All Forum Posts by: Anna Sagatelova

These are the kinds of posts that get screenshot and posted on Twitter/Reddit...

Please don't act out in frustration, she violated her contract and your remedy is to evict. Pandemic is affecting everyone, and you're going to have to wait or face the perfectly reasonable consequences of illegal self-help eviction.

If you're willing to "take the risk" of blatantly illegal and unethical behavior, don't drag the BiggerPockets community down by asking for additional illegal suggestions. 

This is also reason #4896 why hiring a third-party property manager is a good idea; take your emotions out of it and don't make illegal mistakes guided by emotion.

@Sami Gren I think in this case you need more information. Several landlord references (including the LL who filed that eviction) should help paint a clear picture; was this a one-off late payment, or do they have a history of paying late and catching up? Of course, the applicant should also clearly meet the rest of your criteria like income, credit, criminal, etc.

I'll echo what others are saying with one caveat; we have seen a drop-off in leads, showings, and applications for high-end rentals. In our market, this is the $1800+/month category. Basically, the people who would qualify for this monthly rent have six figure salaries, and those renters are staying put more at this time.

I think it depends on the level of expertise/experience that particular individual has. Within a single property management firm/organization you will encounter people with varying levels of experience. Certainly, you wouldn't be paying for a consultation with an administrative employee whose core job function is rent collection or dispatching maintenance, but the company president/CEO might command a higher hourly rate than their operations manager, for example. Both can bring valuable knowledge to the table, so it's wise to evaluate what you hope to get out of the conversation first. If you are looking for market trends, how to evaluate market rent, value-add amenities, etc, an ops manager should have that information (in a well-organized firm). 

PMs are truly all over the map in terms of their internal organization. I think that whatever someone's title is, you'll get the most insight from someone who is an investor themselves, and is also a well-rounded individual who doesn't only eat and breathe property management. You want to speak to the "entrepreneur" of that business if you want a high-level conversation, and maybe one step down to ops manager if you just need the nuts and bolts and to evaluate how their organization runs (for vetting for the future).

I'll say that I have seen some offer this type of consultation for like $500/hour and (as someone who actually is also a lawyer, albeit not actively practicing), I find that outrageous. 

I think that along your search, you will also run into a handful of property managers who offer their insights free-of-charge, though they probably won't give you a full hour of their time. 

Cleveland gets a bad rap from experts who have never invested here or given it more than a passing glance.

Yes, you can have a terrible time if you get sucked in by the astronomical cap rates advertised on some of these deals - those are in the worst neighborhoods and you should steer clear.

However, there are tons of great affordable properties in the B/C+ class that are much more stable and still offer good cashflow. They are not likely to appreciate much, but you knew that.

Wherever you choose to invest next, vet your on-the-ground team first and you will be primed to succeed!

Hi Curt,

This is a great and creative approach that not enough investors (or PMs, frankly) think about. There are few PMs who actively advertise this service, which is a shame. I think you will be able to find a PM who has the expertise and also the structure necessary to provide such a consultation, you might just need to start connecting with reputable agents in your market. This can also be a great way to vet a PM for your future needs without making an immediate commitment.

For some reason, BiggerPockets won't let me tag him, but @Remington Lyman is active in this community and might be a good source for you to start with.

You will likely have to go through the standard eviction/unlawful detainer process in your jurisdiction.

Please note that the CARES Act has not prohibited eviction on the basis of anything other than nonpayment of rent, however, your local jurisdiction may have put a hold on evictions.

@Drew Sygit with Appfolio, unfortunately there is no live-reporting option for the owner portal; it's not a company setting. Otherwise, you make excellent points. We find that although many owners wish for a live-reporting feature, we don't think it would actually make them any happier once that becomes available - they will just have more reasons to panic unnecessarily.

One thing that is annoying is the AppFolio statements have a "remit balance" line at the bottom. Well, we send a monthly statement on the 10th of the month (for the previous calendar month, so on or by May 10, our clients received the April 2020 statement). By the time the owner gets the statement on May 10, most of those figures are out of date as tenants paid rent on or around the 1st of the month. We have owners who get their statement and immediately send the $400 or whatever the "remit balance" line says, which is unnecessary since rents have come in.

What software are you using, and what are your biggest pain points with it?

For clients, I'd say that if a PM can work efficiently and effectively within the software they are using, that is FAR more important than the owner portal features you want to see; a PM with good systems is not going to switch their core software, and there are plenty of subpar PMs who use great software with poor results. 

1) Deny these applicants - on grounds of not displaying patterns of financial responsibility

2) Update your rental qualification criteria to include things like minimum income ratio, landlord references, no outstanding housing debt, etc etc etc - lots of resources on this site for best practices in tenant screening criteria, but also feel free to PM me if you want to discuss! Disclosing up front what your criteria is protects you.

3) Sleep better knowing you will have reduced ambiguity and the "should I, shouldn't I?" style of evaluating a rental application

@Luke Hadden The number of units at which they may offer you a discount may also depend on asset type (are these multifamily units you are adding or SFRs?) as well as the average rent of your portfolio. Unfortunately, many investors add low-value units to their portfolio that actually bring the PM company's average rents down, and then expect a discount. But hey, some PMs out there will give a discount once you hit that magic number of units (whatever their magic number is) regardless of other factors. It all depends on your PMs fee structure as well as their own portfolio and growth goals. Not all PMs are in a growth phase, either.

I encourage you to schedule a conversation with your PM and get a clear understanding of what their position is - BiggerPockets users will all have different experiences with very different PMs across many markets, but any good PM is one that you feel comfortable having this conversation with.