All Forum Posts by: Wade Williams

@Robert Haworth is correct. This would be a comfort issue, not a landlord breach of obligation. We have cold weather here in Iowa as well and heat pumps take some adjusting to get balanced properly. I find it hard to believe the city would not allow duct work to a floor (never heard of such a thing). Work with the landlord to get the balancing correct. If he is running heat pump he may be able to just add a mini split to the first floor for added power. Winters aren't going away so he will have this issue with any tenant and thus should be incentivized to keep you and find a way to resolve this. If he drags his feet, remind him that a poor online review on a single dwelling will make re-renting difficult and likely cost more than the resolution. Good luck!

@Tina Jenkins Hello Tina, I service the Des Moines area and am familiar with Burlington, but not aware of any management teams there. I have a connection on Iowa City that 8 can reach out to and see if they would service it. Not in there typical service area, but even if they are not interested, they may know of a team to refer. How many units would you be looking at?

Definitely do not just let it shut off. That is poor management. Have the electric switch to your name (sorry if your electric provider is trash and doesn't notify you immediately) then evict the tenant properly. Do you believe the tenant is just going to somehow find money to move somewhere else and move out? Like Marcia said, tenants like that will use other means and destroy the asset (your property). I promise a $100 electric bill for the month it takes to evict is cheaper than a new fridge (destroyed by mold), new paint (used candles), pipe break restoration (no heat in winter), or any other the other many issues that could arise. As a professional manager, I can tell you that my investors would think you are ludacris for believing doing nothing is a solution. Your a property manager - manage the property!

No security deposits! Very trusting you Canadians are.

It is clearly not normal wear and tear and no break in was reported or claimed by tenant = tenant charge.

 It is best to require utility account numbers prior to them getting keys. Also, you should setup a landlord account with the electric company so you are notified of a property disconnect and can it diverts back into your name automatically during turnovers. 

@Linda Weygant Our CPA assured us if the unit is used as an home office/model unit and market rent is paid for business purposes, it can be deductible. This could also be a considered a on-site manager unit for which you could pay yourself through the entity a fair market wage (rent) or pay the entity to have on-site leasing office. Linda, I would be interested in speaking more if there is flaws in this. Please message me if there are better options for such scenarios!

@Account Closed is correct. If your screening involves multiple area's of consideration (income, rental history, credit, etc.) and you remain consistent in all areas, you greatly reduce the chances of disparate impact. Rejecting ALL felons and sex offenders has recently been a topic of controversy for screening tenants. My recommendation would be to detail out the reject --  such as:

 - Applicants with felonies of malicious intent in the past 5 years = Rejected

 - Applicants with felonies of malicious intent over 5 years prior = Reviewed (may affect overall applicant "scoring")

 - Applicants with felonies of non-malicious intent in past 5 years = Reviewed (may affect overall applicant "scoring")

 - Applicants with felonies of non-malicious intent over 5 years prior = No impact

 - Sex Offenders = Reviewed (may affect overall applicant "scoring")

I would recommend having criteria in writing on how you review those marked "Reviewed" and this can vary from company, as long as it is consistent for all applicants. 

I believe the intentions of this are to press landlords to do some research before an automatic rejection based on one specific reason. If someone has a DUI felony from 9 years ago, and has been clean ever since, does that truly make them less likely to be a suitable tenant than a someone with 10 misdemeanors in the last 2 years? As for sex offenders, I have a friend who in college got drunk and was arrested for public urination and was put on the sex offenders list --  he is currently a doctor. 

As a note, this is not legal advice and you should have your screening criteria reviewed by an attorney.

Our lease has a "no alterations" clause that would not allow for any alterations that are not approved by the landlord. Any alterations should be reviewed by the landlord and performed by a professional of the landlord's choice and since this is a tenant request, it would be a charge they would need to incur. To cover yourself for insurance purposes, you could request the tenant to provide proof of renters insurance, if you do not already do so.

Iowa City cap rate is around 8% and cash flow is solid. If interested, I can get you in touch with a solid investor broker who also owns a property management firm (best in the area). I know all this because I worked there and maintained some very profitable accounts with less than 1% vacancy. 

Currently, I work for one of the biggest realty firms in Des Moines and there are good multifamily deals, but lots of investors buying. Most never makes it to the open market. Message me if you want to discuss more!

I can't speak to Buildium, but I have experience using AppFolio and would highly recommend it. With a very use-friendly interface and most all aspects of management covered, it is a great tool for any level of manager. 

It is really a one stop shop for all things management. Depending on the scale at which you plan to implement the software, I do recommend for large 3rd party solutions, supplementing some of the current software short-comings such as inspections, and maintenance asset tracking. For inspections, a great substitute would be Happy Inspector - a very thorough and customized inspection reporting software. For maintenance team management, FieldAware allows technicians schedules to be prioritized and easily tracked with job "Start", "Pause", and "Completed" status reporting, and mobile GPS tracking.

Currently, I use MRI X which seems to be specialized for apartment and community manage and allows for a lot of back-end modifications. We have a employee designated to the software, so I would not recommend it unless you plan to use it on a large (100+ units per location) scale.

Property management software is essential for maximizing efficiency and you can't go wrong with either.

If you have any questions about the applications mentioned above, please don't hesitate to message me.