First time poster here looking for a little help with some management systems.... I apologize if this is common knowledge. I am looking for a service to process online rental payments for 22 units. I now have 11 duplexes after adding 6 over the last couple of months. 5 duplexes (10 units) that I acquired last month were under a lease that required payment through paylease.com and I really like that idea. The first 10 units I acquired were not very well suited for this when I purchased them, but I believe they are more stable now and I could implement this across most of the units. One small wrinkle is that about 3-4 units have been rented to tenants who receive assistant from some non-profit veteran and mental health services groups (to be clear 2 separate groups, one veteran, one mental health). These could not be put on a required online pay, but I believe I can include a requirement to pay online for all of the private pay tenants.
My problem is that it appears pay lease won't accept accounts under 100 units (per the email I got from their website after requesting info). I am still trying to confirm this, but I was hoping to get ideas to compare all the options available.
On a separate note: Thanks to the bigger pockets staff and the resources on this website and podcast. I started listening to the podcast in November/December 2017 and decided that rental properties made a lot of sense. In January, 2018, I decided I wanted to try it out and would buy something in 2018...mainly because the podcast and guests stories seemed to begin by just making offers and pulling the trigger on a deal. I started telling everyone I knew about my plan and looking for a property in January and got really frustrated by March when I hadn't found anything to buy. My dad told me I was crazy and told me his horror story about when he tried rental properties but gave up after his tenant called him all the time to complain all the time and ultimately stole an air conditioner from him and moved out after 2 months. Not to be discouraged, I told him he gave up too easily and should have hired a property manager (though I value his advice and have to say this made me nervous). I ended up buying into a syndication on an apartment complex with some friends in April 2018 or so, and right after I committed to that, I had another friend call me who saw three duplexes (6 units) on craigs list. I made an offer the next day and closed in May 2018. Right before I closed, I had a realtor friend send me a deal with two more duplexes. I was a little concerned I might be moving too fast, but I liked the numbers so I made an offer and closed on that in June, 2018. 10 units in 2 months....now what do I do. I started thinking that this was really easy.....how naive. Well, I have learned a lot from those first 5 duplexes and there have been many bumps in the road to get those stabilized. I am certainly grateful for these forums and the podcast for helping me through the process of getting those stabilized. The huge cash on cash numbers I had in mind when I closed these deals ended up in a modest cash profit and a huge learning opportunity. I have been through replacing a roof, an eviction (where the tenant came back to break all the windows in the house), replacing sewer pipes, and several other issues that I am sure you guys would identify with. They are definitely work in progress....and I can't say I didn't have some second thoughts when I heard about the evicted tenant who came back and broke out all the windows. I have also been able to completely upgrade 2 units and am working on another one right now. I have been upgrading as tenants move out and have been able to get the rents on their way up to market levels.
I recently added another duplex in August and had another friend (my insurance guy) tell me about several more that were about to be listed. I got a preview and made offers on about 7 more duplexes and got deals on 5 of those (10 units). These are the units that were on the pay lease payment system and are much more stable than the original units I purchased the previous year. My first experience helped me understand more what kind of deals I wanted and I am hopeful for an easier year.
Long story short, I am very grateful for all on these forums and especially the podcast that helped me start this journey. my goal to buy a duplex or a rental house in 2018 has turned into 11 duplexes over just under two years. Thanks!!!!!
