR, turn-key? There's a lot of competition in the area, but that's because there's a lot of opportunities too!

When you say you're ready to get dirty... like, full coveralls dirty? Hehehe (this is how I spent my 40th birthday)

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByJhrGFH5ex/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

:)  

Hey Selena,

I use Cozy.co which was bought out by apartments.com. You can get an application through them. I use RentPrep for the screening. I like to see a detailed credit report (including the score) and I can do background and evicition check through them. I do not pay for these, I sent the potential tenants a link (after a prescreening) and let them pay for it directly. 

I will also say, I don't show any units until someone has filled out the prescreening questionnaire I have (just a google form) and that they meet my minimum criteria. I put in the ad that they need:

- To pass a background check

- Make 3x the rent

- No evictions

- Credit score of 650+ preferred

It's been working pretty well so far :) 

Here's my form if you want to create one for yourself. I pulled these questions from RentPrep I believe. I wanted to be as short as possible but get the important info. I just adjust the form to have a checkbox for the available properties (I don't have any available now).

https://docs.google.com/forms/...

@Troy Williams

Hey Troy,

I asked my broker and she said you can manage as long as you have some ownership. :)

How many properties do you plan on managing?

Here’s a link to the GA Landlord Tenant Handbook in case you need it :)

https://www.dca.ga.gov/sites/default/files/handbook_with_statutes.pdf

Hey Linus,

I like OTP (outside the perimeter) investing personally. I think you can hit your numbers and then some if you go out a bit and may also catch some "extra" appreciation. You'll definitely want to get into good school districts so you have the most exit strategies should you decide you don't love Atl investing. 

Anything in Cobb county that has good schools would likely be a great investment (of course, run your numbers). You have a ton of competition right now and even the usual homeowners are pulling out cash for purchasing. It'll take some persistence, but I'm betting you'll find something. :) 

I'm also assuming you want an SFR - is that correct?