All Forum Posts by: Jake Knight

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? 

(Not a lawyer so this is not legal advice) 

You've listed all the reasons why people fire property managers, it sounds like they've just done a poor job of meeting your expectations.  PM's are rarely sued for such things.  If you suspected they did something illegal, that may warrant a lawsuit but if they just did a poor job - I don't think you'll have much of a case.

Hey Kris,

That sounds like a very exciting plan.  We work in Indy (Central Indiana) and manage over 1K properties here.  The most important thing you can do in the beginning is assemble a good team.  Like the gentleman above mentioned, the 1% rule is more difficult to find now than in previous years.  It's much easier to find in duplexes.  Let me know if you have any questions or if you need help at all.

8%-11% is pretty standard here and as someone mentioned it really just depends on how the company is run. Most lease renewal fees run $150-$350. Leasing is anywhere from $500-a full month's rent. As Josh mentioned, it's important to find your right fit, I wouldn't focus solely on price especially if you're looking to be very hands off and you're looking for quality. 

Find your boots on the ground and assemble a good team. I don't know what your budget looks like but this city is really inconsistent or "street by street." If you go to the burbs, it's much more consistent. There are a lot of up and coming areas that have promise of great appreciate over a long term investment. Cash flow is mostly non-existent now, unless you find a great deal. We have a ton of blogs on different neighborhoods on our site, feel free to check that out. Also, there is an investment map out there that show area ranks.

Water leaks are a big deal, I would act as quickly as possible. It could be something as simple as a toilet running.  Have you questioned the tenants yet? If you're able to walk the units or have a plumber do that hopefully it will be obvious.

Is there a fixed-term lease on the property or are they month to month?  You can't raise the rents in a fixed term lease but if it's month to month you may have the ability to make a change with notice (30 days is fair in my market). That being said, there's no way your tenant will be happy with the increase so you may take that into consideration.

The whole thing seems odd, some people aren't great at responding to leads. Like Greg mentioned, I would be concerned with his/her responsiveness while I was living there.  That being said, this could mostly be cleared up if you're able to conversate with the person. If you do source this information, you may start with the note and go to greater extremes should that not work.