All Forum Posts by: Jacob Lea-Kelly

@Matthew Irish-Jones Absolutely!! Doesn’t mean I haven’t heard good things! Especially from clients coming from other property managers in and around Buffalo. 

Hey @Brittany Gary, Try Beacon Management! And congrats on deciding to invest!

@Mohammed Rahman there is always a trade off for everything. I’d say it’s a question of leveraging someone’s knowledge and contacts to work for you but if you are willing to do the legwork, you can save the money. The majors issue is do you trust the person who you are relying on and is there a recourse if they don’t live up to that trust. A property manager answers to you every month on a host of items. A handyman, contractor, or repairman does not unless you have a long standing good relationship with them.

As an aside, what is the immediate sink in cash flow? You mean the property management fees? For sure there is a cost but again, a good property manager is a value add and allows you to have a job and treat your investment as an investment rather than a part time job.

Hello, managing these types of small to medium size projects or really any repair is incredibly difficult when trying to self manage remotely. First you have to find a contractor who is willing to take on the project or the repair. This is hard for small to medium size projects because like you said, there could be a larger more profitable project that comes up. Second, you are not onsite to verify the quality of the work so even them sending pictures to you cannot be really reliable because they can cherry pick angles and a lot can be hidden with pictures. Third, if the work is a repair for an existing tenant, lining up times and giving access can be a nightmare. Even the best handyman are independent contractors so they are not going to wait around or confirm with the tenant a multiple times. You will also not trust a handyman with tenant keys because that raises all types of liabilities. 

This situation is really where a property management company can shine and make sure your investment is being cared for. Our company has direct maintenance employees and office staff to make sure the work is scheduled and the tenant is notified with proper legal notification. We have keys so we can arrange access and the liability is limited because we use our staff for maintenance. 

In terms of renovations for small projects, we have a crew for these types of projects because we have the volume where it makes business sense (every house needs these small projects from time to time). We also have contacts for contractors and subcontractors that we work with constantly and can bring in and ensure the work is done and done to the proper standard. 

Property management is an added expense but I believe it is a value add situation where the investment performs better over the long term because of our services. 

Hey Danny, Congrats on taking the plunge. Buffalo has seen a lot of growth but there are some great opportunities out there. It's always hard to jump in the market but once you do it's an adventure. I own a property management company and we are a broker. I would be happy to talk with you about specifics whenever you have some time or via PM. 

Congratulations on taking the next step! I would say due diligence is your best friend when embarking on a new venture. Go through everyone's references, their contracts, and their policies and then make a decision. The thing to remember is to pay in installments, not prior to work being completed and let people you hire do the job you are hiring them for (don't micromanage). Also understand that all estimates will be subject to changes based on conditions once things are opened up. This is normal. So budget with that in mind. If you would like specific recommendations, feel free to reach out. 

Hey @Jamel Lane,

What are your goals in regards to investing in property? Appreciation? Pure buy and hold? flipping? Cash flow?

Each area of Buffalo offers something different.

Hey Donnell,

Thats awesome you are thinking about moving back to the area or at least looking to invest here. There are some great properties still available. Let us know if you have any specific questions

Hey @Jenny Zhang,

As a landlord and property manager, background checks are some of the most straightforward and tricky things out there. There are plenty of people with shady backgrounds who are great tenants and shady tenants with great backgrounds. That being said, we take a holistic approach to background checks. 

This means we definitely conduct formal background checks with credit scores and criminal histories but we also factor in their personality, their sincerity, their facebook account activity, and we go through references with a fine tooth comb. If everything in this category is great, we usually just follow up with their references casually.

But if we get red flags anywhere, then we google employers names and make sure the phone numbers match up independently of the application. We google landlord names and check property records to ensure the owner is the landlords name. 

We also find that after we do our checks, when we ask the tenant questions, we try not to give out information that they didn't provide and see if they trip themselves up.

I know it sounds like a lot of work but over time, you get better at it. And as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Sorry you had such a rough experience with those management companies @Sarah G.. It sounds like what they did was unconscionable from a professional perspective. I know it's really tough to find the correct property management @Alex Aguilar because there is so much abuse. Even when you find a good one, you have to stay on top of things to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain. What it boils down to a lot of times is that the owner of a property is absentee and the management companies see a chance to get away with maintenance that was never needed or needed and not done. Most times because they know they will not be caught. You need to look for a company that is looking out for their clients. The better their clients do, the more houses their clients buy and the more doors they get under management.

Look for recommendations here as well as on google. The best thing you can do is call a few companies, have a conversation, and see if they are a good fit for your investing philosophy.

Good Luck!