All Forum Posts by: Brad Larsen

The above plan can get expensive to secure a loan unless you have a disability of 20% or more. With that VA disability, all the usage and funding fees are waived. Also, I would agree that MFH in SA is over-priced and under appreciates. You would be smart to focus on a SFH between $100k to $200k that you will live in and want to own long term. Thank you for your service!

Also - consider the IRS Depreciation Guidelines.  Hopefully not mis-quoting this - but I have always gone with 7 years depreciation for flooring (carpeting) and 5 years depreciation for painting.  In other words, if you have brand new carpets and a tenant is in the home for 3 years - but DESTROYS the carpets - they robbed your owner of 4 years of use.  On the security deposit itemization, you would take the carpet amount and depreciate it at the 7 year schedule.

Hard Numbers:

New Carpet:  $3,000

Take the $3,000 / 7 = $428.57

Since the tenant robbed you of 4 years of use, take the above $428.57 x 4 years = $1,714.28.  

The tenant should be charged $1,714.28 on their security deposit itemization with the math above to explain the reasoning.  

Sadly - Fair Wear and Tear is completely gray outside of this.  It will come down to the judge determining if you were fair or not.  I would suggest a settlement because if this goes into a courtroom, you could lose - or it may cost you more to be right than it would have just to settle and cut a check for a significantly less figure.

Hope this helped!

Sorry to hear your troubles on this issue.  As an owner of a Property Management company, we have this down to a science with a Zero Tolerance rent control policy.  I'm familiar with the Jupiter / West Palm Beach market and would be curious to find out the PM company.  One other piece of advice - refer to my article on the matter: 

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

Greetings and Hello BP Investors! This post will help to serve those interested in looking for a residential Property Management company in the San Antonio, Texas region - or anywhere else in the country. In this post - I will attempt to highlight some of the things you should be looking for as you browse around town looking for a property manager.

1) Are they members of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)? If not - keep looking. This means they are not professional enough to care to improve what they do, and you run the risk of not getting the advantage of the latest information for investors - such as new laws, common practices, new technology, or professional education opportunities.

2) How are their online reviews? Do they even have an online presence? If the company you are looking at has a poor online presence, or does not even care enough to pay attention to it - that would be an indicator that they do not care about their reputation from you or anyone else. Look elsewhere. Inside Tip: A lot of reviews may be from disgruntled tenants. Take that as a badge of honor. The management company is targeted as the bad guy, but really they are standing up to the tenant for your investment. If the tenant does not clean the home, they have to be charged....and the management company is obligated to do that out of that tenant's security deposit.

3) Do they have a full disclosure website? Or is it the bait and switch with "call us for a management quote" so they can sell you over the phone with whatever they think they can get you signed up with? Here is a tidbit - it takes the same amount of time, cost, and staffing to rent a $1,000 home as it does a $3,000 home. If the management company offers you the same knee jerk price that has been around for 50 years - keep looking - you will probably overpay.

4) Do they use a custom attorney approved lease agreement - or the Texas Association of Realtor lease agreement that has more holes in it than Swiss cheese? If the company you are looking at, no matter how big, uses the TAR lease - it means they have no intentions on making improvements or customization anywhere - ever. Want an example? The Early Termination section in the TAR Lease, paragraph 28, is about as clear as mud. Good luck explaining that to a tenant who just wants to break the lease the right way. ALSO - we have seen managers not even fill out leases correctly putting their owners at a severe disadvantage!

Want another example? Does that Management Company have regimented lease rate increases, or do they just put the rental rate at a certain amount for 10 years on auto-renew? The San Antonio market has experienced significant increased rental rates. I hope your property management company is paying attention!

5) Do they offer any incentives for owners such as Rent Protection, Damage Assurance, Eviction Assurance, Leasing Guarantees, Pet Guarantees, and Tenant Liability Insurance?

6) Does that Management Company offer a Single Owner Point of Contact? Or, is it management by committee with one person doing the leasing, another person handling the maintenance, another person handling the tenant issues, and another person handling the book keeping? In that scenario, everyone is in charge of nothing. Look for a company with a single owner point of contact who is accountable for your home!

