All Forum Posts by: Keith A.

@Nathan Gesner, thanks for the input.  I agree that you have to compare apples to apples and I do have a good relationship with them and even have a direct line to the owners which also are investors.  So I do put put a value on that and the quick turnaround time I receive among other things.  Thanks again for the response.

@Patrick Liska, you make some good points and I am in the process to see how common that % of renewal fee is here in south Florida.  If I lump that renewal fee into my 8% then it gives me an effective rate of 12.5%.  That assumes others aren't paying that fee or a small fee.  Thanks for the insight and numbers.

@Jaysen Medhurst, Thanks for the response.  You are correct, I am not trying to really reduce the % but the lease fee I mentioned was a lease renewal fee for existing tenants and not the lease up-fee. I do pay one months rent for new leases which I am fine with.  It is the 50% renewal afterwards that has me wondering if that is normal or if that should be part of the 8% monthly fee or even a lower flat fee like $200 or so.

I have been using the same property management company now for about 4 years and have an 8% management fee on rents and there is also a lease renewal fee of 50% of one months rent.  The lease renewal fee after researching some seems excessive.  I am close to 30 units that consist of SFHs and small 2-4 unit MFHs.  I wanted to get some advice on the rate and this renewal fee based on an increasing portfolio size.  I have no complaints other than wanting to pay fair rates based on the portfolio size.  Any input is appreciated.

Good point @Andrew Postell.  I'll check with my accountant.  Thanks for the information.

Thanks @Chris Mason for the quick response and confirmation.

Is it beneficial to buy down points and reduce your monthly payment for a long term buy/hold strategy?  So for ease of discussion, if I pay $3,600 to buy down the rate by 1% and reduce the principle/interest monthly payment by $100 is it safe to say that I would start to see the benefit of that after 36 months of payments?  i.e. $1,200 per year reduction.

Since this is for long term are there any downsides to this other than having to cover that $3,600 up front?  Any input is appreciated.

@Patrick Liska I was thinking the same thing to be able to do easier analysis and keep all the detail in my own system.  Was curious how others were handling it.

I switched from managing my properties myself using a property management software to going with a property management company that uses their own software.

The challenge I have is that all of the detail on repairs and expenses are in their system.  I only show the distribution in the bank account.  I can review the information in their system like statements, bills, etc.

The question is, should I be talking all of that information and input into my own software to have the detail or just keep soft copies of the statements and reports for record keeping?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks @Account Closed Your outline is helpful.