Something that doesn't get talked about enough on the landlord side: every handyman, cleaner, and contractor who steps onto your property is a liability question. If someone gets hurt and their insurance lapsed, guess whose property they were on. I work with property managers and landlords on the...
Hey everyone! I am new here and looking to buy out of state and wanted to see if anyone had any advice as to how to manage your property independently, even out of state. I know it’s typically unconventional but I am not looking to build a huge portfolio, but keep a low overhead on what I do end ...
Hello, I’m out of state and wanted to check if anyone has used or heard of AAA Sahbudak in Orange Park, FL to manage their rentals. I‘m being approached but can’t find much information online and wanted to do my due diligence. Thanks
Hi everyone, I got a property manager to run my LTR for the past 1.5 years due to things happening in my personal life. Now that things are settled, I am planning to transition back to self-management. Nothing against the property manager. Not bad but not notably amazing. For those of you who hav...
Hello, I rented a single family home to a family with two toddlers, and within 2 months of living in this home (new construction new home) they called and said there was dampness around washing machine. I sent the plumber out and he said there was nothing wrong with the machine (it is a brand new...
I own 27 rental units across the U.S. and Canada. Cash flow gets most of the attention, but I also want to know how much debt I’ve paid down and how my equity has changed. I am horrible at keeping track of receipts and I have two year ends. One in Canada one in the US. Which sucks because year en...
Happy Thursday everyone. Three more observations from the self-managing side of rental property. Three Landlord Tips 1. Look beyond the repair bill. A $1,500 repair may look better than a $6,000 replacement, but the lowest price today isn’t always the lowest cost over time. Age, repair history, e...
Two tax seasons of receipt archaeology later, I landed on a system that actually stuck: 1. Every rental dollar gets categorized the month it's spent — I use the Schedule E categories as my chart of accounts (advertising, cleaning, insurance, repairs, etc.), so the year-end summary maps straight t...
I manage rentals across the south and southwest Chicago suburbs, and the markets that keep producing steady cash flow are the ones a lot of out of state investors skip. A few I would point newer investors to: Matteson: single family and small multifamily at accessible entry prices with steady ren...
I'm self managing 5 rental properties and one of my most time-consuming task is handling comminications between tenants. I have a 9-5 so I'm always juggling from scheduling repairs, or going back and forth with tenants. I'm curios if you guys having the same expeience and if you u are using a som...
When I review rental performance, I want to know how much of the shortfall keeps coming from the same addresses. A portfolio can collect 95% of rent and still have a handful of properties consistently consuming reserves, staff time, and the cash flow generated elsewhere. That distinction matters ...
I recently hired a property manager for my Houston rental property. A contractor disabled the HVAC system for an inspection and did not turn it back on. I only noticed because my electricity usage dropped significantly. I alerted the PM and they sent someone out and now I owe them $200 for the vi...
Hello friends. An outdoor living contractor screened in a patio a few years ago and added a small section of roof to the existing patio roof. This addition has been leaking since it was built just under 3 years ago. They have been tinkering since. Show up, disappear for a few months, show up agai...
Here’s one I’d love to hear other property managers and landlords weigh in on: Do you believe good property management leaves room for exceptions, or should the policy be the policy? I’m a big believer in policies and procedures. Not because every situation is exactly the same, but because consis...
Hi all!! I'm new to the STR world and I'm curious what applications/tools investors/managers/owners are using to track their STR performance against the market. Specifically, anything which turns market data into clear actions/insights. E.g. what to change on a listing, what to improve in the hom...
For owners who use a property manager, how are you checking that the net deposit that hits the bank actually matches the owner statement? I am curious whether people reconcile the rent, PM fee, repairs, reserves, and owner draw line by line, or only look at the final payout. The mismatches I watc...
Wondering if there are product recommendations to monitor multiple properties for heating and cooling failures? I see there are multiple products that monitor temperature and humidity and as well as alert, have a different price point as well as subscription options etc. Appreciate recommendation...
Hi team. I'm looking for a good PM in the Cincinnati, OH area with good referrals, good communication skills, and clear accounting systems. Any good or bad suggestions? Thank you.
I’m looking for recommendations from other real-estate investors for a real-estate-focused bookkeeper or accountant. I live in California but own a rental portfolio in Missouri, with a mix of long-term, mid-term and short-term rentals. I do my own bookkeeping and transitioned to REI Hub in Januar...
TL;DR: Bought a Memphis rental in December with tenants already in place who had a history of paying on time. They’re now ~3 months behind and only making partial payments. PM put them on a $500/week payment plan, which worked for about a month, but communication has since fallen apart. I’ve text...
A late fee clause in a management agreement trips up a lot of owners, and I am curious how the people here handle it. When a tenant pays a late fee, who keeps it in your setup: the owner or the management company? I have seen it go both ways. Some agreements let the manager retain late fees as pa...
Hi everyone, I work in bookkeeping for real estate investors, mainly self-managing landlords and various size portfolios. I come from an audit / private equity accounting background and have been spending more time in the real estate space. From what I see, most bookkeeping issues don’t come from...
Every rental property needs a maintenance reserve. The question is how much. A general rule in Chicago's south suburbs: budget 8-10% of gross rent annually for routine maintenance, plus a separate capital reserve for major systems. Roof, furnace, water heater, appliances, all have a lifespan. Whe...
Happy Thursday everyone. Three more observations from the self-managing side of rental property. A lot of landlords keep an eye on the bank account to see how the rental is doing. I do too. But the balance in that account and the financial performance of the property are not necessarily telling y...
Hello! Future first-time landlord here, about to start shopping for multi-family rentals in the Twin Cities. Before I buy, I’m trying to learn from people who’ve already been through this. For those of you self-managing 1-5 units: how do you currently find contractors you trust (plumbers, electri...