All Forum Posts by: Ben Sealey

@Rick P., @William Hochstedler

Thanks!  I will stick with a 1 year.  

@Michael Barbari , @Kaycee Miller@Matthew Paul , @Joe Baker , @Rick Beno , @Tom V. , @Mike Hanneman , @Jeff Sealey

I appreciate the input.  I think the consensus here is that 1-year leases are best practice.  

Thanks,

Ben

I received an inquiry for a 5-year lease on a renovated SFH. They are asking for a reduce price in exchange for a signed 5-year lease. 1400 a month instead of 1500 a month. I assume if I do the due diligence and make sure they have a good rental history, good credit, and clean background, then a 5-year lease is a great option. My concerns are that they might not be a good tenant and I am stuck with them for 5 years. Only real other concern is if they have a dog and what they might do to the property over 5 years.

Should I put anything in the lease that would normally not be in a 1 - 2-year lease?  Year inspections? 

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Ben

Jason,

Thanks for taking the survey and thanks for the inquiry/info.  I agree.  There are several out there.  I would really like to buy one or 2 of the companies already out there.  I have not invested enough time to get any real traction with purchasing a company.  However, that is the ideal situation.  I have been in a very similar space in the past and hope to build a product that is great.  Really, what it comes down to, is I know there is a pain point in this market and I want to help fix it.  I want people to want to use a PM software.  I want the software to help landlords, property managers, and tenets.  Less headaches all around.  

I do think it can be done and I do think all 3 can benefit from a great product.  The survey results reflect a good bit of what you have said.  surveyors are saying there are only 1 or 2 great products out there.

Thanks,

Ben

So far I have had 31 people take the survey.  Touch base with me if you are interested in knowing the results.  

Hey all, 

I am reviewing property management software.  I am interested in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of property management.  My ultimate goal is to simplify it.  From my experience, if you can simplify it, you can often find ways to make it more cost effective.   I have a survey that I have created.  It will help me understand your thoughts on PM in general.  The survey is for property managers, landlords, and tenants.  It quick and easy and has a 5 dollar amazon incentive.  If you're interested in the results, reach out to me on here (bigger pockets).

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2955937/PM-Satisfact...

@Hewitt Tomlin

After selling my business, my wife (the smarter of the 2 of us) went and earned her real estate licenses.  Over the last 6 months, we have moved out of our house and into a new home.  We turned our old house into a rental house and used a property management company to manage it.  It's a bigger house and we didn't want to take on the responsibility and learning of pm on that kind of investment.  So, we have purchased our home, and 2 other homes in the Knoxville area.  1 home is a rental.  Purchased and prepared for market at about 150k.  Rented for 1495 a month.  The other is a lease to own.  We are making 8% on our money on the lease to own (friends discount).  We are closing on another property here in Knoxville next week.  We own 2 homes in Memphis and 1 commercial property.  We are closing on another home next week as well in Memphis.  Our goal is to make 12 percent on our money by purchasing houses 20+ percent below market value and renting to good tenants at an above average cost.  

One of the reasons you are better off getting started now is because it's not easy to get a mortgage when you do not have an income.  This might not be the case for you, but it was for me.  When I sold, my income level dropped dramatically.  It doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank.  For that reason, we have been purchasing with cash, which gives you leverage and an advantage over other buyers.  We will most likely refinance these properties in the future to get some of the cash out to do more deals.  Since we will have built a track record of income, banks will lend to us.  

Sidenote.  This is what I have learned.  There probably are ways around the lending, I just don't know them.  If someone else wants to chime in and educate me and maybe Hewitt, please do.  

I am curious about your Saas product.  And maybe this is a discussion for PM versus public, but I am looking to either build or buy a saas product to grow.  I have looked at the idea of building yet another property management platform, but I have not pulled the trigger.  I have had multiple meetings and discussion, but I don't know if the market could use another one.  I might start another post on that here shortly just to see what owners and property managers think.  I love talking to other entrepenuers and finding out how things are going with them.  

I grew up in Memphis and moved to Knoxville to go to college.  I have driven through Jackson 100's of times.  :)  It's a nice city!  Casey Jones's buffet is amazing and terrible at the same time.  Amazing food, but terrible that I can not stop eating.  :)

Thanks,

Ben

Hello @Hewitt Tomlin and @Justin P. ,

I am on the other side of owning a company and wish I had started doing what you are doing now.  When you own a company, your often asset heavy and cash poor.  Once you sell that company you become cash heavy and asset poor.  I am working toward a balance.  After selling in November, I started building a portfolio of rental houses and one commercial property.  I am working on getting back into the SaaS space with the hopes of creating more mailbox money.  I do wish I had worked on building a stream from real estate while I was building the company.  Welcome and best of luck.  

Ben

Hey all,

@Ben Headrick, it was my first meeting as well.  I did learn a good deal of info.  I met several people there as well. 

I did enjoy the experience.

Thanks,

Ben

Thanks for the info.  Checking out ProspectNow.com