All Forum Posts by: Alice K.

I had this question and searched forever-- My winners (those, I've used):

• https://www.mysmartmove.com/
• http://houserie.com

Turn around (for any service): Should be a few hours (same day)

Great customer service at Hourserie-- both are not a rip off and don't require you do some grueling visit where they check if you have a safe box for holding screening applications (if you want very detailed credit reports, some places will do this for you, but honestly, I don't think it's necessary).

Smart move requires tenants apply themselves online, but I like to review references first so I'm not charging everyone money upfront. 
As a renter myself-- No one wants to have their money wasted if you're already not keen on selecting them. 

Cheers!

That sounds all fine and dandy. Here are some thoughts, some similar with the people above:
* "Poorer" areas may have some "fleas" -- yes, you can now afford these class D areas and clean them up, but if you've never been a landlord in them, be careful. That tenant type is different from the things you may be used to hearing (e.g.: I heard of some mobile home owners having units stripped)
* Now, if you can get some great tenants, then by all means, use that excess cash flow to help the community! Forget what we money-grubbing naysayers say!
* I honestly wouldn't do this if I wasn't nearby the property. A property manager will be a lot less dedicated than you (most likely) to have this perspective, as they just need to get food on the table. 
* By investing in less desirable areas, and cleaning them up-- you are helping! If you're just buying a crumby place, not fixing it up / not keeping it maintained, then you are not helping at all. Most of the people here are all about making places habitable-- which in turn, makes the location better ! 

* An extreme thought: You may inadvertently gentrify the place... Like what happened in SF, sure it's "nicer" now (depending where you go), but now most of the average-income renters (esp families) have had to move out.

Originally posted by @Nicolas Jefferson:

Loving the advice so far everyone! Sounds like I need to network extensively to those who supplement the industry like attorneys, mortgage brokers, etc., so I am able to give valuable input to investors on who they can go to.

@Alice K.

Do you think it would be smart to set up two different emails? One just for investors so they aren't sent the newsletters that non-investors get? I do want to set up a drip email marketing system, but if investors generally hate them, then it would make sense to have two separate emails.

 @Nicholas-- that would be a great idea, I don't think you need 2 different emails, but if you mean newsletters / email groups, I would go that route. I was just in a turn-key meetup the other day and investors seem to love getting newsletters with opportunities. If you're not sending emails that say "BUY A PRETTY MILLION DOLLAR HOME TODAY!" and buttering up investor-types, then I believe you're doing it right. :)

I had this same question not too long ago. According to my lender--

Large banks:

* Tend to have large pools of experienced, approved appraisers, some may not be local and may give inaccurate appraisals, so you'll want to confirm with the bank that they only use local folks so you don't need to get a re-appraisal.

Many local banks:
* Have a set of 5 - 15 (varies) experienced, approved appraisers, like the others said, a rotation. My local bank sends out an RFP (request for proposal) of sorts and the first to reply gets the job.
The lender will scrutinize and review everything very hard. In fact, no matter what it is, large bank, small bank, whoever, the appraisal will be reviewed usually by another professional for accuracy. 

If you need a reappraisal, you can try to ask the bank to cover (or ask for them to pitch in). I've not done this for a full appraisal amount, but heck, everything is negotiable. Esp, if you're paying horrendous fees already. 

If you're worried about something going wrong, you can recommend that the seller is there with papers / receipts (roof, comparable sales, etc) to support the price. 

Here is my list, some of them are in line with the others like @Dustin Kircher and @Mike Dymski

1) Let's me know as soon as something good hits the market (depends on the investor)

2) Ability to do a bit of quick calculations and uses common sense as far as returns

3) Willing to blow a lot of time scouting with me / patient (I'm sure this is why some agents hate investors)

4) Not trying to sales talk (I really do not like retail residential agents, their mindsets and email blasts tend to drive me nuts. haha *sigh* ) 

You can remove a contingency or two (be very careful! and consider the consequences) I would give the offer anyways because the all cash offer may be lower than your offer. Also, don't get too set on this one property-- bidding wars are a drag and you may end up paying more than it's worth.

It's nuts how different they all are even by mere district! I had this same question the other month.
My tips (for any newbs out there as I was):
1) Ask your mortgage broker and everyone for rec's (shockingly, it was my mortgage broker who helped me on this!)
2) Call 5 people / email -- I was very finicky when people didn't reply. It was crazy. I thought: "If they can't even reply to a potential paying customer, how will they perform, heaven-forbid, if/when I need them?!)
3) Keep a baseline request so the quotes can be compared properly E.g.: replacement cost + liability for xxx amount 

2k seems crazy (if it's 1 door / no claims / not a flood zone / [strange circumstance here])  I heard that Travelers is overpriced. 
Perhaps try a broker in addition to some that are company reps from State Farm / All State / Progressive could probably find you a better deal.

@Brandon Turner As an out-of-state investor, perhaps you could have "*If remote, assure escrow agent hires experienced RE notary for remote signing and select location for meeting".
The price seems to range between 100 - $175 (for Northern California). 
This part was very foreign to me (and part of my team) as they were very used to local signings. 

@Jeff Gates - This is correct, luckily there are a handful left. Looks like Houserie doesn't give me the actual report, just a watered down "yes" / "no" recommendation with some details. The others I've heard of do require they come on site to assure I have a safe place to store the data.

@David Chwaszczewski When/if I get more doors, I will likely do something like that as well as far as directing them to rental qualifications. 

@Michael Welly So, I just signed up for this to give it a shot. Must say, beautiful UI. Only question is (you may want to share with your UX team / product manager) maybe you could list the pricing right on the front. I would be willing to pitch in with the renter (as $39 for my market is psychologically $4 more than the norm). 

Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

You could also go very old school and have them mail you a check but who does that anymore.

Old guys that do not trust any thing inter web. As a long time IT tech beginning when the first computers came into business I have learned there is nothing more frustrating than when the system does not work.

Obviously if I had hundreds or thousands of units I would need to change but with less than a hundred I still like going to the bank where everyone knows my name. Cheers

 I'm a younger person in tech and agree with you on these statements. 
When I'm wiring large amounts of money, I prefer a paper trail and seeing someone's face.