All Forum Posts by: J Smith

Yes, you’re in the right place! Don’t get too hung up on the details yet. I highly recommend Brandon and Heather Turner’s book, “The Book on Managing Rental Properties.” Read or listen to it first, and then you can decide your next step. Personally, I really like self-managing our properties. But If you decide to hire a property manager, this book will at least teach you what you should expect from them. I’m always happy to jump on a quick call or answer emails (I’m also in Alabama.) Welcome to residential real estate investing!

@J Smith If you decide to self manage here is what I do. Just me, I’m a little different than other investors because I don’t always try to maximize my profits on every aspect I could.

After you have gotten your lease in place you will want to advertise for prospective tenants. I use Facebook Marketplace a lot. I get a ton of tire kickers. I have implemented a system where I call people 45 minutes before they are scheduled to come view a unit. This has significantly reduced no shows. Then once I’ve narrowed it down to my top 2-3 choices I have the 1st one do background checks/credit checks through MySmartMove.com. You put in the terms of the lease, the tenant name and email and MySmartMove sends out the background check request and the tenant fills in all their information and pays for the check which is now $44/applicant.

Assuming everything turns out with the check I sign the lease and get the security deposit. I collect the 1st months rent on move in day and prorate it accordingly.

Personally I deduct the amount of the background check(s) from the first month’s rent but absolutely no one else does this. In my area $44 is generally 2.5 hours of work for someone and I take a couple small steps like this to set myself apart from other landlords to the tenants. I also do not charge a pet deposit or pet rent because I believe our animals are family. I have not been burned yet by this. But this can be a significant additional source of income because people are generally willing to pay pet rent.

Then you let the tenants know how to handle emergencies and issues, if they call you or who to call.

Now you’re in business.

 I would really recommend you hire a property manager. I've self managed after getting excellent training and I still made mistakes. Big ones. Do yourself a favour, and interview a few property managers to take over this chore for you. Trust me on this one. It's the classic tale of "you don't know, what you don't know".
You will hate yourself if you self manage with zero training or experience.