All Forum Posts by: Gary Pilkington

Sure. A google email account includes lots of powerful tools. My listings include our basic criteria for the property. When they inquire about the property, I send an email asking them to fill out the form online with a link (that looks like this 

https://forms.gle/1sBzWVdFfJaE...
The form is created with google forms, is linked to a google sheets spreadsheet and is shared with google drive (This may sound pretty technical but, it is really easy to set up and use). The data is collected on a sheet that includes the time and date stamp so you know the order of the responses. I like to keep it all online a this stage as, the management and payment collection is all online and I want them to feel comfortable with the process. Once I have a set of potential tenants that seem to match criteria, i reach out to schedule a showing. I have not had to do this during this current situation so, that part will need to be changed. I hope this helps.

I took over all PM activities at my rentals last year (after having them managed for 5 years).The reason I never considered doing it myself was because of my job. The communication between PM, Tenant and myself was terrible. I literally bought "The Book on Managing Rental Properties", both my wife and I read it. Adopted the concepts and the rental property forms (available on this site) to our needs, lit up an account on Rentometer (to figure out what to ask for rent) and Cozy (does the screening once you find a prospective tenant and handles rent payments) and we have been doing it ever since with zero problems. I have a much better understanding of my properties maintenance needs and the communication is much better. I list them on Cozy, Zillow and Zumper (because Zumper listings are also listed on Facebook Marketplace) and have almost too many leads to follow up with. I never need to list anywhere else (in my market). You do have to be comfortable working directly with tenants, doing showings and working out maintenance issues but, it's much better than it was.

I also use a google forms web form interface to a spreadsheet to collect preliminary information for 1st level pre-screening and that works great.

Hello, I stumbled upon Dwellsy (dwellsy.com) from my real estate photography side of things. I have never heard of them before and didn't find any reference to them here. Normally have my set of sites I list with but, this sounds ok on the surface to add.

I was wondering if anyone has used them for rental listings and what you think.

Thanks,
Gary

They have cracked down the last year. You have to have the RHIP forms on file (completed by a certified RHIP person) showing that you are doing annual inspections and keeping the properties up.

See:
https://code-enforcement.saccounty.net/Programs/Pages/RHIP.aspx

Sac County has a 2hr on demand course where you can be certified to do your own inspections. For property owners, it is a good way to know the process, stay in contact with your tenants and property status and conduct your own inspections annually to avoid extra costs.

Greg Beyer
http://bprlaw.net/