All Forum Posts by: Jamie Banks

Baselane is a bookkeeping software that is designed for landlords, I've been using it over a year and it's helped me stay organized as my portfolio has grown. The bookkeeping software is currently free of charge and connects to other banks / credit cards or you can choose to bank with them, which is what I'm doing. 

Assuming that all units will be long term rentals, Baselane can be a one stop shop. Baselane has banking, property management, and bookkeeping capabilities. For the property management functions there's resources for screening the tenant that's easily accessible from the home page. Once the tenant is screened and the lease is signed, you can onboard the tenant to the software by adding the rental terms and the tenant's email. From there tenants receive automatic notifications for upcoming payments that are due. I also use the banking and bookkeeping capabilities, it's great having so many functions under one platform

BP has leases for every state that they sell and they're free if you have the Pro membership. I've used templates from BP and other sites like Avail as a start and then asked my attorney to incorporate additional language needed for MTRs like the utility caps, monthly cleanings, etc. 

For all of my properties I have found my cleaners through Turno. I like having a selection of cleaners to choose from and interview. I have a list of questions I ask the cleaners and once I find at 2-3 that I'm comfortable working with I add them to my team. Although I'm only using 1 primary cleaner I like to have backups in case of emergencies. Make sure you communicate to the cleaners that you're hosting longer stays that are over 30/60/90+ days (depending on your market) so they can give you the price for a deep clean.

I believe the more visibility the better especially in a few of the larger markets that I operate in. I'm listed on all of the insurance sites and have a few relationships with insurance relocation specialist who send leads my way. We're also listed on Airbnb, Zillow, Furnished Finder, Homads, Kopa, and I'm sure I am forgetting a few. We haven't tried CHBO because of the cost per property but my VAs have a list of about 15+ sites they list all of our properties on. We haven't gotten any bookings from some of the smaller sites like Homads and Kopa but we have gotten inquiries. 

One thing I’ll add is that if you’re managing / buying out of state. I always hire a local to “walk the neighborhood” for me to get a more in depth view of the neighborhood 

I don't use Stessa and part of the reason is the workaround for collecting rent you mentioned. I wouldn't recommend collecting rent through Zelle, you should use a property management software that allows this. I use Baselane because it has banking, rent collection and bookkeeping capabilities all within one software. 

I would recommend picking a system and using it consistently. As you continue to grow you'll thank yourself later that you prioritized bookkeeping because playing catch up can be difficult and costly. 

I’ve built my own PMS through Monday.com because there wasn’t one software that met all my needs. 

In addition to that I’m using Baselane for rent collection. I find that it’s one of the cheapest ways for tenants to pay rent as other softwares charge high fees to tenants and / or the landlord. Baselane is a free software and if tenants pay through ACH to your Baselane account then there’s no charge to the tenant. 

There’s not a site for MTR analytics right now. I’ve personally been keeping track of all data we receive to understand trends in the markets I operate in. You can also find a MTR consultant or someone who operates in the area to help you determine the rent rates, demand, and supply numbers in your market.