All Forum Posts by: Kathleen R.

@Jordan Moorhead The units I manage do well. September and October are the slowest months for me. I have rentals on South Beach. I want to say one makes about 15% return and the other maybe 9% return. One has a much higher mortgage payment. 

I am looking to buy a property in Minneapolis! I love Minneapolis...the vibe, the houses, the lakes! 

@James Lusk Great. Yes, I am self-managing. I will be living on the property since I have an FHA loan. I've heard living on site as an owner is hard since the tenants can always find you. I am trying to save as much as I can from the cash flow to invest in another property.

Are you planning to keep the tenants in place or put new tenants in? 

@James Lusk  I think I am going to give Rentigo.com a try. It looks good for online payments and maintenance requests.  Have you looked into a PMS? 

I would imagine the security deposits would be directly deposited or a check from the seller will be given to us at closing.  

@James Lusk  I was going to ask you the same question... 

Have you received estoppel letter(s) or their leases for the current tenants?  

@Kathy Henley Great! Thank you again. Do you offer online payments? If so, what software do you use? 

@James Lusk if you think of any questions, please add to the thread! 

@Kathy Henley Thank you for the information! 

I don't have QuickBooks experience but I am going to give it a try.

I do have a LLC for my short term rental units but should I start another LLC for the long term rental units and keep the bank account separate?

Thank you again! 

Hey BPers 

I am scheduled to close on my first 4 unit building in the next week. I have been planning and saving for what seems like a lifetime to buy my first investment and now that it is happening I'm so nervous!!!! 

I would like to know what is the best way to organize my files/system to keep track of my rentals.

Will I want to open one bank account for my complete portfolio or separate accounts for each unit/building?

Do I start a property management company (LLC) and have the rent and security deposit held in a business account under PM LLC? Or do I open personal checking and savings accounts for rent and security deposits?

Do I send a letter or knock on doors to inform tenants about how/who/where to pay rent? 

@Brandon Turner help me!!! AND other experienced investors!!! What can I expect and how can I plan to get organized!? 

@Ashley Ben Thanks for the information! I will check out Rentigo

@Pam Storm Thank you for the input. There are lots of options and I have to study up on what will work best.  I know I want my tenants to be able to pay their rent online and I would like them to be able to report maintenance issues. I don't need contracts but will need to screen tenants...which i don't really need to be part of the PMS. I think cozy looks like a good start at a good price compared to some of the the others.