All Forum Posts by: Matt A.

@Brian Burke - Personally I dont think this changes anything, everyone must still diligently underwrite and stress each and every "deal", albeit we may be looking a bit closer at economic occupancy and where the break-even points lie at this juncture.

We haven't changed our strategy much, still looking to build our own portfolio and expect some of the less experienced or overly-optimistic operators / partnerships to get knocked around and look for quick exits in the upcoming months (hence keeping our powder dry). We always have looked carefully at diversity of employment and market growth - and aligned that with any syndication's we have invested with (in fact Bristol Creek and the Reserve seemed to fit our model :-).

We also have NEVER taken a risk with an unproven entity or operator, seems there were a LOT of spreadsheet jockeys without any hands-on not too long ago, and even a few of the better known names have eliminated themselves from our short list during our due-diligence. As with everything, we like diversity and have spread across a few select operators as well so as not to get caught by any singular issue... although this one was pretty hard to see coming.

Always keeping a close eye on distributions... and ongoing communications from our operators is always welcome.

@Ketan Pandya - Im currently using "RentecDirect". We have a dozen doors and it works great for what we need. I was originally attracted as they used to have a hook into Quickbooks (desktop version)... Im not a big proponent of cloud based services as you simply dont have control of YOUR data (and Rentec is cloud). Ive kept our bookkeeping local in our facilities and have been looking at a couple of packages that are NOT cloud (there are only a couple Im aware of)... Ill look more seriously when we expand in the near future. As I relocated Im now a long-distance owner / operator and we are getting that under our belt first (in addition to another couple of moves and building a new home).

Ive been on Renttec for almost two years now - its really priced right and screening is super fast.

We always say "trust, but verify". I would implore anyone considering eRentPayment to do some simple "google" searches (and this site might even be a good place to start) to get more information.

While I agree that their systems were pretty full featured, the fact that I got caught in their action (rather inaction) and didnt have a viable option to get our funds speaks far louder than features that a provider can offer. I think the effort is fantastic so far as "who offers what" and should be applauded... I might suggest a bit more research in asking each provider some TOUGH questions as to HOW ACH and CC transactions are processed.

In addition to trust but verify, my second favorite is "follow the money". Its always a good thing to know who your financial partners are.

@Jason Merchey I couldn't agree more on several fronts - DIVERSIFY being the big one. Since my original post (that interestingly drew a bit of fire - that was enlightening too) We have spent a LOT of time continuing to do our own deals (albeit they are small MF) as well as look at and vet syndicators to place capital with. In that time we have gone ahead wiht one and eased into several positions, as well as finally getting on-board with another, and were starting smaller there as well. I basically take the same approach as any investing - don't sink all your capital into a single trade, know that the game is played in 3D (there is an X, Y, and Z axis - be sure to cover yourself in all directions), and NEVER invest more than you can comfortably afford to loose (this gets even truer as you get closer to retirement, adn a constant struggle as literally every dollar matters)... so back to vetting your sponsors and repeat the process!

Ive watched Allentown for a couple decades now... and I invest OUTSIDE their boundaries. Without getting political, you have to look closely at the policies and base your decisions. It wasn't all that long ago that lots of money was flying around for the NIZ... in fact look it up and you can see from the boundaries just how "political" and favoritism that was. Study history? Recall Reading, PA? This is a repeat of that. There is a TON of "handout" programs that run rampid in the downtown areas of both cities (income and housing related 'handouts')... connect the dots, these folks aren't going to willingly leave, then again its harder yet to get people that want to PAY to move into the area. It wasn't all that long ago that the esteemed mayor was indicted on corruption charges - found guilty too! I agree it will take deep pockets to change it. Then again, Allentown has been trying since we were kids... Easton kinda got their act together (having a large local college on your north boundary helps), Bethlehem got a shot in one area (then again a couple billion $$ casino doesn't hurt either)... but look closer at where a fair amount of casino workers are living.

So Allentown gets an arena - small, but decent enough (saves traveling to Reading for theirs). Im placing my bets that when all the tax incentives go away for companies to locate their offices downtown there is going to be a glut of cheap vacant offices (and apartments) that will get filled by the only people that want to stay in the area.... and that gets back to politics!