7) Are the financial incentives of the Management company you are looking at aligned with yours? Does the Portfolio Manager assigned to you see financial rewards, and see financial pain by the gains and losses of owners and tenants? If the Manager you are dealing with is a straight salaried person - do they REALLY care about how much rent you get?

8) Finally - Do they have a method to sell your home? At some point, you will want to sell a rental home either in 30 days or 30 years. Does that management company refer it out to someone outside their agency causing potential hand off issues? Ensure the company you have manage your home understands and can handle the sales process, it will save a tremendous amount of time in vacancy by NOT having to turn it over to another agency to sell.

In closing, I hope this will help any investor / home owner out there make a decision on which company they choose. As a Management Company Owner and Broker - we have spent a great amount of effort perfecting our systems and services to meet and exceed the market needs. Get in touch with us if we can assist you. Take Care!

Copy of a Post I just put into BP:

Greetings and Hello BP Investors! This post will help to serve those interested in looking for a residential Property Management company in the San Antonio, Texas region - or anywhere else in the country. In this post - I will attempt to highlight some of the things you should be looking for as you browse around town looking for a property manager.

1) Are they members of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)? If not - keep looking. This means they are not professional enough to care to improve what they do, and you run the risk of not getting the advantage of the latest information for investors - such as new laws, common practices, new technology, or professional education opportunities.

2) How are their online reviews? Do they even have an online presence? If the company you are looking at has a poor online presence, or does not even care enough to pay attention to it - that would be an indicator that they do not care about their reputation from you or anyone else. Look elsewhere. Inside Tip: A lot of reviews may be from disgruntled tenants. Take that as a badge of honor. The management company is targeted as the bad guy, but really they are standing up to the tenant for your investment. If the tenant does not clean the home, they have to be charged....and the management company is obligated to do that out of that tenant's security deposit.

3) Do they have a full disclosure website? Or is it the bait and switch with "call us for a management quote" so they can sell you over the phone with whatever they think they can get you signed up with? Here is a tidbit - it takes the same amount of time, cost, and staffing to rent a $1,000 home as it does a $3,000 home. If the management company offers you the same knee jerk price that has been around for 50 years - keep looking - you will probably overpay.

4) Do they use a custom attorney approved lease agreement - or the Texas Association of Realtor lease agreement that has more holes in it than Swiss cheese? If the company you are looking at, no matter how big, uses the TAR lease - it means they have no intentions on making improvements or customization anywhere - ever. Want an example? The Early Termination section in the TAR Lease, paragraph 28, is about as clear as mud. Good luck explaining that to a tenant who just wants to break the lease the right way. ALSO - we have seen managers not even fill out leases correctly putting their owners at a severe disadvantage!

Want another example? Does that Management Company have regimented lease rate increases, or do they just put the rental rate at a certain amount for 10 years on auto-renew? The San Antonio market has experienced significant increased rental rates. I hope your property management company is paying attention!

5) Do they offer any incentives for owners such as Rent Protection, Damage Assurance, Eviction Assurance, Leasing Guarantees, Pet Guarantees, and Tenant Liability Insurance?

6) Does that Management Company offer a Single Owner Point of Contact? Or, is it management by committee with one person doing the leasing, another person handling the maintenance, another person handling the tenant issues, and another person handling the book keeping? In that scenario, everyone is in charge of nothing. Look for a company with a single owner point of contact who is accountable for your home!

7) Are the financial incentives of the Management company you are looking at aligned with yours? Does the Portfolio Manager assigned to you see financial rewards, and see financial pain by the gains and losses of owners and tenants? If the Manager you are dealing with is a straight salaried person - do they REALLY care about how much rent you get?

8) Finally - Do they have a method to sell your home? At some point, you will want to sell a rental home either in 30 days or 30 years. Does that management company refer it out to someone outside their agency causing potential hand off issues? Ensure the company you have manage your home understands and can handle the sales process, it will save a tremendous amount of time in vacancy by NOT having to turn it over to another agency to sell.

In closing, I hope this will help any investor / home owner out there make a decision on which company they choose. As a Management Company Owner and Broker - we have spent a great amount of effort perfecting our systems and services to meet and exceed the market needs. Get in touch with us if we can assist you. Take Care!

Greetings and Hello BP Investors!  This post will help to serve those interested in looking for a residential Property Management company in the San Antonio, Texas region - or anywhere else in the country.  In this post - I will attempt to highlight some of the things you should be looking for as you browse around town looking for a property manager.  

