All Forum Posts by: Brad Larsen

This could be an opportunity for PM's out there like myself and 

@Robert Gilstrap to tell the world what we do and how it's better.  

But, I would go a different route and throw an article out to the group I wrote a few months ago about our clients - the Landlords.  Take it with a grain of salt as I have not read every word of this post in super detail - but I get the meaning.  Maybe this will apply in some aspects.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/402...

Good luck out there! 

@KC Zhang

You mentioned homes in Illinois - whereabouts in Illinois?  Point being there, I have atleast 1 or 2 PM contacts in the Chicago area that are strong NARPM members.  (NARPM.org)

If you need an attempt for a referral (geographic limitations may kick in there) - let me know! 

Also - the $475 placement fee does not sound all that bad.  There is no "standard" - but consider what portion of that goes to an agent commission to bring a tenant....or it covers their commission.   That does not sound like a gouging fee.  

Lastly, you should not be too scared about that cancellation fee.  If they do you wrong, approach them and say you are not happy with the service for X, Y, Z....  I will go out on a limb and say that if you are not a good fit for each other going both ways, they will let you out with no penalty.  Again, that large of a cancellation fee is protection from slick owners - not rational investors.

Good luck out there!  

@KC Zhang; @Marc Cunningham; @Craig Bellot; @Kim Meredith Hampton; @Marc Cunningham

Hello KC;

The two issues at hand were the cancellation fee and clause to cancel if you don't do what every landlord / owner is supposed to do.

The cancellation fee in itself makes sense, the price seems high.  I could see a "One Month's Rent" cancellation fee.  Especially since you are dealing with a $700 unit. 

WHY IS THIS IN THERE?  There are a lot of landlord / owners out there who think they are slick.  They want to hire a PM company - use that PM company to locate a tenant and put them into a lease agreement.  Then, they look to wiggle out of a contract after they introduce themselves to the tenant in person and tell them to just pay directly.  

OR - they cook up "service failures" to attempt to justify their constant needling. These are "C" Class Landlords - Refer to my article link below. 

That clause is common in a lot of PM companies and I completely get it and buy into it.  We put out a lot of effort up front, charge no leasing fee, and need to re-coup that effort over the term of that lease.  Did you catch that part???  In 2 out of our 3 plans, we charge NO Leasing Fee to place the tenant.  

If an owner wants to fire us month two, that is fine - pay the One Month's Rent and we can part ways nicely.  

For the PM Company owners that do not have cancellation fees, they are most likely in markets that have accepted leasing fees of One Month's Rent and collect quite a large chunk of money up front - we do not.  There is no right or wrong in this scenario as it depends on the local customs and marketplace. 

On the second part - we carry the same clause.  If a Landlord refuses to adhere to State Property Code Laws on a home, we simply are not a good fit and terminate immediately.  

To tie the two together - we do not terminate and force the cancellation fee.  That's too sticky.  If an owner wants out - here is the price.  If we HAVE to get out - we terminate with no fees and move on.  

For some further reading on being a Landlord -  I posted this a few months ago:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/402...

Good luck out there! 

@Account Closed

Recommendations:

Geoff Mayfield

Robert Brown

Trey Wilson

Matt Obermeier

*For contracts I would recommend Geoff Mayfield.  That's been his specialty.  We managed a home for an owner who completely stiffed us on an Air Conditioning repair. The owner authorized us to make a complete AC repair on a home - $6,500! We got it done, then the owner would not pay.  Delay tactics, stalling, etc....

But, the owner has a home Free and Clear! Mayfield and I file suit and this owners home is going up for Auction next month - Sep 2017.  

We are forcing a sale of a home he owns to cover his default judgment debt.  Mayfield knows the procedures in and out and was confident on the ability to collect.  

Good luck out there and don't stiff your Property Manager! 

@Rich Ferradino @Angela Liu  @Robert Gilstrap @Tracy Streich @Jonatan Barbera

Good morning Rich and Angela! Referring to the mobile home park, our apologies for not being able to assist on that.  We focus on single family homes or small multi family. Managing outside of that is outside of what we can handle.  

Angela - our business development team will be reaching out to you today.  We also have several buyer's agents who can assist in looking for a rental home. 

One of the things we are developing more of as the market starts to slow down is to build an Investors Package List.  Let me explain.

As the homes become tougher to sell, investors / primary resident sellers will not be able to sell homes as easy for top dollar. They will be looking for other ways to get out of a property if their situation dictates. We work with a lot of military owners and it's very often the case they want to simply free up their VA loan (selling) so they can use the VA benefits to purchase in a more expensive market. (Max VA entitlement is around $465k for this area).

Point being - as these types of owners want to sell - we want to keep those as pocket listings for our investors giving registered and signed up clients the first opportunity to buy a home.  Sometimes with a tenant, lease agreement, and monthly rent already coming in. 

This tells you exactly what you are getting into.  You know the price, the rental income, the management company - everything is there.

It's a win / win / win for all parties. We reduce commissions to the seller - win there for buyer and seller. We offer them a quick close with no vacancy - win there. The buyer / investor wins because they get a home that would normally go on the MLS into the open market and get snagged up by a primary resident or investor ready to over-pay. Win for the buyer. We have a pre-registered client who is wanting to still work with us - we keep the home in the inventory and keep the business. Win for us.

Mention this as you talk with our business development and sales team. We look forward to assisting you.

Hope this helps and take care! 

Hello Tavares!  @Tavares L.

You can reach us at our office by visiting our website - or calling us.  We have buyer's agent specialists we can refer you to to investigate rental opportunities in San Antonio.  

Take care!

@Ian R. 

@Jeff Chapz

Good morning Ian and Jeff - thank you for the mention.  We typically do not handle Multi-Family units for a lot of reasons.  One - they are usually at a price point that would push tenants to NOT go through a traditional screening / application process.  To put it bluntly, Craigs List tenants do not want their credit or criminal background checked.  Unless the MF unit draws in more than $1,000 per month and is in a decent part of the city.....the only tenants interested in renting those units are your Craigs list type.  They show up with a sob story and little bit of cash looking to talk their way into an apartment.  We have historically had a difficult time renting this type of unit because those tenants do not feel they can qualify with us.....and never apply.

Two - Our focus has and will be more on the Single Family Home management in San Antonio and surrounding areas.  

Sadly, I do not even have any recommendations for you as I don't know any well known management companies that take on Multi-Family in that range.  I am sure there are some, but I can not recommend the ones that do.    

Best of luck and I am sorry we could not assist you.

@Jay Baker  Here is some good information on this as well including Tom's post as well....

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/385...

Good luck out there!

@Betty Cruz  At the risk of approaching anything close to Anti-Trust laws, I will offer some guidance but not really quote any specific fees for you.  Gauge for yourself the correct amounts, but this should help some.

Application Fees Up Front for the tenant.  This will offset the time of pulling credit, etc...

At approval - Lease Preparation Fee, Inspection Fee, Security Deposit, Animal Fee (or Deposit).  

The Animal Fee could be just that, a one time or monthly fee that goes to the management company or the DIY landlord in your case.  By definition a FEE is not Refundable.  By definition, a Deposit IS Refundable.  

In the lease - you would have a late fee of typically a percentage after the 3rd of the month, and a daily rate for every day after that.  Follow the TAR lease agreement format (even though we do not use the TAR lease as it's fairly soft).  

Hope this helps and let us know if you need any assistance.  

Good luck out there!

2nd Vote for CR & PM as listed above.  Excellent folks!