All Forum Posts by: Timmi Ryerson

Thanks Joe Splitrock.  But I have the ability on Smart Property Systems to let my tenant use or not use credit cards.  I used to have many more units than I have now but I have never had a charge back on either credit card or ach payment.  I always let my tenants pay their first month through the system as well because the accounting is automated.  Anyway...will stay where I am.  It works well for me.

I am not very familiar with Cozy.  I think it is free to the landlord.  But when charges are made the are to the tenant.  Correct me if I am wrong Cozy users.  I did not find that they provided enough information and accounting for my needs.  I use Smart Property Systems and pay around $18.50 per month for everything.  I get full accounting reports and my rent payments are automated.  They are in my account on the 3rd business day after the tenant makes the payment.  I just have my tenant pay 3 business days before the first of the month and they use a great tenant portal to do that.  All of my accounting is automated so I just check the rent roll to make sure everything is paid.  Sometimes it pays to pay a little for the service.

You have asked the question most people ask when they buy their first property.  Having been in the business of rentals for almost 35 years I can tell you from my experience, that using a property manager can be a trying experience.  It can also be expensive.

I use Smart Property Systems which is property management software.  It is very efficient, and automates most tasks.  Everything you need for management is included.  But you have to learn to use it and enter your expenses regularly for it to work optimally for you.  If you need assistance the customer service people will help you and if you need guidance as a landlord, they will answer your questions with information about best practices.

The only time I ever used a property management company it turned into a disaster for me. They did not do my turns, did a very poor (sloppy job on repairs) and embezzled money from my rents to buy supplies that were never used for my properties.  But I know that there are good property management companies out there.  If you decide to go that way, there are some very good people on this forum who can give you guidance as to what to ask when you interview a company. My suggestion is that you ask for a list of references of people who use their services and contact each one of them to discuss their results as owners.

Hope this helps.

Painting a whole unit is a big undertaking.  Usually everything has to be moved to the center of the room and covered.  The floors covered and windows taped.  Who is going to move the furniture and clothes out of closets?  I would have a planning conversation first with the painter and then, when I know his plan, with the tenants.  You would certainly want to be there to be sure that nothing is damaged.  I would discuss your concern with your vendor and see what they say.  Most professional painters are not theives.  It would ruin their repeat business.

There are kits you can buy to set up your booth.  I used a local company that produced a banner.  Usually the venue provides a table with a cloth and skirt.  Just get some promo materials, like a flyer listing what you do.  Be sure to have a guest book for people to sign and many business cards...5000 sounds about right.  It is really fun to talk to potential customers.  hope you have a great result.  Oh I also had a flag made that I could put out near the walk way..it attracted people to our booth.  Here is an example link:  https://www.signwindisplay.com/trade-show-displays/trade-show-booths?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi_TIta2y4QIV1rjACh3CiAe8EAAYASAAEgJL7vD_BwE  

I use Smart Property Systems and it has Transunion tenant screening built in.  I get my reports in about 10 minutes after the tenant has filled out their part.  I love it..so convenient along with all of the other good things that it does for my rental business. I charge $50 for the application fee. That covers my Smart Move report and the time I spend doing income verification and talking with references.  I know that some others in my area are charging up to $70 for credit checks etc.  

I agree with Theresa.  The Property Manager should be doing inspections of the property at least every 6 months.  At that time it would be clear that there were children and probably another adult living in the property.  I would not want to use a property management company that did not know who was living in the property at any given time.  But I do agree that this kind of issue can be worked out with an agreement that your property manager does inspections. I would also ask them to send you copies of the inspection reports.  For sure having kids and another adult will cause more wear and tear on the property.  It may be a good reason to raise the rent at the next lease renewal period.

Wow that is a lot for snow removal.  I live in Sun Valley Idaho and we had 17 feet of snow and our association did not get charged that much for the whole two months of heavy snow fall to remove the snow from the roads.  We have a snow blower and blow or our driveways and walkways.  Sorry about that situation.  You may want to try calling other vendors for snow removal and get an idea of what they charged...but it sure sounds like you got taken here.

You will need to read your contract to see what the terms are first of all.  Do they promise an itemized statement monthly? (they should)  When you say they are charging more that 8% does that mean that they are charging for rent collection at 8% and adding other charges or maybe you cannot see what they are charging you for.  If your contract states that you will just be paid an amount each month, but does not promise a statement you may have trouble in court getting the contract terminated.  

I had this issue with a property management company.  They were leaving my units vacant for many months at a time (loss of income to me) and after an audit, my accountant found that they were charging me for materials that were being used for repairs that were not on my property.  But I lost in court for my request to cancel the contract even with this proof.  So that is why I suggest that you read your contract carefully.

Good luck.

I own a well known software for property management that also collects rent online.  We have happily never had this come up as an issue in 10 years of doing rent collection.  And just to set the situation stage for my response to you, this was not caused by Cozy or the rent collection tools they offer.  It is a problem caused by banking and credit card rules.  People are allowed by the banks to pull back rent if there are repairs that are not done, or there is not heat or hot water for example.  But the landlord has the ability to prove his/her side too.

This is what I recommend that you do immediately.  Contact your bank and file a fraud dispute.  They will fill out the paperwork and ask you to provide documentation that addresses the facts. If you have an eviction, that documentation will suffice.  If you only asked her to leave with out court action, you need to provide the lease with proof of what she owed and also the documents you served her for the eviction or lease cancellation.   It should take from 10 to 15 days for them to replace that money.  

But here is the real bug in the oatmeal.  If the tenant gets the money back out of your account from the bank and then, before the bank makes its determination about who is actually owed the money, and the tenant closes that account, you have no ability to recoup your money. The bank will not cover it.  

You would need to seek a remedy by filing a court action against the tenant and here you go again.  But this time you can charge the tenant court fees and late fees for the rent until paid.  You will likely get a judgment but it will be hard to collect.  The best thing you would thing that you could do is to record your judgment and report it to credit bureaus.   But the bad news there is that credit bureaus are no longer listing judgments against people.  So in this case I would record the eviction and that WILL go on the tenant's credit record.  

If you do this right away before this tenant has the ability to find another place to live, it is likely that the tenant will have problems because it will show up in the tenant screening reports.  Of course there are so many mom and pop landlords who will not use tenant screening but if they get refused enough times, that tenant will come back to you and ask for a deal in return for releasing the eviction.  That is your only chance to recover what you are owed.

But in defense of automated rent collection, once again my company has not had this happen.  Automated rent collection is still by far the easiest solution an best option for responsible tenants and landlords/PMs everywhere.