1) Are they members of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)?  If not - keep looking.  This means they are not professional enough to care to improve what they do, and you run the risk of not getting the advantage of the latest information for investors - such as new laws, common practices, new technology, or professional education opportunities. 

2) How are their online reviews?  Do they even have an online presence?  If the company you are looking at has a poor online presence, or does not even care enough to pay attention to it - that would be an indicator that they do not care about their reputation from you or anyone else.  Look elsewhere.  Inside Tip:  A lot of reviews may be from disgruntled tenants.  Take that as a badge of honor.  The management company is targeted as the bad guy, but really they are standing up to the tenant for your investment.  If the tenant does not clean the home, they have to be charged....and the management company is obligated to do that out of that tenant's security deposit.  

3) Do they have a full disclosure website?  Or is it the bait and switch with "call us for a management quote" so they can sell you over the phone with whatever they think they can get you signed up with?  Here is a tidbit - it takes the same amount of time, cost, and staffing to rent a $1,000 home as it does a $3,000 home.  If the management company offers you the same knee jerk price that has been around for 50 years - keep looking - you will probably overpay.  

4) Do they use a custom attorney approved lease agreement - or the Texas Association of Realtor lease agreement that has more holes in it than Swiss cheese?  If the company you are looking at, no matter how big, uses the TAR lease - it means they have no intentions on making improvements or customization anywhere - ever.  Want an example?  The Early Termination section in the TAR Lease, paragraph 28, is about as clear as mud.  Good luck explaining that to a tenant who just wants to break the lease the right way.  ALSO - we have seen managers not even fill out leases correctly putting their owners at a severe disadvantage! 

Want another example?  Does that Management Company have regimented lease rate increases, or do they just put the rental rate at a certain amount for 10 years on auto-renew?  The San Antonio market has experienced significant increased rental rates.  I hope your property management company is paying attention! 

5) Do they offer any incentives for owners such as Rent Protection, Damage Assurance, Eviction Assurance, Leasing Guarantees, Pet Guarantees, and Tenant Liability Insurance?  

6) Does that Management Company offer a Single Owner Point of Contact?  Or, is it management by committee with one person doing the leasing, another person handling the maintenance, another person handling the tenant issues, and another person handling the book keeping?  In that scenario, everyone is in charge of nothing.  Look for a company with a single owner point of contact who is accountable for your home!

7) Are the financial incentives of the Management company you are looking at aligned with yours?  Does the Portfolio Manager assigned to you see financial rewards, and see financial pain by the gains and losses of owners and tenants?  If the Manager you are dealing with is a straight salaried person - do they REALLY care about how much rent you get?

8) Finally - Do they have a method to sell your home?  At some point, you will want to sell a rental home either in 30 days or 30 years.  Does that management company refer it out to someone outside their agency causing potential hand off issues?  Ensure the company you have manage your home understands and can handle the sales process, it will save a tremendous amount of time in vacancy by NOT having to turn it over to another agency to sell.  

In closing, I hope this will help any investor / home owner out there make a decision on which company they choose.  As a Management Company Owner and Broker - we have spent a great amount of effort perfecting our systems and services to meet and exceed the market needs.  Get in touch with us if we can assist you.  Take Care!

My name is Brad Larsen.  I'm the Owner and Broker for Larsen Properties here in San Antonio, TX.  We are a full service property management company focusing on residential real estate management and sales.  We have a full disclosure website for you to check out and you can sign up for our Free Rental Market Analysis.  We rent homes faster than anyone in San Antonio!  Get in touch with us if we can be of service and mention you found us here for a Bigger Pockets Discount.  Take Care!

My name is Brad Larsen.  I'm the Owner and Broker for Larsen Properties here in San Antonio, TX.  We are a full service property management company.....and a full disclosure company on our website.  You can see everything we do and charge on our website so when you are ready to begin, all your questions have already been answered on our site.  You may also sign up for our Free Market Estimate and we will get you an rental analysis of the home you have in mind, or already own.  We rent homes faster than anyone else in San Antonio and our services are perfect for investors as our interests are aligned with yours. Find us online and get in touch with us.  We will offer anyone a BP Discount for mentioning you found us here!  Take Care!