All Forum Posts by: Jeff Blanchard

I would recommend against GoDaddy; I've had too many issues with their service.

I have all of my domain assets to either eNom (for U.S. domains) or Gandi

QB is great, but of course it is focused on financials only, not operations. PM-specific apps will tend to have less emphasis on granular accounting, but personally this hasn't been a problem for me; I want to keep track of more than just finances, especially when there are partners involved.

+1 Mailchip

All of my properties are turn-of-the-century (20th) in construction. We've had a good insurance policy through Travelers since '08, but over the last several years the premium has gone up almost 50%, with no claims. My agent shrugs and says they're doing it to everyone, pricing out the policies they don't want to carry.

Any suggestions for a legitimate company that won't kill our bottom line? Thanks

Some others were recently discussed here.

Cheers,
Jeff

@Joshua Dorkin, is there a responsive front end in the works for biggerpockets.com? I'm guessing so since you're in the middle of rolling out a new design. This would make the lack of a dedicated app less of a concern.

I think Buildium's change in pricing accurately reflects the complexity & cost of developing and supporting software like this. You're trusting sensitive and work-critical data with people who should be justifiably skilled. A single high-level developer in a tier-1 city may make $100k/year or more; the work is difficult, very detail oriented and often stressful. Then you have technology costs, legal, security... just keeping the lights on is not cheap.

Having said that, I don't like changing pricing on existing customers. But inflation doesn't pass over people in the programming industry...

+1 for not scanning/faxing applications; also not dealing with paper money/checks. These can be handled electronically, and more directly, without having to involve your caretaker.

I think this is a good approach though, yes, and similar to how I operate. I do tend to find tenants that have a sense of ownership about their apartments, and will take care of minor issues without texting me (or using our web app to report a repair issue) in exchange for modest rent discounts when they happen.

Yes, the bookkeeping is just one aspect of PM-specific software, so it's usually more of the essentials than being as robust as full accounting software.

Having said that, there are several more things to keep track of as it concerns daily management, and this is where PM apps are vital as your holdings grow, especially if you have partners.

I have mixed feelings about Buildium raising their base pricing. On one hand it reflects the reality that these applications are complex and expensive to develop; on the other I don't think it's good to raise software rates on existing customers.

There are, of course, always other options in a growing field of app solutions . . .

Tiny homes are a growing trend, and there are plenty of people who would rather stay in a cozy private space on a piece of land than in a hotel. A hotel room is not necessarily very large either.

When traveling in El Salvador a few months ago I chose to stay in an airy but cozy, and very simply-built house near the ocean rather than an in a 'real building' in the town. YMMV

@Annunciata R. , I might suggest you contact some KOA's around your region, and talk to the owners about code around the construction of their Camping Cabins. There may be different rules there because of their campground designation, but those are along the lines of the structure you're proposing, if I understand you correctly.

Cheers for thinking outside of the (big) box