What completely made me walk from even considering the Allentown boundaries was hearing the city rental inspectors (yes, there really are "non essential government employees") yammering on about the importance of having a LICENSED plumber change a water heater in your rental.... after you have paid your poundage to the city inspection department for a  PERMIT to change such water heater, and then have it INSPECTED for the purpose of a STICKER on the appliance.... all in the name of safety! (If memory serves me changing a water heater is pretty much a job that a 6th grader is capable of doing - but seriously, its not that challenging). What sealed the deal was the inspectors closing remark about having a PENSION... and that's when the lightbulb in my brain began to burn at over a million lumens - its all about feeding this guys retirement plan! Safety My @$$.... I was in negotiations to buy a 8 unit (in an opportunity zone - thats code for "crappier neighborhood, a.k.a "war zone") that would have cost me a fortune in city inspections.... all to have the privilege of partnering with the housing assistance office (more inspections and red tape) to house folks that have zero interest in actually taking any responsibility for MY investment - their home.

NO THANKS... there really are better areas for me to place my bets.

Im not down on the Lehigh Valley as a whole... but inside the 3 cities that have these repressive policies.... keep you decay and polocies.

While I believe that erent handled this horribly and could/should have been communicating DIRECTLY with their customers instead of 'hidden' recitals in their support page (and also a Facebook group - who knew about THAT!), they did leave a couple of nuggets that essentially told everyone how the system works and how to get your money. That also was a good glimpse into the payment industry and how they operate... Like everything else there isnt a 'single throat to choke" when the wheels fall off.

The lesson here is there is risk, and one should learn how to mitigate such risk. 

Ive since moved very far away from erent and have a supplier that uses forte for payments. Its been an interesting journey nonetheless.

I live in Pennsylvania and currently invest here. Guns are almost unnoticed outside of Filthadelphia and Pittsburgh and obtaining a license is relatively easy if you have a CLEAN background. Ive been carrying for decades and often "open carry", in fact many people who dont know me assume Im law enforcement as Im dressed business casual with an openly carried pistol.

That said, its not a choice the "if im visiting a property" as I believe a gun is very much like your seatbelt... you don't try to snap it on right before an accident - do you? (or a fire extinguisher....)

Id rather have it and never need it than need it and not have it.

@Leah Stuever, do a bit of googling on a guy named “Danny D’Angelo”... laundry operator out of Arizona. He will tell you NEVER pay for someone’s failure (why would they actually “sell” a performer?)

His $199 course is well worth the investment if your serious about the laundry space.

@Patricia Steiner - my story has been told a few times on this forum. I would suggest that ANY and EVERY once who has any plans to do business with anyone check them out for yourselves. I got stung by them for ONE tenant and was fortunate to be able to have the tenant (and their bank) process a return. While erent was priced right at the time, you ALWAYS get what you pay for.

Ive switched a couple of times and am using RentecDirect at the moment (they seem to work well for smaller landlords that want to scale, but arent quite at the buildium / appfolio size yet). While there are always a few things on the wish-list, Im overall quite happy with them.

I found erent however to be extremely elusive during their fiasco - no phones were answered, minimal information was available and what they did disclose was cryptic and buried in the support website or in a facebook group. My recommendation (and again, do a bit of searching - Ive said it before), RUN from that company!

@Yengkong Sayaovong - you've got guts using erent.... look a little deeper on this forum and see what happened to them a couple years back. While Im sure they have changed, I personally wouldn't trust them to handle my money (again). 

@Andrew W., Ive used cozy for almost a year, not bad and your tenant can pay weekly / bi weekly... I dont know that they can setup that way however without being reminded. 

I switched to RentecDirect almost 18 months ago... you can setup (manually though) weekly and bi-weekly payments... Ive got one doing exactly what your describing. Although not 100% on the reporting side (Rentec has to show the lease at the reduced amount), it does work and my tenant that uses bi-weekly has been on track for almost a year now without a single late payment! (The downside, Im missing out on a BUNCH of late payments... however my books are very clean now). I do like the option as Im not in this business to fleece our tenants, rather provide them with a great product at a fair price. The extra cash was great for returns, but having them happy and not being stretched too thin is far more important to me... turn costs are a killer if they decided to move.

Good luck!