All Forum Posts by: Hideyuki Gojima

@Ramy Man

I use Cozy as a tenant. Since it is free, you cant really complain some of the features you are not happy about. 

I never use maintenance request through cozy. My landlord just prefers emails or texts or calls.

If you are managing a large properties, you can probably try some property management softwares that have online rent payment feature.

@Will Rugeley

I am not sure how many properties you like to manage but if it is not a lot, you can totally manage by yourself using property management software or combination of accounting softwares, tenant screening, rent payment software.

If you would not like to bother property management aspect of real estate investment, you can always look for property managers in your area. The fee varies from 5% to 10% of the rent.

There are some remote bookkeepers who do quickbooks or some kind of accounting software but I know someone uses Bench. It seems fine if its for small operation.

Very exciting. Good luck!!

@JT Crownover

Beaver is a property management software but the signature product is accounting. Some property management softwares have accounting system but data entry is still manual but Beaver's works like quickbooks but since it is designed for real estate owners, it handles mortgage account well for such as escrow payment. 

Accounting software is not built for real estate use. You can somehow use it that way creating customers and such but the structure is already built in. You can just split the transaction came into your account into each relevant property. 

Please let me know. I am happy to help you find a right software. 

@JT Crownover

When you look for a right property management software, you should check the details of the property management software. 

If your property manager already has a software, you may not need it. If you are managing them by yourself, you will need a software by yourself. Accounting software can only help you for your accounting needs. Some property management softwares are built for real estate owners but their features usually cater to large property managers. You may feel you pay for something you will not even use. 

@Dominic Franco

I think Screening tenants and checking their credit checks are always great and you should do it every time. Most of the property management softwares have the feature with one time additional fee. If you google, you will see independent company that does screening check for you online. They are not expensive at all.

But this is my personal opinion but some issues with those pre check do not necessarily mean that they will be bad tenants. Of course they could be. This is my personal experience but this tenant had a bad credit and all but they knew that it was not easy to find other apartment to live. So they paid the rent on time always. Some other tenants who had good credits were always late on the rent...

Having good scores does not guarantee that they will be good tenants. 

Good luck!!  

@Cynthia DeLuca

When it comes to managing your properties, it is important to keep separate financial information for each property as much as possible. Of course if you own those properties under one LLC you can totally do that and you are protected but it is the best to monitor on each property's performance as an investor and most of the softwares are not built that way.

Software-wise, you can combine accounting software like Quickbooks and Some tenant management software but you 

as you say Appfolio is manual entry but some modern software you won't have to.

The important point is that you should find the right fit for your needs. Some softwares provide more than what you need and they charge for it.  

When it comes to bookkeeping your properties, I think it depends on how much you can spend your time on managing your property.  As @Brian G. said, you can totally manage everything with excel if its only a few properties. 

A lot of my friends still use excel to manage their properties. 

If you are using two softwares, wouldn't it be better to use only one software to manage both properties? The later the harder as more data are stored in the software. I think it is better to consolidate into one of them, whichever you feel useful. 

Also there are many new softwares that are focused on independent real estate managers nowadays from rent online payment system to property management software that also takes care of accounting matters.

I hear you. I was in the same shoes. 

To be honest, my advice is to find the right people in your area. Since it is your first investment, you can be super cautious. Do not even listen to people who say, come on you are being too conservative. Some real estate people can be very aggressive. Once you have experiences, you will learn how to deal with these people and can actually benefit from the conversations with them. 

You should go to as many real estate events as possible and see and feel what kind of people are doing this business. 

You will find someone who click with you. Then you should discuss your strategies or concerns deeper. There are some professionals who actually care about you and your investment. Just don buy anything until you find those people. 

If you have a LLC, just buy the property with the LLC, you will be protected. A decent lawyer can just set the documents up quickly. Just do not buy it with your individual name.

For property management, there are a lot of softwares out there now. Biggerpockets has the list as well. 

Just pick the right tool for you.

It is exciting! Good luck!

@Erik Pacpaco

As you are already aware, DTI is one of the most important metrics that lenders check. So most likely you will not be able to secure the loan.

If you have some other financial resources that you can back up, maybe you have a shot at a private lender. Its all about the negotiation I think.

Never say never! Good luck!!

@Jeremy K.

Some of my clients are in your shoes and they still manage the same way as you know it is such a lot of work to even sort things out and of course it costs money. 

It is actually no brainer. The best way to protect you is one LLC for each property as @Steve Hall said. 

As you are already aware, at least you should properly legally take your properties away from you, individual.

There may be some insurance to cover that but your name is still there. You never know what happens. 

If it is really bothersome and you do not have time to think about, just transfer all of your properties to your existing LLC? It is not ideal but this way, your risks stop at the LLC. It will not come after you.