Real Estate Professional · Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 20 votes
I self-manage a few properties remotely and I couldn't find an affordable solution for managing my properties. I like buildium, but $150 / month is expensive. I also tried out hiring property managers but 10% of rent is a big cut for my profit margin and I had some bad experience with some dishonest property managers who bill me for works not being done.
As a software engineer, I have decided to build a software solution for the problems aforementioned. Do you have guys experience the same problems that I have? If you do, I can share the system that I have developed with you and see whether you find it useful or not. Yes, it is FREE for BiggerPockets community. PM me for details.
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
If you want other software sites I've been collecting to compare what others offer:
1) Cozy.co this is what I use currently, it's also free and allows tenants to autopay from any checking account. It only costs if they want to pay by debit card, and if they are getting background checks and such. However I don't think they organize any type of accounting for year end or tracking of expenses to give to an accountant. That would be a big thing. 2) Crimereports.com - Helpful when proving a safe neighborhood to a tenant or shopping for other rentals to purchase. 3) Rentometer.com - Helpful for figuring out if your rent is too high/low based on who else is renting. 4) Erentpayment.com - Haven't used but I wrote it down for future consideration.
Perhaps links to websites with contractors? Not sure how in-depth this could be. Taskeasy, Pro.com, Homeadvisor, thumbtack, and porch
A tab for Landlords and the laws in their states. Much like Landlordology.com and mrlandlord.com.
A really cool feature would be some sort of pie chart or graph showing how each property is doing. Something small but that takes the financial numbers like rent, debt payments, expenses, ect and shows what numbers you're getting from it.
Specialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
What was your biggest challenge as an out of town landlord.. Normally you can create structure and policies and procedures for the 80% of the issues. It is the 20% of the humanizing that needs someone there on the ground. This 20% is normally where you make or lose money in my experience and why a PM company if they are a partner are worth their weight. One overpriced vendor or tenant that skips wipes out your entire year of savings of not having someone there. The other thing you will always want to be aware of and you can not put a price on is the mental stress factor of dealing with something without any eyes to have on the challenge at hand,,,,,,Just food for thought
What was your biggest challenge as an out of town landlord.. Normally you can create structure and policies and procedures for the 80% of the issues. It is the 20% of the humanizing that needs someone there on the ground. This 20% is normally where you make or lose money in my experience and why a PM company if they are a partner are worth their weight. One overpriced vendor or tenant that skips wipes out your entire year of savings of not having someone there. The other thing you will always want to be aware of and you can not put a price on is the mental stress factor of dealing with something without any eyes to have on the challenge at hand,,,,,,Just food for thought
@Steve Rozenberg: I agree with you that someone should be there to take a look what's going on with the properties, especially when problems arise. The problem that I had with my ex-PM was there isn't much transparency of what's being done on my properties. I get billed for works that sometimes surprise me, and that affects my ROI. Did I get bad PMs before? What software solutions your firm use that could help solve problems that I am facing.
Specialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Kenson Goo that's a great question. I look at the same as if you go out to eat and have a bad meal, do you stop eating? Or see bad movie you don't stop going to theater. If you have a bad experience in business you don't write off the whole industry. You assess what went wrong and what you could have made more clear to defined the relationship. I think some of the challenges most of the newer property owners have specially when they're working with the property manager is they do not set realistic expectations of what it is that they want to happen and maybe they do not have realistic expectations may be due to lack of experience of what is going to happen.
A good property manager will be a huge value and partner to help you not only grow your current portfolio but to help you be successful and grow your assets over time.
Even though you have a piece of real estate the one thing many people forget is that it is a relationship business not just transactional. meaning a piece of software is not gonna help you create a relationship with vendors ,tenants , current environment and things like that to be able to help you be successful overtime.
Unfortunately I found this is why many people fail in real estate is because they think of it as a transaction and not as a relationship business And try to solve things with a program and not a telephone.
Real Estate Professional · Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 20 votes
9y
Yes, but that comes with a huge price tag right? 10 to 12% of rent is a big hit for ROI. I do understand that you come from PM side of view, and I do think you guys offer great services. But, don't you think many parts of the services could be done by landlords with software? Many of us probably won't own more than 5 rental properties in the next 3 years, especially for those who are starting out. Our goal is to maximize our returns. I had a PM who found me a bad tenant before and I still have to pay them monthly 11 percent of the rent. I still think that software could help in many processes of property management.
Anyone else who self-manage your properties minds to chip-in your input?
Vendor · Glenn Dale, MD · Member since 2014 · 25 posts · 9 votes
9y
@Kenson Goo how many units are you managing? Did you include property management in your analysis of the properties before you brought them? It is always good to include the cost of property management when analyzing any deal. Somebody is doing the work of managing the property even if it is you.
