All Forum Posts by: Kenny Dahill

@Yvonne Jacquez, doesn't look like anybody answered your recommendations question.

I would share additional information to get better referrals:  size of portfolio, asset class, class of tenants, and any special services you might be needing.

@Libby Baugher, a few thoughts and questions.

Agreement:  First, what does their management agreement state?  Their agreement needs/should declare all the ways they earn a potential fee.  If it's stated in there, I'd confirm they're charging within the limits.  If it's not, then I'd argue the agreement assumes maintenance coordination is part of the monthly fee.

Frequency:  How often are they needing to address issues?  If it's weekly or even monthly, that'll suck up a lot of their time.  PM is a low margin business so it probably doesn't take much to be underwater on a unit.

Leasing Fee:  $500 is definitely on the lower end, most commonly it's 1 month of rent.  Therefore, I assume they find other ways to make up the compensation from low placement fees.

Necessary Repairs:  If they're charging you for maintenance, I would verify that all their repairs are necessary.  Can any of the issues be deferred until the next bigger repair or tenants move out?

@Tahiv S Grantham, it would be beneficial to provide more info: size of portfolio, any special requirements, asset types, class of tenants, etc.

@John Cameron have you thought about still self-managing anyways you're moving out of state?  You could consider a co-management opportunity: working with somebody still local in Brookhaven while you're in Tampa.

@Matthew Raines Latta, plenty of options out there.  In the past, I explored Zillow Rental Manager features but wasn't the biggest fan.

Are there any specific features that you're looking for?  They're all fairly similar but there can be minor differences. Such as payment terms: monthly dues vs. transactional.

All the platforms utilize the same pool of API's for payments and screening reports.  On that end, I wouldn't sweat it.

Let me know if you have questions and I'm happy to help.

@Manco Snead, unfortunately, they won't catch up.  Best to find a solution that benefits both parties: tenant leaving and not having an eviction on their record.

They may be reluctant to leave because of difficulties finding their next home.  However, that is their issue and not yours.  Explain to the tenants you are going to follow the legal and lease procedures but if they know they cannot make the payments in time to get back in good standings, convince them it's best both parties agree to terminate the lease.

As for your property manager, yikes.  3 months late and they're not enforcing their lease agreement?!  Time to find a new PM.  Review your service agreement and if they're in breach, send them notice because that's scary to be 3 months behind.

@Sylwia Leczycka, congrats on your first rental!  Let the fun-rich times begin!

Venmo is an awesome app.  I use it all the time.  But less than ideal as a landlord which is why I don't use it for my rentals.

There are specially designed platforms for landlords to help collect rent.  Here are some of the benefits:

Partial Payments:  Your tenants can send partial payments which could make any evictions more difficult.  It also takes more time for you to coordinate that remaining balance.

Late Fees:  Venmo doesn't know when the rent is due.  Therefore your tenants can pay rent without the late fees.  Landlord software would automatically apply those late fees, saving you time and protecting you as well from underpayments.

Reminders:  Again, Venmo doesn't know when rent is coming due, due today, past due or late.  Landlord software sends reminders to the tenants on your behalf so there's little excuse for them not to know.

Auto-Pay:  If your tenants are like me, I love auto-payments!  Makes my life easier knowing I won't be penalized or dinged for any forgotten payments.  Venmo doesn't have this feature so it would require manual payments each month.  Landlord software typically have this feature so their rent payments are automatically deducted for whatever date you insert as monthly due dates.

Happy to answer any other questions you may have.  Congrats on that first deal!

@Mariel DeVito, I read your post different in regards to the 'rent to me today'.  Are they wanting to move in or just be selected as the tenant to move-in?  Big difference.

Applicants that need a place pronto, especially yesterday, scare me the most.  My general rule is 'drama in, drama out'.  There's a reason they are in such desperation and need a place immediately.  People rarely change.  Hence my "they move in with drama from the last place, they'll move out because of drama at my place".

On the other side, there are tenants who look for a while and keep missing out on rentals.  It doesn't scare me if a tenant says "We don't need housing for another 4-8 weeks but I'd like to know how we can be selected today".

It's best to always remain in control.  As soon as the tenants try to accelerate your process and make you change, you've lost control.  Design a strategy/plan and stick to it.

To raise rents or not.  My experience was different than Nathan stated.  There was a rental that I was helping find tenants for but the landlords were asking for top of the market.  We were only attracting applicants with issues and red flags because it was too high for the higher quality tenants.  These interested applicants had the drama stories, had credit issues or barely qualified with the rent:income ratio.  As soon as we dropped rent by $150, it attracted more of our ideal candidates.

As Jeff stated, you can't advertise a property you don't technically own yet.  However, you can start to prepare all the documents/copy for listings, applications, leases, etc.  That way you're fully prepared once you can start to legally advertise.

One year.  It sounds like you're over that threshold.  Before asking US Bank directly, I'd research on Google to see if they have documentation.  That way you're not raising any unnecessary red flags with them.

To avoid capital gains, if you decide to sell, you'll need to live in the home as primary for 2 of the last 5 years.  That's always subject to change tho..