All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Pekarek

Hello Justin!

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. We're a property management company based here in Sarasota - if you'd like to sit down over a cup of coffee, we're always looking for new investors to interact with. 

Congratulations on your first rental, it's only uphill from here!

-Ben

Little late to the party, but I'll give you my $.02

I've always structured with multiple LLCs - for example, my master investing LLC is BTR Holdings, LLC. The property, 123 Main Street, would be owned by 123 Main Street LLC. 123 Main Street LLC would be a JV LLC jointly owned by BTR Holdings, LLC, and my silent money partner (or their LLC). That way, they hold equity in the deal, but they still have no ability to screw anything up! When I refinance, or sell the property, I buy their interest out of the LLC.

Hope this helps! 

-Ben

Hello All! 

I hope I'm in the right section, but I'm looking for more agents in the Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice/North Port, Florida market. 

RNR Realty & Management (RNRRealtyFL.com) just moved into a new space, and now have room for up to nine more agents! We're looking for investor friendly agents for both property management, as well as commercial & residential sales. 

We're one of the few dedicated property management brokerages in this area that are A.) Not franchise limited on where you can work, and B.) Allow you to sell! 

We offer excellent CAPPED commission splits (RE Sales only), as well as competitive management fee splits. 

Call or e-mail for a confidential interview. 

-Ben

If there's a signed contract, she cannot just back out. She should have read her contract!

Hello All! 

The REIA meets at Oriental Buffet (McIntosh & Bee Ridge) Wednesdays at noon, and then there are two monthly meetings, one in Bradenton, one in Sarasota for the Landlord Association - but that has a yearly due schedule to attend - however the speakers there make the $50/year well worth it. Enjoy our town - there's a reason our population triples during snowbird season!!

When we got rid of Rent Manager in 2013, I looked at every managemebt software product I could dig up. 

At the time, Appfolio had a $200 minimum charge, and then it went up from there.

We ended up going with Buildium, at the time it had a $25 monthly base, and then was priced per unit on up. 

I have my screenings, my leases & notes, workorders, and online payments all in one place.

Just my $.02

@Kent W.,

Sorry you're having to deal with this! It sounds like a case of an idiot owner trying to make as much as she can off of her new rental property. 

@John Thedford put it best - as you're month to month, there is a 30 day notice required prior to rent being raised. Unfortunately I'm not able to post the form here, but I'm going to copy and paste the text in line. 

" "

A few things here. 

1. Her realtor, who has absolutely nothing to do with the property sent you a notice in regards to rent. I would have ignored it too! There was no notice that the realtor is involved, nor was there a proper notice. A text message does not constitute a legal notice - a certified letter, or letter by standard mail is the only way to serve a rent increase notice. So, from the get go they're out of compliance. 

2. If the new rent was $950, and you paid $775, how do you still owe $850? My math says you'd owe a maximum of $175...oh wait, you don't owe anything as they never gave you proper notice! 

3. Ignore the friend, there was never a relationship established to you, the tenant, by the owner to comply with this person, therefore, IGNORE HIM/HER! 

4. As they've not served you a new LEGAL notice for February, they can't raise your rent for that term either! Send your owner your rent via certified check to ensure that she's received it, and so you have proof that you sent it whether or not she cashes it. 

Call me and I'll try and find you a new home quickly - I have several vacancies in Sarasota/Bradenton right now. 

-Ben

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I'm an investor friendly broker here in the Sarasota market. If you ever need a broker's price opinion on a flip, or a recommendation on a market rent in the greater Sarasota area, give me a call! 

To your success!!

-Ben

 Hello Nathan!

If I, or one of my agents isn't the right fit, we work with a network of companies that will have someone you'll fit with.

-Ben

I'm going to second what @Karlus Henry has already stated. Though our headquarters are in Sarasota, as an FSU alumni, I've kept two complexes under management in Tallahassee. The easiest way to make money in a college town is to rent the units by the door, not by the unit. However, there is some initial headaches in setting up the structure. 

For one, each unit, be they 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, etc. are subdivided by the bedroom into individually keyed units with a common kitchen, living room, and dining room. For the properties we manage, there are common mail facilities, and each tenant has a key to the mailbox - just makes our lives easier. 

Our lease structure has no utilities built in, simply direct billed to the tenants. In other words, the bill comes in at $100 for the month, 2/2 is $50 per tenant, 3/3 is $34 per tenant, 4/4 is $25 per tenant, etc. etc. etc. 

The hardest thing to get around are the students learning to share the common areas. We've taken to the practice of a one year lease in which they have to learn to live together. We understand that personalities will clash. However, you're in college, you're over 18, you're an adult - learn to act like it! If you hate everyone's gut, we'll transfer you to a different unit next school year, and try it all over again - as the units are furnished, all the student has to do is move their clothing. 

The only two things that would deter me from taking a Tally property (or any other college property) under A.) Management, or B.) Purchase, would be the lack of parental guarantees, or fewer than one bathroom per "unit". We managed a property on Tharpe (great location, close to campus, had a waiting list to get in!), but as the units were 4/2s, the bathroom share setup almost guaranteed squabbles over the bathrooms, and thus an incredibly high turnover every single year. Now, we never had a problem refilling the bedrooms, but we had the costs associated with repairs to go ahead and get those units rent ready again. 

Just my two cents, and good luck in 'Nole country!