All Forum Posts by: Jake Knight

Not a lot to add here, just the simple advice to make it as easy as possible to pay rent.  That should also mean allowing multiple methods of payment. Also, not sure what relationship you have established with your property manager but typically people hire managers to take care of this part and be tenant-facing.  

 If you're the only one in your company, this may not be necessary since you set the rules. If you want to document how you handled unique situations that could be sensible. Once you start hiring employees, it's smart to develop it out so you can train them properly and so there is a documented reference guide.

Outside of the police report, I would just ensure all window and doors lock or functional. They should have the option to install a security alarm at their own expense. These things happen, just make sure you document as well as possible.

Self-showing services are extremely common but that should be in the contract.  It would take considerable manpower to show every rental and every lead for a large company. It sounds like you may be a better fit for a smaller operation that still offers guided tours. You may have your lawyer review the contract/property management agreement. I would imagine it would be fairly uncommon to sue for this but I'm not a lawyer. 

There's usually a good reason why a company is cheaper or more expensive. These are large financial assets it shouldn't be hard to justify paying for good service.  As a company we invest a lot into having top line service.

Some companies call this a markup for managing the payment of utility bills. This would/should be in your contract. PM fees do vary by state/region.

Hey Ryan,

Congratulations on everything! Marion County does require you to register the property as a rental.  Depending on where exactly the property is located they may have some different rules/laws in place. For instance, Speedway, Beech Grove and Lawrence have additional rules in place. All of this information should be available online so you'll just want to make sure you do your research.  One tip I would give you is to make sure that you verify all tenant screening information.  Nowadays, people can make paycheck stubs/W2's that look convincing so just make sure you invest in software that gathers verified information on applicants.  At the end of the day, just be fair and things will hopefully fall into place nicely.

Welcome!  Obviously, a lot depends on your price range here and exactly what you're looking for.  You'll find more 2-5 units in some of the older parts of our city right outside downtown.  There are a ton of duplexes in and around College Avenue.  Duplexes are very common here and are much easier to find than a Quad as well. Happy to get more granular if I know more details. Either way, happy hunting!

Welcome Richard!  Have you established a team yet?  Indianapolis is a great city and there is a ton of growth happening.  Feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions!

We've had several situations where a potential client would tell us what we want to hear. After signing up and when it comes to managing the property they do the opposite.  Business is valuable and this has not been a great year for the property management industry. If you don't feel it's worth the trouble then you may choose to move on from it.  That being said, what if you met with the client to try and reestablish boundaries and see how that works first? Did you set the right expectations up front before they signed up?