All Forum Posts by: Joe Mahavuthivanij

@Al Williamson That's a really cool idea actually, perhaps one to pivot to.  I suspect that there's several companies already working to tackle the problem.  Let me talk to a contractor friend to see how often he is booked.  I think the biggest challenge would be defining the skill as a commodity, setting a price, and then figuring out how to prevent a contractor from leaving the system after establishing a relationship with the homeowner.  In some ways it reminds me of HomeJoy and similar services that allow you to summon housekeepers and such.  Neat concept!

@Les Jean-Pierre Have you tried to get reviews on potential GC's through Yelp?  It seems like it would be a good resource with listings for the major GC's in an area.  Maybe as part of a dashboard in what I'm trying to build, a user could keep a list of their preferred contractors and for what job.  I've seen people just put this info on a post-it note before, but it seems like it's nowhere to be found when you need it.

@Sam Leon I really like this idea.  Can Postlets post to Craigslist still?  IIRC, Craigslist blocked autoposting for a while.  Do you have an example of what a Postlet's ad looks like?  One of the initial features I was thinking of building is exactly a screening inquiry thing as you describe.  I feel like some of the other services have this disconnect between inquiry and application so I want to bridge that gap.  You may still get the inquiry if they don't "qualify", but maybe it could automatically send a soft rejection info because they didn't meet the income qualification or had an eviction.  Thoughts?

@Les Jean-Pierre how often do you need to do repairs? What aspects of repairs presents the biggest challenge?

@Al Williamson Have you ever tried Thumbtack (no affiliation)? Basically you can describe what you need and they get services providers to bid on your job I think.

@Les Jean-Pierre How are you solving this problem now? Al (above) finds his contractors on Angie's List though I think Thumbtack can also make matches. Since you don't live near your rentals, do you use property managers to keep things together?

@Steve Vaughan I know what you mean and have dealt with this too. Might this be something to ask when calling past landlord references? It seems like it be something that's asked at an in-person showing. Do you take notes on your applicants?

@Bryan N. I'd love to dive into this a little, since there are existing products on the market to do the online application piece. I'm definitely planning on building it into my product though. What are the key decision points you look for when selecting somebody to rent to?

@Elizabeth Colegrove  Sent a request and looking forward to sharing updates! Feel free to share what your ideal product does and I'll put the ideas to paper. It's likely they'll make it into an alpha version of the product. :)

@Al Williamson What are you using today for contractor management? Do you hire/fire many of them? If so, where do you find replacements? How do you generally communicate with contractors?

@Elizabeth Colegrove Great feedback and noted. I particularly like the tenant file. If I'm allowed to, maybe I'll post some wireframes to get some input on how to implement such a feature!

@Elizabeth Colegrove Great feedback! Buildium is a great product that seems to do basically everything. Do you mind my asking how many units you manage? Are you essentially looking for something lighter weight for your purposes?

Whatever I build we definitely be free for landlords and supported through some other business model than a subscription.

I'm a San Francisco-based software guy who rents in the city, but owns/manages some rentals an hour north.  Till now I've kept things decently organized with a combination of Google Docs, coffee, and services like Lovely, Cozy, ApartmentList, etc (I have no affiliate with any of these services), but haven't quite found the perfect "Goldilocks" fit.  I started building and testing a concept, but that was foolishly before talking to other landlords, so I'm designing something new with input from the community.

*I'm not selling, promoting, or pitching anything.*

However, I'm very interested in is hearing about your biggest or unique pains/challenges, what you'd improve, and discussing how it could be fixed.  Basically, it'll help me figure out what to build.  Some features that I like from other services include: online applications and screening, monthly rent payments, and ad posting.

With the community feedback, I hope to build something that makes being a landlord awesome.

_

Some of my biggest issues are meeting tenants to get applications back.  Nowadays, I mostly do open houses so I don't have to cross the bridge and sit in traffic to do one-off showings and get applications online.  Also, tracking tenants who rent rooms out on Airbnb is an occasional issue.  What are your challenges?