All Forum Posts by: Tim VandenToorn

@Noah Stang This is Tim from United Properties.  I would love to talk about what to expect. 

@Ben Durwood is your property a single family or a duplex?  I would be happy to review your cost to see if there is room for improvement or is the cost are standard.  No obligation.  Generally if it is a multi-family the owner is responsible for lawn and snow, but not always. There are alot of factors to consider in who pays what.  

I thought I would take a minute to jump into this discussion, after seeing several people indicate this would be "lazy " of a PM company. I own a management company and recently we have been using these automated boxes more and more. We have a full-time in-house leasing agent on our staff showing properties Monday through Friday 10-6. With these boxes we now have a leasing agent full-time and an option for prospective tenants during extended hours, and 7 days a week. I disagree that using these boxes makes a management company lazy. We started small and when we noticed the success we slowly implemented more and more boxes. On the contrary of being lazy these boxes actually require a great deal of work, yet they allow tenants to virtually view the house 24 hours a day. We have set limits from 7a-7pm, but these restrictions can be customized. Furthermore instead of only showing the properties between business hours, now tenants who are employed can only view after hours, or on weekends at their convenience. This is actually allowing us to rent properties faster. This doesn't just put money in our pockets, but benefits the owners vacancy rates and ultimately his ROI.

Welcome @Tyler Hull.  Happy to help or give advice if needed! 

Thanks for mentioning that! 

@Dan Selleck happy to help if you have specific questions on the GR market!

@Monique H. welcome!  I started with the same  Dave Ramsey philosophy...which has developed into a hybrid since ;)  Obviously it's all about the numbers so be careful and evaluate the property with professionals who know the rental market!  There is tremendous opportunity in Grand Rapids, and a great resource here at Nigger Pockets.  If you need any help please let me know. 

@chase Congradulations on the purchase!  Keep us posted on your first experience.  We would love to hear if  you met your goals when the first tenant has moved in!

@Julie Seger  I am not allowed to self promote so I can't direct you to my own brokerage.  If you need any help or have questions about investing or being a realtor let me know and I would be happy to give advice =)  As the others mentioned it really depends on what your goals are. If you are looking to buy and sell traditional real estate they may be better options out there, however if your focus is investments look for a brokerage that handles investment properties as a focus.  One caveat to low fees is minimal support.  If you are looking for alot of training the larger brokerages may be a good option. 

Paul, keep me posted on your Facebook experience.  We also post there on occasion but mostly when looking for a low income tenants.  The quality I have found has been lacking, but perhaps posting on the Marketplace is a good option.