Hi all, Is anyone having any issue with Decas Group in Birmingham? I have used Decas for a couple of years without issues. Typically, Paige and her team are very responsive. However, in the last couple of months I have been struggling to get a hold of them. They seem to be ghosting me. Not sure i...
Curious to hear from investors who own rentals in Cleveland, especially those investing from out of state. What has been the biggest challenge with managing your portfolio lately? Tenant placement? Maintenance costs? Communication? Turnover? Rent collection? Finding reliable contractors? I work w...
We do something in our property management company that I know some landlords and PMs disagree with: We require an application before we schedule a showing. I've gotten some pushback on that recently, and I understand the argument. We're intentionally adding friction at the top of the funnel, and...
Hello BP community. I am new to the Landlord realm. I'm ready to rent out to tenants. What is the best software to use? I've narrowed it down to BP's Rent Redi or Tennant Cloud. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
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...
There are three different turns and almost everybody budgets the first one. A normal move-out, where somebody gives notice, cleans a little, and hands you keys. An abandonment, where they leave on their own schedule and you find out later. And a set-out after a writ, which is what happens at the ...
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...
Section 8 isn’t difficult. It’s repetitive. Investors struggle not because the program is complex, but because they treat recerts, rent increases, and inspections as one-off events instead of a system. When you systemize them, rent stays consistent and stress disappears. Here’s how we manage it e...
I’m considering moving my portfolio to a property management company, and I’d love to hear from owners who’ve been through this and can share their experience. For those of you using a PM: -What are your biggest frustrations or challenges? -How do you deal with them in practice? -What systems or ...
Investors — with 2026 starting to wind down, how are those yearly goals looking? Did you pick up as many properties as you planned this year? How many doors did you add — and how many more are you trying to grab before the year ends? Out-of-state investors too — curious to hear what markets every...
Good morning, I am currently using Turbotenant for tenant screening/rent collection and reminders, and lease creation. They also offer a marketing option and outsources to another provider for bookkeeping. I love it, however, it’s missing one key thing for me. It does not provide banking accounts...
Curious how other self-managing landlords use PM software in practice. From what I've seen, some people use it almost entirely for accounting, others mainly for rent collection, and some don't use it at all. What do you use it for? And if you're only using part of it, what made you ignore the rest?
Hello BP! I am curious what you all use as a property management software to screen tenants, create applications for the tenants to apply, create leases, list the properties for rent, maintenance requests, etc. A do-it-yourself program that is landlord friendly to a beginner landlord. Right now I...
Hey everyone, I’m closing on my first 4-unit and trying to set up a simple, scalable system from day one. I’m looking for a free (or very low-cost) property management platform that can handle: Tenant applications + screening Lease signing (digital) Rent collection (ACH preferred) Basic tracking ...
Angle: Walk through your actual maintenance workflow — how tenants submit requests, how you triage (emergency vs. routine), how you track vendor assignments and completion, and how you handle photo documentation. The "I tried texting, then email, then finally built a system" journey. Ends with: "...
I just went through a move-out on one of my Sacramento units, and the timeline is way tighter than most landlords realize, especially after AB 2801 added the photo documentation requirements. Here's the actual sequence I follow now: Day 0 — Move-out inspection Walk the unit with timestamped photo...
Happy Thursday everyone. Three more observations from the self-managing side of rental property. Three Landlord Tips 1. Vacancy can affect your insurance coverage. Some insurance policies restrict certain coverage after a property has been vacant for a specified period. The rules vary by policy, ...
Hey small landlords: I’m curious what everyone is actually using for bookkeeping and rental-property accounting. For those of you with fewer than 10 rental properties: * What software do you use? * How much do you pay per month? * What does it not automate that still requires manual work? * Does ...
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...
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...
When a property remains vacant longer than expected, reducing the rent is often the first recommendation. That may be appropriate but only after identifying where the leasing funnel is actually losing momentum. I evaluate vacancy performance across four conversion points: Listing visibility to qu...
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...
I am partnering up with two other partners and purchasing two buildings - 6 units each. Closing is end of next month. I am not sure what all the things I need to do before closing since I will be managing both the buildings. my Lender is taking care of registering LLC and everything. I am tech sa...
New CRE owner here. One year into owning a 6 year old 8000 sf flex space that my main business leases 1/3 of with 2 other tenants. All NNN leases and predictable CAM except this past year we had to reseal and stripe the parking lot for the first time. I envision this to be part of CAM. Would you ...
Hi everyone, I'm just curious if you have had a situation that you had to charge the tenant for damages. A little background: tenant put in a maintenance request for slow draining bath tub (over a couple of weeks). I spoke with my maintenance guy who sent me a plumbing product that she could try ...