All Forum Posts by: Clark Kirkpatrick

@Stephan Hart we’re using them. As mentioned above, they’re not automated - a person has to send them individually using the software program. 

@Joe Splitrock I see the discrepancy here. These aren't "robotexts" or "auto dialed texts" - each one is manually sent out by a person.

@Joe Splitrock I know that a lot of people don't follow marketing rules, but I'm doing my best to.

Here's what I found with regard to the legal requirements for text marketing:

Text marketing is one of the most effective ways to get your products or services in front of potential buyers. However, what many text marketers may not realize is that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) applies to automated marketing text messages (SMS) making them subject to the same requirements and restrictions as telemarketing calls. This knowledge gap has made text marketing one of the hottest areas of TCPA litigation, which has seen an unprecedented explosion since 2015.

Can you point me to something indicating this is false? I'm genuinely interested in this.

I don't believe action has been taken against us, but I do want to be legally compliant either way.

I've been using REIRail from Max Maxwell/Hoopzip for a few months, and although it is buggy, it's been basically functional.

A few days ago, I texted someone who turned out to be a retired FBI Agent who was on the do not call list.

I've had people tell me they were on the DNC list before, but I assumed they were wrong - after all, I set my campaign to scrub against that list, so I couldn't be marketing to those people - right?

Wrong. I manually looked up this specific number, and it was on the DNC list at both the state and federal level. This is a huge problem.

Wholesalers beware. Any recommendations on a better program to use for texting/RVM?

I'm currently working to sell a fully rented quad, and I had an agent make an appointment for a showing today. The seller had to be there to access the occupied apartments, and he was available at 1 pm.

The buyer's agent wanted to see it at noon, and I let him know this wasn't possible. He agreed to come at 1 instead. I have evidence of this in text messages.

When that agent didn't show up at 1, I learned that he had come at 12 after all, somehow got into the property, and was banging on tenants' doors to get access to their apartments. The tenants were quite upset about this, as was the seller.

Is there anything I can do about this, either this time or in the future? How do I enforce appointment times and prevent tenants getting harassed?

SlateHouse Group manages my rentals, they have a strong presence in Norristown and should be able to help  you out.

@Danny Sharp If you're starting out, then you can go either way with both of these things. You should have a regular homeowners insurance policy on the property, and this is your first line of defense, IF the issue is bad enough to go to insurance at all. 

Do not wait to invest because you're not sure about the LLC or umbrella policy, or because their costs are holding you up, or anything like that. Neither of them are as important as taking down your first deal, and you don't need them.

With that said, I use both. @Brad Hammond does have a good point about the potential for an attorney to "pierce the corporate veil" - and you should do your best to keep all your ducks in a row to make this less likely. If you get an LLC, then you can do this by making sure it has an operating agreement and a bank account, and then making sure that your expenses are strictly separated between personal and business.

The umbrella policy is not a first line of defense. The policy actually explicitly states that. The purpose of an umbrella policy is that if someone sues you, and burns through all your coverage available through your normal insurance policy (homeowner's or rental or car or whatever), then the backup-backup option is to use your umbrella policy. It is your last line of defense against a BIG lawsuit.

If you don't have a lot of assets, it's probably not worth the cost. If your net worth is $50k, then no serious attorney will try to get $2m out of you. It's not worth their time. But as you build your net worth, the umbrella policy is definitely an option worth considering.

This is a very important question that a lot of people wait too long to ask. It's very costly to get this wrong.

I try to organize mine by trade. For interior work, perhaps it goes without saying that demolition has to happen first. 

Second, anything that involves punching holes in stuff (like the walls or floor) should come next. This includes HVAC, electric and plumbing.

Third, we do kitchens and bathrooms. They involve carrying heavy and bulky materials through the house that can damage walls or flooring, so we do this before those items.

Fourth is paint, and flooring comes last. This seriously cuts down on cleaning requirements (floor is new, and therefore clean) and it also reduces the chances of getting paint on the new floor.

If all the materials are coming in and out the front door, then you want to start with the furthest room from the front door and work your way toward it. Hauling materials through causes damage, so you always want to work your way out, and paint or replace the front door last, because it will take a beating.

If there's a roof leak, then that should come near the beginning of the project. Besides that, exterior work is fairly independent of the interior.

I'm sending you a DM!

@Steve Uhlig Added you. @Anthony Famularo and @caleb 

@Caleb Stevens you can either find me or the group on FB. Group's name is Pottstown Housing Coalition.