All Forum Posts by: Connie Chan

I have a few remote rentals and have considered hiring property managers before but wondering if anyone has tips on how to find the best ones. I used Yelp and Thumbtack before but it seems like those are the only sources I’m aware of. Anyone have tips on where to find the best PM’s? And do you guys prefer individual managers where you know the person whose managing your home or a company where they have lots of employees that take turns handling tasks?

@James Wise how would you figure out the most well known or top property managers in an area? I’ve used Yelp and Thumbtack but are there better ways to find good managers?

@Lashawn McCauley wow. Thank you for this summary. I am guessing a lot of landlords may be breaking the $20 application/screening rule and not even knowing it.

@Tyrell D Bradshaw I would self manage in the beginning and switch to a PM after you feel like you’ve learned enough. This way you’ll have a sense of how much things cost, the quality of your rental, local laws, and that will give you confidence to expand your portfolio and take on more.

@James Wise both! The people who are looking to hire don’t have a sense of who is good or not and revert to yelp and thumbtack. They also don’t know if the properties are being well maintained because they can’t visit it in person frequently. For those doing it themselves it’s often finding handyman or plumber or something similar. Oftentimes they “have a guy” but that person isn’t always reachable.

Hey all, I was chatting with some landlord friends and trading notes about what part of being a landlord stresses us out the most. One that kept coming up was remote management. Curious what other landlords stress out about the most.

@Brad Bellstedt I use Tellus. My renters prefer something mobile with rent notifications. Some turn on auto-pay but quite a few didn’t want to auto-pay so the mobile app was their preference. My issue with Venmo PayPal etc is that you don’t get rental specific protections. Like the ability to block partial payments and stuff. Plus things like Tellus or another service can enforce late fees for you.

@Roy Covert Tellus app does free screenings. And they’re comprehensive. I think they partner with Naborly to offer it. I’d check them out, having a free application and screening process means you’ll have a better shot at getting the best tenant possible.

@Emily Smith I’m sorry to hear that... reading your post I can sense your struggle with this and how it must be affecting your happiness. This is just my personal opinion but I believe your spouse should help you achieve your goals and dreams. And if real estate investing is one of your goals, your partner should be adding to your ability to reach that dream. I also think this means that you both might approach money and finances really differently which is often a cause for marital issues (it’s exacerbated once you have kids actually). I wish you the best as you make your upcoming decisions. I personally think you can find someone who you’re extremely excited to spend the rest of your life with. If you aren’t, then the world is a big place and there are others that may be a better fit. Remember, not choosing the right partner is in some ways stealing joy from the future you!!

@Johnny Kim I don't know rently box but I do tours of the property myself. The tenant application that Tellus uses is a lot more thorough than what I used to use (which was just a form I downloaded off a google search) so I'm happy with it.