All Forum Posts by: Mike R.

Hi all,

I've been a landlord for the past 12 years or so but only recently got serious about ramping up. I recently added a couple units, plan to expand quickly, and am realizing that successful self-management is heavily dependent on systems and automation.

So I'm looking for some advice from landlords who manage 30, 40, even 50 units themselves.

My particulars:

I use Quickbooks Desktop 2010 for basic real estate accounting and that's it. I bank with a large national bank and pay most RE bills via online banking. I do not use any kind of property management software or app.

I’m looking for a piece of property management software that:

= Integrates with Quickbooks and banks. This is a requirement. I don’t want to have to enter a bill, rental payment, etc., more than once, and, ideally, I’d like for that to be automated as well.

= Allows me to store information/photos about the units and advertise them easily as vacancies occur.

= Allows tenants to fill out and submit a rental application and pay the application fee

= Provides credit reports and background checks

= Accepts rental payments and late fees

= Allows me to communicate with tenants

= Keeps track of documents (leases, move-in inspections and the like)

= Has a mobile app

Any suggestions? 

And do you any other tips or tricks that help you stay organized and efficient?

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise,

Mike

Hey, great to see another Skook on here! I'm originally from the Philly 'burbs but moved to the Blue Mountain School District in 2007. Looking to invest in Schuylkill Haven and Orwisburg areas but also considering Pottsville for buy and hold. (I used to have a five-unit in Haven that I rented to college kids and by sheer luck sold it shortly before PSU started making their students live on campus, causing the value to plummet.) Sheila, what has your experience been there?

Thanks all.

Hi all,

I know residential properties are valued using comparable sales. But do rents come into play at all? Say you have two triplexes that are identical in most every respect, except one rents for $500 per unit and the other rents for $600. Maybe the units are a little nicer, the landlord markets them better, whatever. If this were a commercial property, the $600-per-unit triplex would be worth $36,000 more than the $500-per-month unit at a 10 cap. Since this isn't a commercial property, how would you account for the rent differential, if at all?

Thanks,

Mike

@Bobby Weaverdo you remember whom you spoke with at CACL? I called up and talked to a loan officer named Ryan. He said they don't do non-owner occupied investment loans. Perhaps your guy was assuming you'd be living in one of the units.

Cool, thanks @Bobby Weaver. I thought it might have been CACL.

Yeah, I think $650 is more common in the Orwigsburg area though I don't doubt some Pottsville landlords are getting that much in nicer areas with nicer buildings. 

@Bobby WeaverI'm partial to the Mustard Seed myself!

I'd be careful about assuming rents of $650, unless you are buying something with 3 or more BR in it. You can rent a house for that much.

Can you share the name of the local bank you are dealing with? I'd love to be able to put 10 percent down on investment property.

Welcome to BP. I live in southern Schuylkill County, not too far away.

Thanks, all!

Hi all,

Can the BRRRR technique work with multi-family buildings that are already occupied by tenants? If so, what does that look like in practice? Or does this method only work with vacant properties? I find that most duplexes, triplexes and quads in my Class C area already have tenants in them. They're undoubtedly in need of work, but they're rented.

Thanks,

Mike