All Forum Posts by: Shamus Wheeler

@Albert David Penney I initially thought the same thing, but its a $14 jump. This is obviously a personal decision, but it was worth it for me. I am self-managing, so $14/month to make life easier seemed like a no-brainer. I have 4 units now ($3.50/unit/month). When I have 20 units, it will be $0.70/unit/month. I like this fixed price structure. I feel like RentRedi is perfect for self-managing landlords who have a goal of getting their management done inexpensively until they grow to the point where they need enterprise-level software or professional management (~100 units in my mind). I know that this thread was originally for free property management software, but this has been my experience, and I have found RentRedi to be a great value. 

The top reason why I went with RentRedi is their customer service. I met the founder, @Ryan Barone , at a conference and he introduced me to the product. He pitched them as having great customer service, and he has not disappointed. 

@Albert David Penney I actually didn’t end up going with Cozy or Tellus. I decided to use RentRedi (https://rentredi.com) , and couldn’t be happier with the decision. In order, of most to least important, here is why:

1. Beyond amazing customer support. I think RentRedi is a smaller platform, and they are able to offer incredible support. I have always had my chat answered within a minute (literally), and always by the two cofounders, Ryan or Ed. They have answered my questions 100% of the time and have been patient with first-time landlord questions that I have had :)

2. Great product. They have both mobile, which my tenants require (lower income, no computer in household necessarily) and desktop, which is nice to use to crank out work as a landlord. The platform has everything that you need to run property management. I just had my first two units turnover, and that process was made easier by RentRedi. Tenants like the professional look of the pre-application, and I found that potential tenants who most likely won’t qualify don’t even bother to apply when you send them an official looking application (I’m sure the same is true with other platforms as well, just can’t speak to those personally). Tenant screening are done through TransUnion SmartMove, which is seamless. Payments come through Intuit, which has low transaction costs.

3. BP Pro Discount. With the discount, RentRedi is like $14/month. Can’t go wrong. I can see being able to scale RentRedi to a decent sized portfolio, and the price is fixed. The BP pro discount is what initially made me go with RentRedi. I felt that if someone at BP thought they were good enough to put them in the discount program, then they must be good. The “BP seal of approval” was more important than the discount to me, and honestly, I would still pay $20/month for RentRedi if I didn’t have a BP pro account.

Hope this helps. Sorry to give you one more platform to evaluate. I am biased because RentRedi is the only platform I have used, but it has been a great experience for me. Let me know if you have any questions - I’d be happy to answer them.

Thanks @Steve Hall. In the process of doing that now. I don't think you're wrong!

Hello BP,

I have been racking my brain over this deal and am looking for any advice that someone may have.

Here is the link to the BP calculator: View report

This property is a 13 unit multifamily property. It has 2 buildings, one is 8 units and one is 5 units. I negotiated a purchase price of $469,000. The seller has agreed to provide 80% seller financing. We agreed on a 5.5% interest rate. The seller initially agreed to 10-year amortization, but then agreed to a graduated mortgage, with payments of $2,650/month + $200/month/year. With this structure, I will increase my cash flow in the beginning and have a total payoff time of 11 years and 10 months.

The current rent roll is $10,760/month.

This property is in a rural setting in the Catskill, NY area. The town it is in has a population of 6,700 and is located in Greene County, NY. The population is flat to slightly declining. From talking to brokers in the area, transaction volume has increased significantly in the past year for small multifamily.

The property has a lot of deferred maintenance. All of the repairs are cap ex that will not increase the rent roll. The roofs need to be replaced, etc. I have included the Full Inspection Report for anyone who is interested in this information.

Some of the rents are at market and a few are below market. I plan on rehabbing the units as tenants move out and raising the rents to market at that time. Over time, rent roll should be able to be increased to $11,400/month.

There is a management office on the property that has a half bathroom. I am looking into converting this to an additional studio apartment. However, I don't think this will make an impact on the investment decision.

The property has two septic systems. One needs a new tank (inspector said ~$10,000) and the other needs some minor work (inspector said ~$1,000). The other issue with the septic systems was that the leach fields were dry after the inspector flowed water to them. However, no dye showed up in the surrounding areas. Water tests done on the wells were positive. I have included the Septic Report 1 and Septic Report 2 for anyone who is interested in this information.

I know that taking on this project will be a JOB. I am interested in using this deal as a springboard to get into larger deals. I live near this property. 

What am I missing? Do you think the capital expenditures will kill a deal like this? I am enthusiastic, but slightly hesitant to pull the trigger. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Following! (Thanks for asking this question - hope someone has some good insights)

Congrats on the aquisition @Robert Clausen!

Are you planning to market to nursing students? If so, what strategies are you thinking? I have been interested in marketing rentals to medical professionals for awhile, but haven't done any deals like this yet. 

Hi @Parth Patel!

I started my RE education in March 2016 (BP Podcast Ep. 164 was the first episode I listened to). I closed my first deal on April 1, 2019. This length of time was more about getting my finances in order than aquiring more knowledge. I spent 3 years learning from podcasts, books, and analyzing deals. I still wasn't "ready" to do my first deal. First deals just have to be DONE!

I would suggest:

1. Share the details of prospective deals with people that have experience (or get feedback in forums)
2. Find a deal that is "easy". No major rehabs, nothing too big, nothing requiring major repositioning.
3. Make this deal as small a part of your total financial position as possible. This deal is to learn. Save capital for once you have confidence and a strategy. 

One other thing I forgot to mention:

A lock box for keys that contractors can access in an emergency is helpful. I know that there are some electronic ones that you can see a record of who entered it, change the password, etc. on your phone. I am personally using a basic mechanical one as of now. Just make sure that you manage access and change the password when appropriate. I don't have a full system worked out around this yet. 

Hi @Matt McCurry,

I just started "self"-managing an out-of-state property. I use the quotes around self because it obviously takes a team when you are managing from a distance. I don't have enough experience to give you any sort of track record for this system, but here is what I put in place:

1. I personally take all of the calls/messages from the tenants, and then pass that information on to my contractor. I know that this adds one more layer to the system, but I want to stay on top of what is happening at my property, and this is one way to do that. 

2. I have one main contractor that can handle 80%+ of any possible work that needs to be done. In my case, this happens to be my uncle, so I trust my life with him. I know this doesn't necessarily help you, but I mention it because I think you need to built a decent level of trust with at least one contractor. If you are buying a property somewhere, you must know a few people in that market. Ask them who they know that does that type of work and get a few references. In my opinion, it helps to have a point man who can be your eyes and ears and manage other contractors that do work. Pay this person generously. 

3. As @Nathan Gesner said, having a list of specialized contractors (plumber, electrician, etc.) is helpful so that when there is an issue, you can contact them quickly.

4. I haven't had any tenant turnover yet, but I've been talking to a younger, hungry RE agent in my market about handling my listings. If I can get him to do my showing process for 50% of one month's rent, I think it will be a mutually beneficial deal. 

All this being said, I agree with @Nathan Gesner on his advice. Managing from a distance can be difficult. A good property manager is worth the cost and a deal that is too thin to afford property management isn't a great deal. I am trying this system of self management because I am investing in my hometown, and thinking of building this system over time. I'm not doing it to save money, as much as I am doing it because there isn't a great property management option in my market. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I agree with @Faron Davidson that free screenings is a nice feature that Tellus offers. Does anyone have more experience using Tellus and doing tenant screenings?