All Forum Posts by: John Reagan Johnson

I am new to the real estate industry and am looking to connect and exchange business information with real estate agents in Nashville. I am a part of TNREIA and REIN, but I'm curious to hear if there are any other groups or events I can attend to make connections. Free events or groups are preferred, as I feel the connections made are more genuine, but I am open to anything. 

For my PMC's and self-managing landlords in and around Nashville, where have you found the most success when it comes to marketing your rental property? 

Exposure is the name of the game. More people see your property, the higher likely hood of securing a tenant in a quick amount of time (all things equal). The company I work for markets on multiple websites, the MLS, and by word of mouth. Obviously social media is another outlet, but what posts have you seen gain traction? I know some people use drones, others do walk throughs, and some do multiple stills of the property. I'm curious if there are any other marketing tools that have brought about success.

This is a post based off of curiosity. To all self managing landlords that switched to using a property management company, what caused you to make the switch? Was there a situation you encountered that deterred you from self managing? Were you just looking to gain your time back? Did you feel like using a property management company could help you achieve the goals you had for your investment property? 

If you have any stories that led you to switch over to a property management company, I'd love to hear them! 

The question I would ask myself would be is the $175 worth losing a tenant? Yes the tenant could have done things differently, but just as a manager is responsible for the people under them and their actions, same applies to you as the landlord. If you can afford the charge and keep the tenant happy, that would be my recommendation. Is $175 worth losing potentially thousands. 

Screening tenants is arguably the most important part to the first leg of property management. It is where you can eliminate a majority of headaches or sign yourself up for a roller coaster ride. When my company screens a tenant we use the following:

1. Credit/Rental History Check

2. Income Verification 

3. Nationwide Eviction Check

4. Employment Verification 

Something to be aware of is people forging these documents on the application. We have run in to numerous accounts of this. I would recommend going to someone that has experience in identifying photo shopped documents. 

These situations are never any fun to deal with. Hopefully you have documentation of the property before this current tenant signed a lease. From the information you provided, she seems like a prime candidate to not leave the property the way she found it, and will pitch a fit over any deductions taken out of her security deposit. My advice would be to stick to the terms in your lease and try to have as little contact with the tenant as possible during her move out. Likely that she will not be in a good headspace upon leaving, and we don't want her taking her frustrations out on your property! 

Hey Sarah. The company that I work for has a policy where the tenant can break the lease with 30 days notice before vacating the property, but they have to pay for an additional 2 months worth of rent. This covers the vacancy time and work supplied to find a new tenant. Best part of this situation is our client's usually come out ahead because we find a quality tenant swiftly! 

@Ashley Martin 

Welcome to the community! A lot of great advice has been given. Reinforcing a couple of points here. First, find an excellent realtor that is familiar with Nashville and has been in the RE game long enough to have seen the ups and downs from pre/post-Covid. Lots of people acquired their RE license during this period as it was a unique market that they thought could leverage to benefit them financially. In this down market, finding someone with experience is key. Second, research all you can to figure out which investments would benefit you the most in achieving your goals concerning RE. Reflect on and assess the level of risk you are comfortable with taking on. A comparison would be a STR compared to a LTR. STRs can be good for quicker cash, but more people going in and out of that property amplifies risk. LTRs may not cash flow immediately, but offer less risk, assuming the tenants are screened well, as only one tenant is in there for the duration of the lease.

Research all you can to decide how you want to move forward, and do not hesitate to come to the forums for advice! Wish you all the best.

Hey Antonio!

I have been a Nashville local my entire life. You picked a great spot to get into real estate! A good starting point would be to assess the type of investment property you want to get in to. Are you looking for a short term or long term rental? Short term rentals can be advantageous for immediate cash production, but are more risk as compared to a long term rental. More people going in and out of your property means more opportunity for something to happen to the property. Long term rentals are generally less risk and create a steady flow of income each month. If you're looking to have a LTR cash flow immediately in this market, that is a conversation for another time/post! Based off of your answer to the type of investment property you are wanting to have, that will guide you on where to look in, or around Nashville. The market in the suburbs around Nashville is a little less competitive than the city.