All Forum Posts by: Janel Page

Great thread. I'm looking for a convenient way to track mileage. I simply do not remember to write down mileage. I also find tracking mileage and looking up miles using google maps is too tedious for me. I think I may give MileIQ a try. It's great to see here what others have tried and their experience with it.

I'm currently using Buildium, and am looking into other solutions.  My situation:  I have almost a whole year's data in Buildium for 8 units.  I own and manage my own properties, and will be buying and holding more property.  I will be adding 6 doors in early 2016.  If your business is managing property for others, then Buildium might work fine.  If you plan to use it for your company's accounting (including overhead, etc), then you should probably look at another solution. If you use reports to manage your business, then Buildium is weak in this area.  I'm finding that I have too many work arounds to make my business fit into their system.

The interface is frustrating, and the reporting just doesn't work well for my needs and business set up.  You are not able to customize reports.  To accomplish this, you need to save a report as an excel file, then tweak it.  Then you'll need to tweak it every time you run the report.  I think they will be working on making reports customizable.  If you want to track expense transactions at the unit level (do a search for unit 3440 to see when carpet was replaced) you're out of luck; it only tracks transactions at the property level.  

When entering data, you often have to back out of where you are to add something else, then go back to where you were to enter your transaction.   It's easy to forget what you were doing before you had to go add another account in the chart of accounts.  

When looking for property management software, it's hard to know what system will work best for your business.  I'm very glad I jumped in and tried Buildium.  I now have a much better idea about what I'm looking for.  I'd still be researching if I hadn't just made the plunge.  I now have a list of things I'm looking for in the next system I try.  I'm looking into Propertyware next, and will be going down my list of questions and wants while I watch their videos and do a trial period.

Anywho, that's my 2 cents in case it's helpful  :-)

Janel 

Hi Robert.

I'm also looking for analysis software or a spreadsheet template I can use and modify as needed to look at sm multifamily properties.  My keyword search brought up this thread, and I'm curious what analysis tool you ended up liking.

Thanks,  Janel :-)  

Hello Steven.

Welcome to bigger pockets. It's a great resource. I do keyword searches all the time! I also invest in the Salem/Keizer area. It's a great market for sellers, and the rental market is very strong. To help with networking, check out the local REIA.

Good luck!

Hi KP.  

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!  I'd suggest checking out the monthly Northwest REIA meetings in downtown Salem.  We usually meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month. We have a different topic every meeting, and a lot of opportunity for networking.  There are also meetings in Portland, Tigard, Vancouver, etc.  Details about meetings can be found on the website in the Calendar of Events section.  You can also Register to receive emails for upcoming events.

www.NorthwestREIA.com

Janel

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!  I help moderate a group of investors that meets monthly in Salem.  We usually meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month.  We'd love to have you join us and check it out.  There are usually 20-40 people who show up.  Some are pretty new and learning, some are very, very experienced, and a lot of folks are somewhere in the middle.  We usually post our meeting topic on the website in the calendar of events so people can decide if they're interested ahead of time.  Look for "Salem Round Table."

www.NorthwestREIA.com

Again, welcome!