All Forum Posts by: Paul Kuhn

@Kristine Norris

Try using Hemlane, can call in backup if needed. Can get a real estate agent to help you lease while you manage the rest of the property. I just started using them, their interface is pretty nice. Wished everything was all under one roof, but they have tools to help bring it sort of under one roof.

@Eric James the property manager makes or breaks the out of state investing, even local! Been 10 years with The Home Store managing my rental and has been great.

Check out the https://getrentcheck.com/ great app and website integration that you can do yourself for move-in, annual, or move-out inspection, you may also have the tenant do their own inspection. Prints out to a PDF form document for record keeping. 

Any updates to experience with this reporting agency?

@Albert Wright I have had the same experience with incorrect "get ready" cost that I paid for, and what shows up on their ledger, a $2000 difference. Not only that, the turnover work was terrible, light fixtures that were "replaced" were not replaced, even though I paid for it(can see this discrepancy from their inspection report and scope of work report). Paint touchups that did not match the paint, it was so bad, I thought it was the water leak my tenant requested to be fixed weeks earlier! (leak was in a different room from the photo I saw).

Regarding the remote showings, the door was left open in the dead of winter, "viewers" trashing the property... Nothing replaces a licensed or trusted person showing the property. 

We also have had multiple incorrect billings, one example is being double-billed $300 for pest control (thankfully my wife was able to get the double charge removed, but if she wasn't tracking the property statement, we would have ate the cost). 

Albert, as you can see Great Jones reads BP, cc Max in your e-mails, you might get a quicker response... My tenants made multiple attempts to report a water leak, which was dealt with until I asked for help on BP yesterday 4/26. 

Check out TrueSubmeter , the owner is on BP too. I use their services for my triplex, which the city will not submeter. I just plug in the sewer, water, and trash rate, and it generates a bill based on usage. That bill is passed onto the tenants, which they pay with their rent. 

TrueSubmeter has a couple options, if piping is separate, you can mainline the submeter (which I did due to repiping the building, I had quest piping!) or place a meter at each point of use. The meters transmit a reading to a router which then is readable online, or emailed on the 1st of the month.

The Home Store based in Ferndale, MI is a fantastic property manager. They have managed my property for over 11 years. https://www.thehomestoresite.c... I have had 0 vacancies, quick to respond to maintenance requests, great communication, and honest above all. This company sets the bar for other PM companies I have dealt with for my other properties in various states. 

For various reasons, a family member decided to use a different property manager in the Detroit area, the property was not performing at all. After switching to The Home Store, the property is now a gem, cash flowing very well.

Any further updates from everyone's experience? 

@Drew Sygit just realized you are from Birmingham, MI. "The Home Store" has set the bar for us for property management, a fantastic company managing for us for 11years. Can't say enough good things about the company, responsive to the tenants and owners, and honest above all else. 

A good property manager really makes or breaks a rental.

Update: I was able to reach the maintenance repair line from the tenant line (owner's line states "we're closed"). From there I was able to ask for the tenants' phone number so I could reach out to them directly. Apparently, that's not the water damage, it is just a bad paint job Great Jones did in turnover they charged me 3k for. The water damage is in another room not covered by the photo. The tenant is moving out in 10 days. Very frustrating as they have sent multiple maintenance requests to have it fixed. 

This is the statement from the tenant, "I've reached out many times but my requests weren't really being heard up until now." Now is me finding out the tenant's phone number and reaching out to them personally.