All Forum Posts by: Elenis Camargo

Hi Mike! It's all about who you hire to manage them :) We started off managing our own properties and soon after started our own property management company. While I initially thought it was an easy task and that property managers did not provide much value, I quickly saw all the value a good property manager does provide to an investor, which is why we decided to start our own brokerage. We now manage 500 units in Jacksonville / Northeast Florida and in South Florida. I am happy to chat through any questions you may have including the pros and cons of self managing. 

Hi BP investors! I thought it would be fun to start this topic. For new and seasoned investors only, no property managers please :)  

Question is:
What do you expect / think that a property manager does for an investor? 

Side note: I started off as an out of state investor managing my own properties in Jacksonville FL while living in Brooklyn NY. Then moved down a couple years later to start my property management business. So professionally I am an investor and property manager. I know there are a lot of misconceptions on property managers and what they do. The good ones at least! Thought it would be interesting to read the responses :) 

Hi Jonathan! We manage in Jacksonville and South Florida. We like to keep it simple and instead of using a percentage, we do $100 on the 6th and $5 a day after that. It caps at $225. This way they have a significant reason to pay on time as they would get the $100 right off the bat and then increases slowly. We also post notices on the 6th and that's another $50. We don't do this to be mean or to make money, we do this to entice the tenants to pay on time. That's our #1 goal. In a perfect world, they would all pay on time and we would not many anything off posting fees or late fees. And no one will go to jail for late fees. Just make sure you're using a lease written by an attorney or work with a property manager to place your tenants for you and use their lease. Our lease has so much in it to protect owners and us. I hope this helps!

Hi Will and Rachel. Congratulations on selling your business! That's amazing :) 

I feel like there are so many different paths to getting started with real estate investing. My husband and I started when we were living in NYC and realized buying a place of our own up there was completely out of reach. We then decided to buy in Jacksonville in 2018 and keep renting our apartment in NYC. After a couple of years we moved to Jacksonville and started a property management company to help other out of state owners buy and manage their rentals. Yes the timing was great but I also think if you're in it for the long term, then it does not matter as much. Historically, real estate goes up, both property values and rents. Investors that are in it for the short term quickly realize that it's not a money making game. One thing goes wrong and it can kill your cash flow for the year. We personally are in it for long term wealth. We own 4 doors on our own then another 9 doors with a business partner. 

Jacksonville is still a good city to look in. I know Orlando is tough because the prices are so high but Jacksonville if you think about it, is the last large city in Florida that is not overly saturated like Miami, Tampa and Orlando are.

We also have bought one rental in Augusta GA. The laws are pretty similar there in terms of landlord vs tenants and the prices are really good, hitting the 1% rule in many cases. We just became licensed in GA as well. Let me know if you want to chat about it. I feel like it's a lot more in reach for a new investor and the houses are most times pretty rent ready. 

Either way, I hope this helps!

Hi William! I'm from South Florida originally. Now I'm a property manager in Jacksonville with a branch in South Florida. Our investor/agent @Ivonne Pinedo does an amazing job helping people. Feel free to connect with her! She has tons of contacts and can help you get started :) 

Hi Elvin. Congrats on getting under contract! That's a huge first step. I am an active investor and we have a real estate and property management company. Our head agent @Michael Braddock invests himself and our team does the managing as well. Our company is Thirdstone Properties. We manage 500+ units in Jacksonville at the moment. We have connections with any vendor you need. For a CPA our client @Basit Siddiqi has a ton of experience with investors and is an investor himself as well. I'll send you a DM :) 

Hi again! We manage a lot in 32209 and it's mainly about tenant screening. If you have a problem tenant, it can really cause a lot of issues in the quad with the other tenants. Of course it's never guaranteed that you can tell if the person will be a problem during the screening process but we put a lot of effort into the screening to have the best chance as a smooth tenancy for all the residents in the building. There is more turnover and payment issues in that zip code in quads but it really all depends on the building and the street it's on. Hope to speak with you soon!

Hi Lauren! I'm originally from Miami and lived in NYC so I get how you're feeling! I became an out of state investor while living in NYC. We rented also and felt instead of buying, we rather invest in a more cost effective city. We picked Jacksonville and ended up creating a real estate and property management company to help other out of state investors. My brother is trying to buy a house in Broward too so I know how insanely expensive it is right now. You have lots of options! House hacking is a great option or also buying a primary home then moving out in a year or two to rent it and getting another one. Our business partner started his rental portfolio that way :) 

Hi Victor! I started off as an out of state investor myself and it changed my life. I personally feel investing long term is the way to go. A lot of people think you can make money short term with real estate investing but it's hard if something goes wrong and kills your cash flow for the year. As long as you're holding on long term, I think it's amazing for many different reasons. I personally own 13 doors in Jacksonville and 1 in Augusta GA. We also have a real estate and property management company on both cities called Thirdstone Properties. Let me know if you are looking into either one and we can help :) 

Hi Daniel! Definitely look at reviews in depth. Like David mentioned above, some tenants will complain no matter what but you'll still want to look at both good and bad reviews from both owners and tenants. Some companies will be good with owners but not good with the tenants and at the end of the day if they don't take care of the tenants, you'll have more turnover and more costs. I sent you a DM. Our company Thirdstone Properties manages 500 units in Jax. Let me know if you want to chat :)