All Forum Posts by: Kenny Dahill

@Greg Soon, I’ll message you directly

@Jeff Cornelius, lots of tenants prefer Venmo because its simple for them.  At 1.96% fee for landlords, yikes!  No thanks!

Generally speaking, landlord software will come in two main varieties: monthly dues vs. transactional dues.

Monthly Dues:  These range from $5 to $30 per month.  However, they include free ACH payments, some of the lower ones still charge $.50 to $1.50 per transaction.  They may also charge a minimum monthly due, plus small fee per additional unit over their threshold.

Transactional Dues:  These range from $2.50 to $3.00 per rent payment.  However, the rest of the software is generally considered free which means you can use the accounting, maintenance ticketing, etc. at no cost without ever collecting rent.

@Tina Lee, unfortunately, maintenance costs is a somewhat hidden expense for hiring out management.  Not to say it's purposely hidden, but it's hard to predict exact maintenance issues.

My assumption has always been two parts:

1)  PMC are high volume, low margin which means they jam pack units onto their PM's.  For maintenance issues, it's easiest and fastest to call a vendor to handle it without asking any clarifying questions to see if it's a simple fix or something that can be deferred.

2)  PMC have to outsource due to liability.  Landlords can legally self-perform most  issues but a PMC cannot.  Therefore, they have to outsource either to the landlord or a vendor.

Unfortunately, having higher maintenance expenses is going to happen when you hire a PMC.  This seems to be the biggest frustration with landlords and the leading cause for termination.

@Javier Perez, several solutions available for you.  I would check out Landlord Software.

A good maintenance program will allow you to track its status, receive email notifications.  This is a common feature for nearly every landlord software.  

However, each software has different cost features.  Some are monthly dues vs. transactional dues (i.e. only when rent is paid).  If you're looking only for maintenance, I'd avoid those with monthly dues and find one with transactional that way its truly free.

@Ryan Bird, there's a few scenarios that determine the best practice.

Tenant moves in with pets:  At a section about pets in the lease.  There may be different clauses for security deposit, rent, fees, requirements, criteria, etc.  At move-in, fill out those fields either in the Lease itself or reference Exhibit that contains more info.  If they don't have a pet, still make sure to reference zero pets on the lease but no need for Exhibit.

Tenants move in without pets but get one later:  Create a Lease Addendum that is essentially your pet exhibit.  You'll need to reference the original lease.  Display the fees or rent.  If pet rent, display what their new monthly total is.  

Addendums are used to change contract terms after execution.  Whereas, exhibits can be attached to a contract for further clarification at the time of execution.  That's my layman's definition since I'm not a lawyer.

@Mike Weston, Nathan is spot on; as per usj.

Currently, the damage risk burden is on the current owner and PM.  As soon as you transfer ownership, that burden becomes yours.  You're better delaying closing to give the owner/manager enough time to remove the tenants and handle everything.

If you take over ownership with tenants occupying, you must honor the previous lease.  You'll have to transfer security deposits, reports, etc. which can be an annoyance.  If there's any disputes on damages, that is best dealt with the current manager since they knew the condition of the property at move-in.

Or, you let the current manager close out and put an end to that chapter.

@Jonn Vidal, unfortunately, it's more difficult for smaller landlords to submit rent payments to the credit bureau. I'm actually in the middle of researching this topic for a product, so perfect timing that you ask.

The credit bureaus each require you to report a minimum of 100 payments monthly, 500 for Experian.  That immediately eliminates vast majority of private landlords and even smaller PM companies.

Transunion is working on a ResidentScore which I assume helps validate their worthiness to landlords/managers.  How wide spread knowledge that is, not sure.

Tenants are put in a tough spot because rent is typically your largest expense each month.  And to receive zero credit for that hurts far too many tenants.  Our credit system is messed up already but this is definitely a miss that hurts millions of tenants.

@Tram Le, for a quad, you're looking for a small residential PM.  Are you looking to outsource all aspects or are there any tasks/service/responsibilities you'd prefer to self-perform?

@Sean King, bring it to the Seller's attention and let him know you're scared s***-less!  Use this as an advantage to try and get a lower sales price.

Are there major cracks in the foundation or wall?  Meaning, can you fit your credit card in it.  Are there older photos you can review to see if its a stable condition or worsening.

If it's placed concreted, it could've been a form blowout or perhaps they knocked the form at an angle.  I'd feel much safer if it were a cast-in-place wall than block.  CIP will be more stable and probably tied directly to the footers.

@Matthew Stallone, put the cities on a dartboard and make a throw!

Seriously tho, since I'm not a agent or PM to benefit from selling you on a specific market, just make a decision.  Go with your gut.  If it's wrong, you can sell the asset and go elsewhere.

If you're stuck at 12 markets, you'll struggle when you finally make the decision on a market and pulling the trigger on an investment property.  Learn to make a decision, deal with the ramifications, and adjust.  You're bound to have bad luck in real estate at some point, get to that point faster so you can learn, adjust and improve.  

As long as it doesn't kill you or your bank.