All Forum Posts by: Steve Tokita

@Jay Hinrichs.  Thank you Jay! It seems you're doing quite well with what you've developed over the years.  Congrats to your success!  Thank you for your insights and help with walking me through this new venture for me.  

@Jay Hinrichs.  Hi Jay, I just saw your response.  Wow, thank you.  Can you tell me more?  I have three homes that I am currently renovating.  One in Madison, one in Ridgeland, and one in North west Jackson.  I am taking your advise, and switched my game plan to include a local agent or property manager to show the properties.  Thank you for advising the areas you recommend.  You've spent an incredible amount of time and resources in Jackson based on your figures.  Why did you choose to leave, and where did you go next?  

@Gustavo Delgado Thank you for the feedback Gustavo.  That's helpful advice!

@Jay Hinrichs. Thank you for that insight Jay.  Appreciate the feedback.  Hadn't considered that, so that just saved a few years off my life.  Thanks again!

I am an out-of-state investor living 1500 miles away from three properties that I am currently renovating to rent or to flip.  I am considering the pros/cons of doing this without a property manager or real estate agent.  It is a bad idea to screen and then show homes with a smart lock code that I can change?  If I use inside webcams, ring cams, and smart locks, is this a possible way to show homes to prospective renters or buyers? What do you think?  

That's great advice Skyler!  Thank you very much for sharing your wisdom!  

First time on this forum, and just introduced through two books I just read by David Greene and Brandon Turner.  I am 1600 miles away from three residential properties I just purchased in Jackson, Mississippi.  The properties range in price from $160,000 to $250,000.  My original plan was to utilize a real estate agent to be my property manager that I met through a Dave Ramsey referral program, but I'm exploring if I should attempt this on my own.  Also, since the books were several years old, I'm not sure if there is better software or apps like Zillow to use for managing a property.  

If I do this on my own, how would someone show a home long distance.  Smart locks connected to wifi?  Or would it be better just to have my agent show and list the property? 

Do you recommend I property manage this myself, or would that be a bad idea.  I have had my property manager paid to oversee the renovations.  It was taking weeks and months to make small progress on these properties, and I was getting discouraged at the lack of progress.   It was painfully slow, but I didn't know if that was the norm.  Maybe I need a new property manager.  She tends to take several days before she finally requests a contractor to go out and see the property to make a quote, and then another week before the contractor submits their quotes.  Finally, I used the Thumbtack app, and I made more progress in six days than I did in the past 75 days on painting, flooring, lighting install, HVAC repairs.

I currently use apartments.com for my automatic rent collection, so that system is helpful.  Is the Zillow system good for something like this? 

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!  Thank you!  -Steve