All Forum Posts by: Ian Dikhtiar

Quote from @Dat Tien Vu:

Quote from @Ian Dikhtiar:

I can help you build one with Notion and Tally. I have a "Maintenance Requests" system I am currently building, perhaps with some edits and updates you could find it useful.

 Hi Ian,

I have never heard of Notion and Tally but would love to hear more about it! 

 Dmd you!

I really loved Cozy.co before they got acquired =( 

I use a combination of Apartments.com and Notion.

Apartments.com takes care of the rent payments and late fees pretty much. Although it has other features, I never use them.

For everything else I use Notion and build my own property management systems. It might not be ideal, but I can tailor everything to my needs. Aside of payments, I am doing 100% of my management in Notion. If I need a new problem solved - I just quickly create a new tool, integration or automation.

It's fantastic for:
* Managing property info and its connections to all your data points
* Managing contacts (tenants, contractors, laywers, etc)
* Managing finances (spend, rent, income, fees, taxes, insurances)
* Documents
* Insurances
* Maintentnance and projects
... you name it.

Try it =)

I have a duplex in another state. How would I do this remotely? Say, I hire a guy to change all door locks to a certain model(s). Is there a way for me to get access to those locks through apps? 

Schlage that @Nathan Gesner recommends seems like a wonderful solution, but it doesnt seem to have that type of software that would allow me to control/change/reset/open/close those locks. Or does it? 

I did not know that renters' insurance affect landlords' insurance. Hm. I highly recommend but do not require tenants to have an insurance. But after this thread I will.

I have had my share with tenants exactly like yours (smoking inside, dog in no-pets apartment and a new "tenant" who I never approved, and she denied his overstay).

I can tell you that one red flag is one too many. Three red flags - they are out. But it's your choice how will they be out.

My solution was to not extend her lease. I let her know 60 days before the lease expired, so she had plenty of time to move. I have had all evidence to initiate eviction, but I lived in the same property and didnt want to be stuck with the semi-aggressive ghetto couple who refuse to move out. So I chose a peaceful and slower way. 

At the end of the day, a good tenant who respect agreement and relationship with landlord worth way more than the tenant with three active red flags.

Good luck.

Yeah! Scaling can be a struggle. Even with organizational tools like Notion, Coda, etc you can still be extremely inefficient.

Personally, I think what works for scaling is a good robust system that you OWN (a.k.a. create yourself and can change to your needs at any time) + integrations + automations. 

If built with tools that have accessible APIs - you can integrate and automate many things that property managers charge 5-10% and wont even do themselves.

 
DM if you want help. Good luck.

Sorry to hear that! I tried working with Property Management only to deal with issue after issue all by myself. They take zero responsibility and do zero work. It's mad. I made a decision to become my own property manager and never regretted it since.

I am using Notion and self-built system for this. It's free (or relatively inexpensive), and it allows me not only to build the tools I want, but also to connect it with so many different applications if I need to.

Here are the databases that I use and things that I track:

🌑 Real Estate

My Properties

Leases

Tenant Applicants

🌑 Financials

Transactions

Recurring Transactions

Accounts

Taxes

🌑 Administrative

Contacts

Insurance

Documents

🌑 Planning

All Tasks

Projects


What is your biggest problem with your current ways of tracking info?

I can help you build one with Notion and Tally. I have a "Maintenance Requests" system I am currently building, perhaps with some edits and updates you could find it useful.

Are you one of those landlords who manage their own property without paying PMs? I want to talk to you. I want to learn about your experience and struggles of being a self-managing landlord. Basically looking for any advice on how to ditch a property management company.

I am a landlord, Notion geek and AI enthusiast myself. If you are interested in hopping on call to talk Real estate, technology, and just landlord life - let me know!✌️ Ian