All Forum Posts by: Timmi Ryerson

You will need software to help you manage and advertise your fixed flips...I would offer you a tour of Smart Property Systems software. We have a link to a nationwide clearing house for investment properties.

Regards,

Try Smart Property Systems.  You can automate rent collection and other functions as well. You will love it.

Thanks Jill. I really am already having fun with this community. You have certainly chosen an interesting niche.  I have friends in So California who are in this business.  I look forward to learning more about what issues surround your sector.

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

Years ago in a previous chapter of life, I was a speech pathologist with a private practice in the Northwest.  After a very successful run, I was able to sell that practice and used the money to invest in residential rental properties. I bought duplexes in a quiet neighborhood and we into the property management business for myself.  That was before software was available.  I had so many experiences and learned lessons usually the hard way.  But they were a great investment.  

After 20 years of owning the properties, I sold them for a 400 % profit.   I then rested and enjoyed a few years of retirement.  But eventually I was bored and decided to find the next grand adventure; so when offered the opportunity, I bought a company that offered cloud application software for property management.  I currently have several Facebook sites and a twitter presence, of course to showcase our software. But my goal in this forum is to offer experiential comments and also learn from other members what new problems are facing property managers around the world.  I look forward to meeting you.

I live in Sun Valley Idaho.  And Yes I do ski and ride my horses and harvest eggs from our chickens daily.

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

To Christine,

You should definitely stop work and contact the building dept.  As for penalties, I don't know about that but with walls being removed, it requires engineering to be sure that the unit is structurally sound.  That will require an inspection.  The electrical work will also require inspection.  It is really for your own protection and we all dislike having to wait for the inspector to show up...especially if he has a backlog and is late as it delays the progress.  It is my opinion that if you get the permits and cooperate with the City that you will not be fined.  It is when you finish a remodel and have not gotten the permits that the problems start.  If that were the case, they may not allow the remodel and require you to tear it down and start again.  

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

To Ken who is replacing cabinets and a sink and counter top.  As long as you are doing no structural changes, plumbing changes like moving pipes and electrical changes like upgrading a service, or changing the foot print of the building you will not need a permit.

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

I have stayed away from using these kinds of lists for several reasons.  First, most of our marketing is done using email and the major email companies like Mail Chimp and Constant Contact do not allow use of purchased lists.  I am sure that it is because there is a high bounce rate for these lists.  We have been sent sample lists from about 5 different list providers.  Our sales team then tries the data for each listing on the sample and we have never found that there were any users in our target market.  The other issue was that most of the time, the names given were not decision makers so the advertising effort would basically fall on deaf ears.  Having said that, I have never actually bought a list so only can speak to the testing aspect of lists we have been sent.

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

Comps for sale with Zillow are, according to my real estate agent daughter usually below market.  But rents tend to be a bit more accurate.  We refer our subscribers to Rentometer.com.  They have free comps and paid comps.  They have been in business for many years and their data base is good.   I find their comps to be very accurate and reliable.

SPS is in Sun Valley and we have many relationships in Boise. It is a great town for investing and quality of life is great.  Good luck with your project.

Timmi Ryerson

Smart Property Systems

I owned a large number of duplexes on a culs de sac in a town near Everett for over 20 years.  I managed them my self for awhile then hired a property manager. The PM stole me blind.  I finally audited my account and found that they had done things like bought 36 blinds for my unit which only had 8 windows.  Properties would sit vacant for over 4 months and one time they replaced a SECTION of a vinyl kitchen floor with a different kind of vinyl.  It was a night mare.  I am not saying that all PMs are like that but I had to pay off my contract and take my properties back.  I lived in a different state at the time and had to travel to manage because there were no software programs then.  I finally sold the whole portfolio for a fine appreciation.  

I went on to  buy a software company that provides tools for property management.  So based on my experience, I recommend that you start with finding a property management software that works for you.  Our alliance partner has software that will allow you to figure where you need to buy properties (price point) that will allow for a reasonable cash flow to start.  The staff here can help you when you have questions, and keep you moving forward and hopefully at least break even for awhile.  You do not want to purchase a property which when rented does not pay all costs or it will come out or your own pocket.  The idea is to profit immediately even if it is only a small amount.  Best of luck to you. And remember, don't go through this alone.

My business is property management software and buy and flip management software. We use many vendors to perform the services, like payment processors, listing services, screening services and none of them are BBB rated.  But we do get calls often from review companies who, for a few thousand $$, will give you a good review, but it is just not the same as getting those reviews from happy customers.  There is software that you can get and put on you landing/web page that allows your customers to review your company. Check with your web programmer. Also Capterra does have customer reviews and they do a good job even if you do not buy into their pay per click business model.  So that is a free rating service from your happy customers.  You just have to ask your happy customers to log in and write a review.  G2 Crowd also allows ratings and does all of the SEO for you (search engine optimization) but the drawback is that reviewers have to be users on linked in.  We find that most of our property managers and many investors are not on linked in so the review opportunity is limited. My best advice is that the best ratings come from happy customers
who you are not paying money to for their good words.