All Forum Posts by: Sterling Stroud

So I am currently looking for a new construction home due to the better efficiency with utilities, more modern, nicer area, and potentially less problems at the beginning. I am looking at going with a company called Ryan Homes and I am wondering if anyone has used this company and what their thoughts were. I understand there are pros and cons to buying new construction, but I would really like to hear peoples first hand experiences whether good or bad.

Thank you in advance.

They have been a customer of mine for over 10 years. They are a massive home building and do a good job for the most part. Are you looking to invest in a single family or are you looking for yourself?

I am looking at a 4/2.5 townhome for myself! I saw reviews on line that were pretty negative, but obviously I dont want to only go off those few reviews since most of the time disgruntled buyers will leave the nasty reviews. I just wanted to get some other thoughts on Ryan Homes.

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Good morning,

Thank you in advance.

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So this is my issue, in my area we have a bunch of townhomes and single family homes and I am trying to get more advice from you all about which of the two you have had the best experience with with tenants and how quickly you were able to rent the place. I am basically wanting to see what you all would recommend based off of your experiences. The demographic in my area that I prefer to attract would be college students as I am a recent grad and would like to help them out with reasonable housing prices as long as it is somewhat affordable for myself as well. What are the pros and cons of each that you have encountered? I am trying to buy the most cost efficient of the two in order to save a little more money in the long run. Thanks for your future inputs.

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Quote from @Sterling Stroud:

Hello,

So a potential renter of mine is insistent that they do not need renters insurance even though I have told them how cheap it is and that it is highly recommended. Renters insurance is not required by law in Virginia which is where I am located. I understand that they would like to save money, but I am wanting to protect myself as well as their belongings and person. Any advice on what I should or could do?

Thank you for all of the great comments, I will be taking all of them into consideration. A question to all the landlords out there: Would it set a poor precedent if I told the potential renter that I would lower his monthly rent to cover his renters insurance ( renters insurance is 10 bucks a month and I lower his rent 10 bucks so he can pay the renters insurance).

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Hello,

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Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Sterling Stroud:

Whats up everyone, new landlord in Virginia and I am wondering if anyone has used avail or turbo tenant for their landlord/tenant management software? Is there any issues with either? I am thinking of using avail.

I've tested TenantCloud and thought it was a good software for the price.

Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. All you need is a single place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, and a few other things. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet and it will take less time to track than it would to find and learn a new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it.
Software does have extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. But do you really need that for your one rental?
There's no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws or you'll salivate over a feature that shows up in other software.

Some common names you'll see thrown around a lot: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend you search for each of those apps online and see what they offer, how much they charge, etc. Make a simple spreadsheet or written list with the features of each and see which ones appeal to you most. Try to narrow it down to your top 3-4. Once you have a short list, get an account with each one and run them through the wringer to see how they really function. Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.

Load a property with pictures and details.
Market that property.
See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, attach a fake invoice.
Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
Sign documents electronically.
Run owner reports.

After testing a few apps, one of them should stand out for you. Choose that one and use it. No system is perfect, so don't waste your time chasing after the next shiny object. You should only have to change when your current software has a flaw or lacking feature that is causing you to spend too much work on a work-around. Then you can consider researching and finding something that meets your needs better.

Thank you for that great information! I was mainly looking at the software because of the credit and background checks I could run and I just started doing more research about the other aspects of the software. I agree I do not need the software yet. I was thinking since I am going to be getting more rentals in the future that I should try to learn what is out there so I would know when the time comes. To be honest, I am not quite sure what I all I need to be tracking on the spreadsheet which is another reason I am on the forum to see if anyone had suggestions. Is there a good way to collect safety deposits and rent in a more professional way rather than just asking the tenant to Venmo or cash app.

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What in my lease should I make sure to have that might not be in generic leases?

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All Forum Posts by: Sterling Stroud

Sterling Stroud has started 5 posts and replied 8 times.

Post: Ryan Homes New Construction

Post: Ryan Homes New Construction

Post: Most desirable housing for desirable tenants

Post: Tenant refusing to get renters insurance

Post: Tenant refusing to get renters insurance

Post: What landlord property software would be best?

Post: Lease must haves and lease clauses for new tenants

Post: What landlord property software would be best?