All Forum Posts by: Stephen Densmore

 Hi Anthony - 

Congrats on the new home! Is there a reason you want to give up the 2.75% rate on the old home to refinance into an LLC?

There is no requirement to have your rental in an LLC to rent out your old home. Unless I'm missing something here, it sounds like just renting it out personally is the best option. Is this your only rental?

Regarding homeowner's insurance, I would recommend just contacting a local insurance broker in your area and let them know you're looking to switch your HOI policy to a landlord policy.  It's called something else that I can't recall at the moment, but they'll know and be able to guide you in the right direction.

Since there is a large amount of equity in the rental home, just be sure that your new HOI policy has good coverage and possibly think about an Umbrella Policy or additional insurance coverage to "protect you" vs. trying to reinvent the wheel and forming an LLC just for the one property.

SD

Hi Namal - About a year ago I went searching for online property management software for the sole purpose of receiving online payments (I don't use any of the other features).  I'm not sure how straight-forward your rental amounts are, but I needed the ability to line-item out several different charges (CAM fees, etc.) as well as have different base rent amounts based on the year of the lease (cost of living increases yearly) and found that Innago was the best fit for me.  It's free for the tenant to make ACH payments and $2 per transaction for me.  You do have the ability to charge the $2 to the tenant, but it didn't seem worth it to me.  I have about 8 tenants using Innago currently and it has been just fine for all.  The only downside for me is that it can take a few days for the money to actually process/deposit, but that works fine for me.  

My wife uses Zillow for her one residential rental and it has worked out just fine for her.  Mine are small commercial offices and Zillow didn't fit for my uses.

-Stephen

Caleb - are you still hosting these meetings, or did they drop off?  

-SD

Hi All - 

I'd like to create a quick reference guide of sorts for STR listing sites (Airbnb, VRBO, direct book, etc.) to have a handy reference for the differences in each such as listing charges (both to host and guest), when booking funds are released, cancellation policies, refund policies, insurance coverage, security deposit handling, etc. We're currently listed on Airbnb, VRBO, AL Vacation Rentals and have a direct booking site.

Before I go to work, does anyone have something like this already created (or similar) that they would be willing to pass along?  Sometimes it's hard to keep those details straight without going back and looking and it'd be nice to have a "cheat sheet" to keep it simple.

I'm not opposed to doing the work, but also not looking to reinvent the wheel - thanks in advance!

Best,

Stephen

 Just to close this loop, I went with Innago and have been happy thus far.  It has the main feature I wanted with just $2 ACH transactions (I cover) and ability to make an actual rental invoice with multiple line items appear clear and tidy for the tenant.  Thanks all!

Thanks, all - that's helpful.

@Nathan G - I have six total units that I'm self-managing and have everything fairly comfortable and easy-going, save for rent payment (physical check only currently).  It's working fine, it would just be nicer for both the tenants and myself not to have to fool with a physical check ("It was mailed, not sure why it didn't get to you.", etc.).  I can definitely appreciate your thorough narrowing-down and vetting process and I'll likely need to go that route and put in the effort; however, my primary focus/concern is simply on rent collection for ease of use on both sides.

@Nathan M - thanks!  I'll check out the link for info on options strictly for rent collection.

@Chris - I'll also check out Innago as it sounds like you and I were/are in similar boats.

Thanks!

-Stephen

Thanks in advance for any replies!  I currently have 6 rental units (small commercial office) that I self-manage and I'm looking for recommendations for an online property management solution  - mostly for payment receipt (ACH/Card).  I currently use other CRM software to manage tasks/future items and use QuickBooks for invoicing/bookkeeping. I'm in need of a platform that will allow my tenants to pay via ACH (and card, but not a requirement) as check payments are a hassle for all involved.

I recently tried RentRedi, but am not in love with the invoicing interface (can't group charges like rent, tax, CAM fees, utilities, etc.) but I did like that their rates were relatively low.  I've also considered QuickBooks payments which would be very convenient to just handle all through QB, but it seems a bit more expensive and I currently use QB Desktop (don't like QBO near as much) and it's not as user-friendly with everything geared towards QBO these days.

Looking forward to any recommendations - thanks in advance!

-Stephen

Thanks, Candace - I'll reply to your colleague request and send you a message to connect.

Luke Carl - It seems the consistent feedback we're seeing is that having a "full service" PM negates most if not all of the cash flow for a STR. Is it safe then to assume a ~20% return for a relatively successful, self-managed STR in the area (obviously depending on purchase price and the myriad other factors)? I don't see a massive or quick potential for appreciation with today's prices (which is fine as we're looking for a long-term hold), but if we're basically buying a part-time job to self-manage, it needs to be somewhat worth it. Any "average" return info you can provide if you personally have any units in the area would be helpful.

Hey everyone - 

Hoping to get some general info and advice for a STR in Gulf Shores, AL. Does anyone have direct experience in that market re: specific nuances, types of properties that do better than others (# of bedrooms, Sound vs Gulf side, location, etc)?

My brother (Ft Worth, TX) and I (Gulf Breeze, FL) are looking to go in on an STR property together in the near future. We'd ideally like to be cash flow positive with a "full service" PM (is that even possible) and use it a few times a year personally.

Any initial information or thoughts are greatly appreciated. I currently have 8 doors of LTR commercial office/retail but have zero STR experience. Thanks in advance!

-Stephen