All Forum Posts by: Michelle Garcia

Congrats on the baby on the way!  Exciting times.  To answer your question -trusts are used as part of an estate plan to direct ownership of your property after you die - either passing it to another person or, for your baby’s sake, holding it under the control of another person til the baby becomes an adult. It’s part of a bigger process (including a will and docs for you if you need help) and you don’t want to miss a step, so don’t just google this one.  Talk with a NY lawyer about your plans and preferences and they can make it happen. 

Congratulations to an expectant Mother!  As for NYC rental properties and putting your one rental property into a Trust, consult professional journals for this.  Just do a web search.  Otherwise, leave everyone as is.  Presumably someone does your tax returns, ask them.

Michelle you should absolutely hire a PM. It's not expensive, gives you peace of mind if done right. Essex County is a bear. It is the hardest county to evict a tenant in NJ. We won't touch it as a property management company for that very reason. Search for one on NARPM. That is an association for property management companies and any legit company belongs to it. They are excellent. Wish you luck!

1. 100% you should hire a PM. Sure, a reliable friend or "superintendent" may be able to do the job and they may be cheaper; however, you want a licensed professional that you don't have to micromanage and also, knows the local laws/regulations in your area for when you a legal issue arises.

2. Agreeing with @Ricardo R., local REI meetups through BiggerPockets can be a great resource. You should also check out your local NARPM (national association of residential property managers) chapter. Any worthy, professional PM will be an active member in their local NARPM chapter.

3. My best advice: DO NOT get sucked in by the cheapest PM company. You get what you pay for! Make sure you ask them how many properties they manage; not how many properties the company manages but how many your dedicated property manager manages. It's not uncommon for larger management companies to give 200-300 properties per property manager. I've been there. It's awful and very difficult for those PMs to keep up with that many property owners, tenants, maintenance issues, etc. They have no clue what's going on at your property because they have too much to handle. 

Feel free to DM me if you need additional advice. Always happy to help!

Hi Michelle,

If you don't have any property management experience and your profit margin allows you to, I would recommend hiring a PM. I've been in property management for over 25 years and unless you are okay being burdened with the responsibility of chasing rent, collecting rent, filing in court for rent, assessing & scheduling repairs, vetting contractors, handling emergency calls 24/7, etc., you need a professional to handle these things for you.

 Some investors find it more beneficial to hire a PM so they can enjoy more of their lives, and some investors find value in doing these things themselves, so they gain the experience through trial & error. I see it as a very personal choice.

If you would like to schedule some time to discuss further, I'm always happy to help.

Laticia

 Hire a reputable property manager to handle this for you.  You want someone who knows what they're doing, the landlord tenant code, how to screen applicants, have a binding lease for tenant to sign, know required way to send late letters, file in court if needed, how much time you have to handle maintenance issues... the list goes on and on.  Trust me. I've been in this business a very long time and can't tell you how many owners have come to us with tenants that haven't paid in months, owe thousands, and don't even have a binding lease.