All Forum Posts by: John Matarazzo

Hey all,

I just closed on my first property (duplex) a couple of weeks ago. I plan on doing most things myself, management, bookkeeping, etc. However, was thinking to get an accountant for the first year doing taxes. I am sure I could figure it out but I don't really want to invest too much time in it as there are plenty of other things going on, as well I don't want to make a mistake starting out.

Any recommendations? Is it worth it to hire an accountant? Note, property is in my name. What questions would you ask when trying to find the right accountant? What have you all done? Thanks!

@Allen B. interesting post. What have you decided to do. I have also considered using Latchel from Rent redi. That seems like it could be a good fit for what you're looking for. You give them a spending limit and everything else is mostly automated it seems, but I haven't done it so can't say from experience. 

@Gary Pilkington

I'll let you know but so far so good. Here are the useful features for me (note I am a brand new investor, just own one duplex).

• - State wise lease builder feature. This made it easy for creating my first lease, I also was able to add and subtract things as not everything they provided was relevant but overall it saved me a lot of time.
• - E-signing for the lease
• - Document storage: along with the lease you can upload documents for both tenant and landlord to have on the portal (move-in/move out list, renters policy, handbook/rules, etc) to access at any time.
• - Again, free ACH payments for tenants
• - Free website builder, they automatically build you a website for marketing which is included in the cost. It actually looks good and is easy to edit.
• - Customer service has been good so far, Avail actually answers their phone and they respond to emails within 1-2 hrs. There is some learning curve but not bad, again when I had questions they were pretty easy to get a hold of.

I just started using Avail. So far it seems good. They let you do a one month trial. I'll decide in a couple of weeks if I am going to stick with it. I also looked into Rentredi which I could switch to at some point but the reason I didn't go with it is because perspective tenants needs to download an app to fill out the application. For me that lowers the % of potential applicants as not everyone has tons of phone storage for another app.

For avail they have a mobile friendly website, everything from leases, rent etc can all be done from the phone and no need to download an app. Also, if you are a paid used ACH is free for the tenant.

Hi all, looking for some advice,

I just purchased my first property, a duplex in another state, but its only a 1.5hr drive for me. Short enough that I can come to the property when needed and to do inspections but long enough that I can't really take time off to go up there all the time.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What do you usually do with keys? For example, if you need a repair man to come and the tenant is at work how do you get them into the unit?

Do you all use a lock box? Any safety concerns leaving that outside of the building? The neighborhood is decent but I am a little hesitant to keep a lock box outside all of the time.

Any suggestions, what have you done?

Thanks!

Thank you @Corina Eufinger, I just registered with one.

Hey all,

Just closed on my first place in MKE (newbie here). I was reading through the WI Landlord-Tenant guidelines and saw this (ATCP 134.04(1)) "The landlord must identify an owner of the premises or a person authorized to accept legal papers on behalf of the owner. The rule requires that this address (not a PO Box) be located in the state of Wisconsin."

So I am technically, an out of state investor, but only live 75 minutes away from the property (across the IL border), so I am planning to self manage. From the above, I am interpreting that I need to either put on the lease or provide a physical address in WI where the tenant could send me something by mail. Anyone have a similar situation and what did you do? How do out of state investors usually handle this who don't have a PM?

I do have family in WI, but I am trying to avoid sharing their address with my tenants and I am not sure my family wants that either.

Thanks!

John Matarazzo