All Forum Posts by: Kevin Stringari

Great resource here for local residential property management. 14 years strong, have seen the ups and downs in our market. Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia...Connect with me if you ever have questions.

Great resource here for local residential property management. 14 years strong, have seen the ups and downs in our market. Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia...Connect with me if you think I can help.

Great resource here for local residential property management. 14 years strong, have seen the ups and downs in our market. Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia...Connect with me if I can help.

I am a little late to reply here (sorry had not been on BP in some time!). Did you end up moving forward on this? We do manage several complexes ranging from 12-126 units in NC. On these larger complexes we are generally able to work with you on fees and services custom to what you need. So this may be up our alley. Let me know if you want to discuss.

Most good deals right now come from wholesalers as well as networking with people who currently own units they may want to sell or property managers who handle the units, they would likely be the first to know when rental units are going up for sale. It is honestly a grind to find deals right now but they are out there.

It’s administered through the property management software that we use, PropertyWare. They just rolled out a new program geared towards smaller management companies as opposed to big apartment complexes...We’re just getting going with it but we’re going to give it a try on lower end units as an alternative we can offer to residents.

If anybody’s interested I can do an honest case study in 6 to 9 months to let you know how it turned out.

True. You will only get the money judgment in court if the tenant shows up or if they were personally served. Neither of which happens most of the time.
This program we are using is actually a surety bond the tenant can purchase. Applicants are qualified within the existing screening process then presented with the option of a standard refundable deposit or a less expensive (but nonrefundable) bond premium.
You don’t need a court judgment to file a claim. The bond company pays the claim but then they actually go after the tenant to collect what’s owed.  I assume they probably do pretty well since they are collecting a premium from everyone and in addition collecting whats due from some.

@Eddie T. As properties get aged we do sometimes offer specials for applicants who are highly qualified, but only on certain properties and for specific reasons (aged unit, overpriced, lots of competition/for rent in the area, multifamily with a few of the same size for rent in the complex). The rental market is still very strong here and we have leased 40+ homes each month for the past few months which is consistent with our year over year numbers compared to last year. Fact is, certain homes do get aged so with owner approval we will run specials. Think of it this way...If your property rents for $1500 per month that is $50 a day in opportunity cost for every day it does idle. So if, as a last resort, we need to comp someone a half months rent in order to get them in there, it is well worth it! Most of our tenants stay several years so it is a very low cost to pay to fill a vacancy with a qualified tenant and call it a day! 

We are also using a new program for our lower end units in which it gives the tenant an option to pay into an insurance program in lieu of a deposit. If they qualify they can get $1000 in security deposit coverage for about $30 per month. We are expecting it to really help get all of our places in the sub $1000 price point rented as there will be no issues with people not having saved up a large deposit and move in rent money as they can purchase this policy and pay monthly. Just another option to keep the units filled!

No one could’ve predicted this. Although I’m not sure why there’s no communication with the tenant. We manage property in Charlotte as well, and we made it a specific point to contact every tenant who has not paid and even went so far as to set up a private web form (similar to a bank) where the residents who do have real Covid-19 related payment issues can submit information as to what their issue is, why they can’t pay, when they can pay etc, what they can pay, etc. It’s actually been extremely helpful and we’ve been able to keep open dialogue with the tenants even though they are late.
We always had no partial payment and no payment plan policy but we’ve had to bend on that with the last two months events and I’m very glad we did...most people that we’ve set up payment plans with have paid as promised.

It would obviously be preferable to get the rent on time like normal, but in seeing that wasn’t going to be possible in all situations  right now, this has been the next best thing.

Our normal delinquency rate at the end of the month is usually 3 to 4%. In April we were right at 7% so really not too bad...

My advice for what it’s worth is the push your property manager to do whatever they can to get in touch with the tenant and set up a payment plan. That will result in the best possible outcome for you and them.

BTW we only charge when rent is collected. So we’re not getting paid unless the owner is also getting paid. I guess that also makes us push a little harder to get in touch with the tenant and get them to pay or at a minimum come up with a plan they can stick to! I know every company is different and has their own polices...but knowing what I know I don’t think I would agree to pay a management fee if the tenant wasn’t paying!

I’m sorry this is happening, there’s no winner here!

As Mr. Hansen mentioned above, if you have a FED backed loan you cannot file or charge fees for being late currently. That aside...It is my understanding that you cannot traditionally file until June 1st as they are not accepting filings in person. If you use a service that e-files these evictions (which you would likely only use if you are a PM or working with a PM) then they can be e-filed but the case would not be scheduled until June 1st. IMO...You are best off trying to work out a payment plan with the resident or hiring a competent local property manager to see this through. (none of the aforementioned is legal advice)