All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Cabral

@Nathan Millerundefined

Congratulations! I self-manage 19 units, including 4 Mid term rentals, and I use TurboTenant for the online rent collection, listings, pre-screenings, applications, and receiving maintenance requests. They have a no-cost option but their low-cost option is cheap and worth it for the premium features (great customer service and ability to deposit funds into multiple accts ie security deposits by property or operating acct). I like that they build the tenant's credit as they pay rent so you look like an ally and they're further incentivized to make their payments.

They have great features - the ability to export the rent ledger, single and recurring charges and multiple categories, and automatic late fees customizable by percentage or fixed fee.

Best of all - their maintenance portal. Right now, their portal is fairly basic and allows tenants to enter requests and submit pictures and you can send the requests directly to vendors but I've found it's not conducive for tracking. BUT...they're rolling out a much more robust maintenance portal that'll have great tracking abilities AND a very low-cost option to have them manage the work orders. I participated in a product development call and was super impressed with what they're rolling out.

I highly recommend you check them out!

No! I don't attend the open houses but let everyone know that I'll do a zoom meet and greet for any applicants so they're prepared for that. When we're on the zoom call, I say that I need to do a walk through but, to save us a trip, would they mind walking me through really briefly while we're on the call. I explain I'm not worried about tidiness, since I'm catching them off guard and it's basically to make sure there's no massive damage. I find they're a bit shy but agreeable. And it's the ones that are a bit worried about it are the ones who care about how they keep their house.

Hi! I use Zillow (you can list for free) and also TurboTenant since I use TT for my rent collection and applications. They also have a listing feature and a pre-screener, which is super helpful! If you use Facebook, you get the benefit of seeing their social media accounts but they get the same benefit of seeing yours since FB just did away with the ability for company accounts to post housing. I like separation between my tenants and my personal life so I wouldn't want them seeing my personal page BUT I've heard creating a secondary account without your personal info to list properties has been effective. 

One strategy I like to use in the screening portion is walk-throughs of the applicant's homes. I actually do this in a Zoom call where we're doing a "meet and greet" after they apply and then I ask them to just walk me around while we're on the call. You'll be able to see how they keep the place and that helps you make informed decisions about whether to move them in or not.

Congratulations! I self-manage 19 units, including 4 Mid term rentals, and I use TurboTenant for the online rent collection, listings, pre-screenings, and applications. They have a no-cost option but their low-cost option is cheap and worth it for the premium features (great customer service and ability to deposit funds into multiple accts ie security deposits by property or operating acct). I like that they build the tenant's credit as they pay rent so you look like an ally and they're further incentivized to make their payments. 

They have great features - the ability to export the rent ledger, single and recurring charges and multiple categories, and automatic late fees customizable by percentage or fixed fee. I highly recommend you check them out! 

I also self manage my portfolio but don't use realtors to lease b/c I think it's SUCH an important part of the overall management process - the tenant you choose is everything. So here's how I do it:

- My VA lists the property and handles all the calls and questions, escalating to me only if they've completed the pre-screener (via TurboTenant) and they are a match. If you don't have a dedicated VA, Abodea has this capability.

- Hold open house. Usually the existing tenant handles this for me for a SMALL fee. 

- Send out a video of ME saying I won't be at the open house but wanted to introduce myself. I like to share that we're strict but awesome landlords: renting from us builds the tenant's credit, we have 24/7 maintenance intake, and we hold holiday raffles.

- At the open house, have a flyer of the property information including a QR code that brings them to the application.

- Have VA follow up the next day with a link to the application and asking if there are any questions.

- For any applications received, do a zoom call so you can meet them and ask them to "walk" you around their house while they're on the call so you can see how they keep their house!

Hope this helps!

 Let me know if you need help!