All Forum Posts by: Ray Hurteau

Hi @Melissa T., we are using RentRedi for 14 units and have achieved just under 100% adoption of its use.  The two functions we use the most are rent collection and maintenance requests. Tenants can submit a 5 second video and/or photos of any issues. You can accept payments by ACH or credit card and choose who pays the fee ($1 for ACH, % for CC). We pay the ACH fees and don't accept credit cards.  We plan to expand our usage of the app to 9 more units starting next year.

@Kyle Koziol

Check out https://windowsourcenh.com/

If you're talking about replacement double hung windows, you can't beat their price and I found their service to be very good.  I would go with their mid-range window or their triple pane window, if you want their best for not that much more.

Not sure if they have a minimum window order quantity these days as I used them about 4-5 years ago for a rental property where I replaced all the windows after purchase.

Hey @Shaine Grogan, go here and enter your property address:

http://maps.bostonredevelopmen...

From there, you'll see the zoning that applies and look for the various tables that talk about setback requirements, minimum lot sizes, parking, etc.  Ideally, you'd want to engage a local zoning attorney who works in that neighborhood and get a zoning analysis/opinion.  Feel free to PM/connect if you'd like.  Thanks for the shoutout @Timothy Walsh!

@Kat Hussey

A sensitivity analysis is a way to see how much "flex" there is with respect to certain variables.  We use resale and construction costs as the two variables that will have the greatest impact on your bottom line and use a 5% interval both positive and negative.  For example, if your resale is 5% lower but construction costs are 10% higher, your potential pre-tax profit would be a little under 7k (again, using the assumptions in your OP and my first post).

Duration is also important to a project's profitability, but it's not part of the sensitivity analysis table attached in my first post.

Hi @Kat Hussey, as everyone else has mentioned, duration and other holding costs are important.  I only included what you provided and came up with about 27k in profit, but please note the assumptions:

• $0 hold costs (taxes, insurance)
• $225 for title insurance
• 5.5% loan interest
• 6 month duration from acquisition to disposition
• Needing another 9-10k in capital to fully fund the project from start to finish (cost to borrow rounded up to 1k)

Profit sensitivity analysis is below.  I think the projected profit is higher than what it would actually be since some costs had to be assumed or were set to $0.

We use RentRedi for self-managed properties.  Haven't tried Cozy but see many here recommending it.  For properties where we have a PM in place, they all use Buildium and we really like it.

Over the years, our property managers have used Appfolio (I didn't love it), Propertyware (I think the PM set it up wrong) and Buildium (currently used with 2 PMs and works very well! - if set up properly by the PM).

We have one building where the PM prefers pen and paper... so I set up our own account using RentRedi.  It's a newer, growing company, but it does a good job for what we need, specifically: collecting rents electronically vs. checks.  I'm pretty sure there is a BP discount code too.

@Bradley Sriro is spot on. How far you go for comps will depend on the area too - if you're outside a city, you might be able to get comps for a whole zip code which could span miles. If you're in an urban area, you might want to only go .25 miles from the property. Lots to consider. Data from public websites for some reason is always suspect. MLS is the true source of data, so that agent/realtor relationship is important.

You can never analyze enough properties -- the more you do, the easier it becomes. When we first started, we were looking at entire regions (for flips) and that ultimately slowed us down because every lead meant learning a whole new area - not efficient and not recommended IMO.  Choose a specific area and become more of an expert in that area.  If you're looking for rentals, that does not require a tight geographic region.

And a good rule of thumb about no comps... find a different area.  

Hi @Enis Shehu, thanks for kind words and the shoutout about our podcast!

@Frank Hinck Lol, yeah we'd never do it but I've always joked about it. Plus, we'd never let the payment schedule get ahead and would use an escrow agent if they had payment concerns.

I am curious if anyone here has ever tried the approach.

They most we've done was to use labor outside the city but still in MA and had to fire them after realizing they were more talk than walk.