All Forum Posts by: Lynn Montang

@Erica Allen Sorry I missed this earlier!  Yes.  I now have 2 Midsouth properties, the first one I've owned now for about 2 years and the second one for about 10 months.  So far so good!  I did have the opportunity to drive by the first one and walk through the rehab action on the second (since the rehab wasn't quite finished when we were in Memphis). I would, and do, recommend MidSouth HB.  I tell people it's a Win Win Win Win. 1) the rehabbers win on the profit from the sale to you.  2) Their property management wins on that monthly income 3) the tenant wins because they get essentially a new house at a fair price. 4) you win on your passive income.  I don't get to know these tenants like I do on the properties I manage myself but I hope for the best, and so far so good!  On another note, rents have been going up across the nation, and it sounds like the MidSouth philosophy is flexible, but they try not to make any changes at the first renewal.  I was anticipating a small bump last year.  I'm not saying it's a bad philosophy to keep the rent the same, but you can't assume anything.  You need to communicate. I only expected it (but my fault for not speaking up) because prices on housing, purchases and rents, have skyrocketed in the past couple of years.  What did you end up doing?  Did you purchase a MSHB house?  

@Erica Allen We did end up purchasing from Mid South and are in contract to purchase a second property.  I still feel like it's too soon to be completely comfortable, as we definitely overpaid for the property. Year one has been flawless. But if you need a short term out, this isn't the investment for you. For long term, Midsouth knows what investors are looking for in return, and as long as everything moves along with no hiccups its a win for Midsouth the flipper, midsouth the prop mangangment, win for the investor, and win for the tenant (as the tenant gets basically a brand new house and affordable rent).  We just toured Memphis last week and the houses that they flip are all nice looking.  Super small, but nice.  The neighborhoods are... how should I say... transitional.  We just hope more flips will happen to some of the properties surrounding our purchases in the coming year(s). Hope this was helpful!

Wondering if anyone has any updates on their experience with MidSouth Home Buyers to share.  We are about to purchase a property through them.  Looks like we are overpaying for the property but the numbers still work (as long as there's no damage/vacancy).  This will be my first investment out of state.  I typically enjoy managing my own properties and have amazing tenants, so hearing about damage and vacancy really makes me nervous. 

I currently use erentpayment.com, however, I am researching moving to Cozy.  What I like about erentpayment is the automation for both my tenants and for me, and that I can be passive-aggressive with late fees. (sounds like I can get this with Cozy too)  I also like the option for the tenant to opt in and report their payments towards credit history.  (looks like I'd give this up.... I just assume all my tenants want to be homeowners some day).  With that said, I would love a FREE service.  erentpayment charges $3 per transaction (which I split 50/50 with my tenants) What I don't like about erentpayment is that for utility bills I have to ask my tenants to add their portion to their rent payment or pay another way, otherwise they are dinged with another $3 fee. Looks like I could do this for free with Cozy.   I watched the intro video to Cozy and it looks really user friendly.  But I am wondering how does Cozy make its money?  Should I switch?

I got online to ask the same question as PJ.  I actually just bought Quickbooks Simple Start a few days ago, but I'm having trouble.  Are there any online tutorials?  I can't seem to find anything recent and what I found online is from years ago.  Maybe my expectations are off... Was looking to replace my spreadsheets with Quickbooks.  

Awww Dang!!  I'm away for spring break that day.... :(  Next year I'll run the 1/2 with you AND do the meet up!  

I recently listened to a podcast where this girl talked about how much she LOVES Airbnb.... well I don't "get" it, I find Airbnb nothing but aggravating and frustrating!  VRBO is my favorite and second is TripAdvisor.  (although, I am super annoyed that they now charge high booking fees).  I am able to set these sites up a year in advance and it's pretty much auto pilot with my calendar.  With Airbnb I have to go in and monitor my calendar on a constant weekly or at the very least monthly schedule.  I WANT to like Airbnb because I know people like to use it.  But in my view so far, Airbnb is for the 1 night bed and breakfast type of guest and the other sites I mentioned are more for vacationers.  

Other things I do not like about Airbnb:  1. It won't automatically add in taxes.  2.  I can't get answers to my questions easily, they want to pass the buck and have you to write to other hosts.  3.  If I have to cancel a reservation I get reprimanded and kicked off of their site.  (I have never had to cancel anyone or be scolded on any of the other sites).  

Help me understand what is so great about Airbnb.  Like I said, I want to like it.

Looking for Duplex/Triplex/4plex.  

Well dang.  I've been requiring erentpaymet for all my tenants to pay rent.  I did feel like it took a couple of days longer in October to show up in my account, but it all did..... I'm going to believe in the greater good and expect rent checks in my account within 7 days for Nov as well.  I think my take from this thread is to not use just one company for all rent payments.  Which is kind of a bummer, but I'd be upset and probably use every negative word (i.e. fraud and ponzi scheme) if I was missing all of my rent money too!  Yikes!

I'm a real estate investor. I got my license. Now I focus on my clients on what they want and it's difficult to find time to invest for myself....