All Forum Posts by: Tracy Streich

I have not worked with Brad.   I have known him for several years and he has a great reputation.

Most PM's charge a %. Typically 8-10%. Anything over 10% is too much.  Some will charge a flat fee depending on the level of service you want.   A great PM in your market is Brad LARSEN with LARSEN Properties.  An

We use Appfolio.  We recently went through every big software for demo to see if we wanted to change.   We looked at Yardi, Rent Manager and buildium.   I think AF is $1.25 per unit but they may have a $200 minimum.   I do however think if you are mainly wanting the accounting side you should look at Rent Manager as well.   Good Luck

I was using excel unit I hit about 100 properties.   It will change your life to transition to a PM software.  Appfolio, Buildium and Rent Manager are three of the best out there.   They all have the basics down but each has a little different twist on the features.   They will do free demos.  You can track all payments and expenses as well as generate notices, auto bill late fees and many other things.   Good luck.......full disclosure I use Appfolio

I always try to get them onto my lease.   You have to honor the current lease.   What I usually tell the tenant is I like to have everyone on the same lease so I don't get confused.   I ask them to sign my lease with the same rent, same deposit and same terms as far as length of the lease.   That then gets them on the lease with my verbiage so I can reply with some sort of confidence when they ask questions without having to review every lease. 

I figure if I get three tenants from carpet I have won the rental carpet lottery.   You are typically not buying a high quality carpet expected to last for years and years.   If someone is willing to split cost on something that old I would take it.   Also we have tried to move away from carpet all together unless we have to have it.  We are using a glue down vinyl wood plank that looks awesome.  If one gets damaged we pop it up and replace one piece.   Our cost installed on that is about $2.25 psf.                                                             

The problem you find with Property Management franchises is that are often just someone looking to own a business and they think PM is just easy money.   They may have no background in real estate.   A great resource is the National Association of Property Managers.   You can google them and find a property manager that is affiliated with them in just about any area of the country.   Many of them have special designations within NARPM showing your they have completed a certain level of education.  

Have you checked with any of the smaller local banks.   We have had great success in Tulsa with this type of lender.  Maybe someone like Regent Bank or similar size.  We have been able to do as little as 15% down on occupied performing properties 

Rick,

I agree with John. In the Tulsa market you have to decide if you are looking for straight cash flow or appreciation. With the SFR you will likely get better appreciation over the long haul. With Multi you are right you can consolidate your cost under one roof. The exit plan is much different with each of these as well. When you are ready to sell the Multifamily you are likely selling to an investor like you and they want a good deal. With SFR you can sell to an investor or you can sell to an end user that is going to live there and typically get a higher price than selling to an investor.