All Forum Posts by: Hussain Harun

Realized leasing to a new tenant can take 5-10 hours easily. This can easily be done by AI. Does anyone have any recommendations or something they can refer me to. Otherwise I would just design an app myself lol.

You get a lease agreement from an attorney. You can also buy a Landlord Forms package from Biggerpockets, me, or find one online and hope it's sufficient and legal.

You don't need an app to manage your property. See my software guide below.

Here's a detailed guide on how to screen applicants: Application Screening Guide

My Landlord forms package includes a septic addendum, or you can try finding one online with a Google search.

Anything else I can help with?

Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. You only need a place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, etc. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet, and it will take less time to track than finding and learning new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it. Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.
2. Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. Do you need all this for a couple of rentals?
3. There is no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws, or you may salivate over a feature that appears in other software.

Some familiar names are mentioned frequently: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend conducting thorough research on each app online to understand their offerings, pricing, etc. Create a simple spreadsheet or written list to compare the features of each and identify the ones that align with your requirements. Try to narrow down your options to the top 3-4. Once you have a shortlist, sign up for an account with each one and test them extensively to see how they function. Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.

• Load a property with pictures and details.
• Market that property.
• See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
• Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
• Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
• Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.
• Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
• Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
• Sign documents electronically.
• Run owner reports.

After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out. It's important to choose that one and commit to using it. Remember, no system is perfect, so avoid the temptation of constantly chasing after the next shiny object. You should only consider switching when your current software has a significant flaw or lacks features that force you to spend excessive time on workarounds. At that point, it's worth researching and finding a solution that better meets your needs.

Are any property managers (with 20+ doors) controlling access for all of their properties under management remotely with smart locks-in one system?

  Does anyone have a recommendation for a service for property managers that integrates the use of motion activated cameras to monitor self showings or vacant properties?

It seems like the cost of smart locks, WIFI, cameras and installation would be about $600.  Who is offering a solution, or is there one? 

Trying to figure out how to minimize the upfront costs for each door.  

Any help, input or advice is appreciated!!

New investor here. What's the best way to save and organize digital receipts and to snapshot paper receipts?  is there a good phone app? or software to use?   TIA

Hi everyone!

I’m in the process of setting up a google drive for my newly sprouted real estate business. I currently only have 1 duplex, however I want to set this up right so it will work for any size portfolio.

Currently I have

Home folder>multi family/single family/legal documents

Inside the multi family I have

Name of property-> general property maintenance/first floor/second floor

Inside of first floor (the one currently rented)

I have, pictures (before and will have after) / lease documents / a spreadsheet with each month, what day rent was paid, if it was late, if late was fee paid? , total paid

I also have a tab for maintenance to that specific unit

Was wondering what other things you guys might recommend keeping track of? I know this might be hard to follow but hope it makes sense!

Thank you!!!

Thanks, Hussain! I ended up changing my RA, and so now they're handling mail. It appears the only thing I'm not covered for now is resolutions. They're not required for single-member LLCs, but it is best practice. I've found lots of templates online, so I think I'll be ok.

@Gisell Garcia@Miguel Angel, anyways I've built our own rent collection software, I'm still realistic and understand why landlords choose Venmo/Zelle.  Let's break this down, shall we?

Peer-to-Peer:  Popular apps that allow anybody to pay each other.  i.e. Zelle and Venmo

-  Pro's:  Super simple.  They have literally millions of users and transactions to perfect their processes and features.  And it's convenient for life if you use your personal bank account, you can still have one app for rentals and paying friends.

-  Con's:  Nothing about the software per say, but about the landlord experience.  These apps don't know what type of payment is being sent, when rent was actually due, etc.  Therefore, it can't add automatic late fees, send email reminders or track per property.  If you're okay with not having any of those, then hey, they're an amazing free option that your tenants will like.

Landlord Software:  Software and platforms designed specifically for landlords and typically have more than just rent collection.

-  Pro's:  Additional functionalities, such as tracking maintenance, automated bookkeeping, screening reports, etc.  They provide essentially all the tools under one roof for you.  As well, these platforms are designed to acknowledge the different payment types and dates.  Thus allowing you to set automatic late fees in case the tenants doesn't pay before the end of grace period.  Note, there's typically email reminders sent to the tenants as well.

-  Con's:  Fees.  Yes, these platforms need revenue to survive and typically the easiest way is charging a monthly membership or per transaction fee.  User Experience not nearly as easy.  Again, I'm realistic and while I love our platform and our competitors, nobody comes close to the level of simplicity that Zelle or Venmo has.  Usually landlords don't care but some tenants prefer a basic app like Zelle/Venmo.

Full transparency: I've used Venmo and Zelle in the past to collect rents.  They worked great.  For 1-2 units, they suffice.  For me, I wanted to portray my real estate investments as more professional and that was the main reason I switched to using landlord software for rent collections.  The larger your portfolio grows, the better systems are.  You can definitely integrate Zelle/Venmo into your systems but there's easier ways.

@Charles Thank you for you response! I've got a job posted now on upwork. I'm just trying to shorten the learning curve!

@Charles Carillo