All Forum Posts by: Timmi Ryerson

Molly I use Smart Property Systems. They have a simple to use but robust platform.  I know that they are coming out with a new tech stack soon that promises to blow the rest away.  Just a suggestion.  I have a small portfolio.

Welcome @Drea.  Are you related to Ray?  This is a great place to find answers to questions.  Wish you luck with building your portfolio.

Timmi Ryerson

I use Smart Property Systems.  It is affordable.  It is easy to use and it has all of what I need...rent collection automated and accounted for.......my tenants like it.

I use Smart Property Systems software to manage my units.  I do my own tenant screening and placement of tenants. But we have a screening tool from Transunion in the software.  I was told by Transunion that we cannot keep the reports longer than 60 days in our software but we are allowed to print the reports.  If it were me, I would want to know at least what the report said about the tenant or get a print copy for my records especially if they are only doing placement and you are stuck with the tenants that they choose.  If they do not comply, I would either change companies or try a software with web flyers to find applicants and do your own screening.  It takes me about 2 minutes to request a screening report for an applicant.  

I use Smart Property Systems software to manage my units.  I do my own tenant screening and placement of tenants. But we have a screening tool from Transunion in the software.  I was told by Transunion that we cannot keep the reports longer than 60 days in our software but we are allowed to print the reports. Do the reports go away automatically after 60 days in my tenant screening report section of the software. If it were me and I used a placement company to find tenants, I would want to know at least what the report said about the tenant or get a print copy for my records. This would be especially true if they are only doing placement and you are stuck with the tenants that they choose.  If they do not comply, I would either change companies or try a software with web flyers to find applicants and do your own screening.  It takes me about 2 minutes to request a screening report for an applicant.  

I use software called Smart Property Systems. It is affordable and has everything I need.  My tenants pay rent through their tenant portal and it goes right into my account.  The accounting for rent payments is done by the software.  I use the built in tenant screening and the built in web flyers when I have a vacancy.  I have 5 units now (used to have way more) but it costs me about $30 per month.  I love it. My tenants love paying rent in seconds.

I have a few rentals and use software to manage my properties. It costs me about $18.50 per month and it is automated.  There are many software companies out there but I use Smart Property Systems.  It automates most everything. But if you do use a property management company, I recommend that you ask about their software.  If they don't use software, you are going to have issues.

I recommend Ali Horn of Smith and Coelho. She is located in Eagle and knows the market well.  It is a fast moving market for sure.

Software will really help you get off to a good start. I use Smart property systems. It does everything I need and most is automated. My tenants pay rent online and the accounting is done for me. You will need to interview some vendor/contractors. The first one I recommend is someone who can inspect the property before you buy it. You will need to know what needs to be repaired or if there are fatal flaws in the building. After you buy a building or SFR you will need a tenant or tenants if they are not already in residence. (I never like to keep tenants that were already there unless they have great rental history and pay rents on time every month.) You will need to have repair people that you can count on. I suggest interviewing several plumbers, electricians and appliance repair people to find out how long they take to respond to your work orders and what their pricing is. I always suggest that you get some of their customers who also own rentals that you can call as references for their timeliness and quality of their work as well as cost effectiveness. It is a must to use tenant screening when choosing a tenant. I use the built in screening in my software. It gives me a credit report, criminal history if there is any, and I can also get an eviction history if I want to.

Be sure that you have a really good lease agreement.  NARPM has templates and will give them to you for free.  My software has a library and I have my lease templates loaded there.  One other thing.  I suggest that you check local rents for comps in your area.  I use rentometer.com for free comps.  Finally, do read books on property management and be sure that you are familiar with the landlord tenant laws for your state.  Good Luck!!!

I had a complex that was on one bill.  It was a nightmare to try to charge tenants because so many just used excess water all of the time...like leaving the hose running overnight on a driveway.  I put meters in and it changed their behavior.  I could now charge them for their fair share and they stopped wasting the resource.  It also made the property much more valuable when I put it for sale.  I recommend that you do it.