Real Estate Professional · Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 20 votes
9y
@Cornelius Dudley, I manage 5 properties remotely. Yes, I use 1% rule in evaluating a deal. How about yourself? Do you hire a PM for all your rental properties?
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Cool of you to offer, Kenson . What kind of issues does software address? Leases and doc signing? Service calls? I've been self-managing too many for too long and can't remember wishing I had more software. Thanks for any clarification.
Cool of you to offer, Kenson . What kind of issues does software address? Leases and doc signing? Service calls?
I've been self-managing too many for too long and can't remember wishing I had more software. Thanks for any clarification.
Sure! I am addressing the maintenance request (service calls) part for now. The goal is to give landlords more transparency in what's being done on their rental properties. The system that I built will give you a clean log of works being done on your rental properties, including history, photos, and the conversation between you as a landlord, your tenants, and vendors.
I am thinking of building more features and I am wondering what else you guys need help with in self-managing your properties? I will take this as a way for me to contribute something meaningful back to this awesome BiggerPockets community in 2017.
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
I'm a fellow software/IT/dancing monkey myself. I'd be interested in taking a look at the software. I don't really think software can solve honesty issues though. Pictures and work orders can be sent via email by the PM if you require it in your contract that they provide pictures of all works done, etc. I'd have to actually see the software to see if it something that addresses something that can't be addressed via email.
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
One thought I had for software would be a way for tenants to request online maintenance and be able to upload pictures of the problem to allow remote owners to "see" what's going on. Perhaps you could also link those pictures or show them to contractors who could bid on the project so you know you're not getting a bad deal.
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
Obviously a portal for rental applications that says 1) Price for rental 2) Policies on pets 3) Background check (and way for applicants to pay the fee online) 4) Credit check 5) Way for applicants to submit verification of income?
Real Estate Professional · Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 20 votes
9y
@Jonathan Johnson I think we are like-minded. That's exactly what I have built - a system that allows tenants to submit pictures of videos when filling a maintenance request. I have messaged you details.
Obviously a portal for rental applications that says 1) Price for rental 2) Policies on pets 3) Background check (and way for applicants to pay the fee online) 4) Credit check 5) Way for applicants to submit verification of income?
Do you use any software for this step of property management now? I think there are many solutions out there solve this problem. If that is what you guys want, I will build one very quickly.
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
If you want other software sites I've been collecting to compare what others offer:
1) Cozy.co this is what I use currently, it's also free and allows tenants to autopay from any checking account. It only costs if they want to pay by debit card, and if they are getting background checks and such. However I don't think they organize any type of accounting for year end or tracking of expenses to give to an accountant. That would be a big thing. 2) Crimereports.com - Helpful when proving a safe neighborhood to a tenant or shopping for other rentals to purchase. 3) Rentometer.com - Helpful for figuring out if your rent is too high/low based on who else is renting. 4) Erentpayment.com - Haven't used but I wrote it down for future consideration.
Perhaps links to websites with contractors? Not sure how in-depth this could be. Taskeasy, Pro.com, Homeadvisor, thumbtack, and porch
A tab for Landlords and the laws in their states. Much like Landlordology.com and mrlandlord.com.
A really cool feature would be some sort of pie chart or graph showing how each property is doing. Something small but that takes the financial numbers like rent, debt payments, expenses, ect and shows what numbers you're getting from it.
If you want other software sites I've been collecting to compare what others offer:
1) Cozy.co this is what I use currently, it's also free and allows tenants to autopay from any checking account. It only costs if they want to pay by debit card, and if they are getting background checks and such. However I don't think they organize any type of accounting for year end or tracking of expenses to give to an accountant. That would be a big thing. 2) Crimereports.com - Helpful when proving a safe neighborhood to a tenant or shopping for other rentals to purchase. 3) Rentometer.com - Helpful for figuring out if your rent is too high/low based on who else is renting. 4) Erentpayment.com - Haven't used but I wrote it down for future consideration.
Perhaps links to websites with contractors? Not sure how in-depth this could be. Taskeasy, Pro.com, Homeadvisor, thumbtack, and porch
A tab for Landlords and the laws in their states. Much like Landlordology.com and mrlandlord.com.
A really cool feature would be some sort of pie chart or graph showing how each property is doing. Something small but that takes the financial numbers like rent, debt payments, expenses, ect and shows what numbers you're getting from it.
You are on point. So, to summarize what you have said, you would like a system that integrates all these services? Is that the pain point that you are having?
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
Personally, all the financial ratios, calculations, payments, and expenses are hard to organize and understand. Obviously those are the heart and soul of real estate investing.