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All Forum Posts by: Morrisha Hudgons

Morrisha Hudgons has started 2 posts and replied 9 times.

Post: Would you rent to this tenant?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4

Thanks all for your feedback, really appreciate it!

Post: Would you rent to this tenant?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4

I have a condo in Chicago, south loop, that I rent for $2900.  The condo is a luxury unit, with floor to ceiling windows, and unobstructed views to lake.  My tenant moved out mid July, but the agent began showing it late June.  Since vacancies are expensive, I'd like to rent it as soon as possible.  Also, with it now being August, I worry about it being late in the rental season and was thinking about reducing the rate to get it to move.  

I have an applicant who has a good credit score in mid-700s and has pay stubs grossing a little over 3 times the rent.  The issue was that she doesn't have any credit history showing any obligation this size, not even a car note.  She doesn't have any recent rental history either, as she lives in Indiana on a farm and says her husband pays the mortgage.  She wants a house in the city, oh and she wants her 20 something daughter to have access to the unit but not be on the lease....  I asked for a co-signer, but instead she offered 4 months advanced rent plus security.  When I verified her employment, she works at a grocery store that I think her husband or family owns.

My spidey senses are telling me she is renting my condo for her daughter....I'm really on the fence about renting to the applicant...what would you do?

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4
Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

I’d say you just need a new PM. There’s gotta be a good Pm in Chicago somewhere. I disagree that you need a lot of scale to be a priority. The PMs I use give me good service and I don’t have dozens of properties or units.

I also try to enhance this relationship by buying my rentals through my PM as they’re also agents. They earn the commission and then they stay on and manage it.

Keep looking or sell if you have good equity

Thanks for the advice Caleb! 

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4
Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

I’d say you just need a new PM. There’s gotta be a good Pm in Chicago somewhere. I disagree that you need a lot of scale to be a priority. The PMs I use give me good service and I don’t have dozens of properties or units.

I also try to enhance this relationship by buying my rentals through my PM as they’re also agents. They earn the commission and then they stay on and manage it.

Keep looking or sell if you have good equity

Thanks for the advice Caleb! 

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4
Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

You do not find good help you create it through proper management. All employees need to be managed to generate acceptable results. This is one of the major short comings of investors that hire a PM. They fail to understand that they are responsible for managing their PM.

Employees require management.

 I completely agree, the distance just makes it more challenging and expensive to manage your manager...i have to pay the cost for airline tickets to inspect their work vs a drive across town...

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4
Originally posted by @Linda Moore:

Look at it this way.   How much does a property manager make taking in 10% plus lease up fees.  Sales is where it's at. 

You hit the jackpot if you find a property manager that's just fair😂

 Agreed 😏

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4
Originally posted by @Philip Williams:

Funny I sold a duplex in Chicago for this exact same reason. I think the problem is depending on the neighborhood of course Chicago is a tough market for property managers. Of course if you have either A class properties or enough for the property manager to care it might be easier. If you have less than 5 units it's really hard to be any property managers priority. I look at my monthly statements from my property manager and realize how truly little they make per month off an individual property I wouldn't even drive by for that amount hence the scale needed. Sorry I don't really have a solution to offer but man was I glad once I sold and bought more places where I had a team in place. 

Yeah I believe the class of properties are A to B, in South Loop and Bronzevillle, but scale is definitely the issue. I guess I can either invest in more to attract the service, but then again would need the service to invest in more since I'm not there. Catch 22...

Post: Why is Good Help so Hard to Find?

Morrisha HudgonsPosted
  • Investor
  • Chicago, IL
  • Posts 9
  • Votes 4

I own a few properties in Chicago, where I lived before moving recently to Atlanta.  Since I did not have scale, I did all of the property management myself (advertising vacant units, showing property to prospective tenants, minor maintenance, finding and overseeing contractors for major repairs).  Now that I'm in Atlanta, I need a property management company to do these things or I'm going to have to sell.  I had a company, the realtor who listed my condo and found a great tenant, said he also managed properties.  I contracted him for my 3 flat, but it was a nightmare!  I popped up for a surprise visit and the lawn was severely overgrown and air filters looked like they hadn't been changed in months, so I fired him.  

Trips back and forth and relying on friends to help in a jam isn't working anymore. Now I have vacancy and need someone to manage finding a tenant. 

Why is good help so hard to find?

Great podcast!  I'm an investor in Chicago and it is absolutely a tenant state.  There are lawyers making a living solely on security deposit lawsuits.