All Forum Posts by: Ray S.

I did what you want to do. I would not take them online. Its like the difference between watching a sporting event and being in a sporting event. For me I not only got the opportunity to learn the material but I got to know instructors who were actively in the RE business and learned about their perspective on issues. People make deals, not computers. Take every opportunity to meet people and make friends and You will also be surprised how non-investor realtors can help you make deals. 17 years ago I met my first Realtor/instructor and we did several things together and If I need to know something about his world, I can still call him.

Thanks just researched it and see the 1099 requirement to file on corporations was repealed for 2012

The part about not having to file on corporations. I wasnt sure but I thought the rules this year require that corporations are no longer exempted, so now we have to file on Home Depot and others.

"complete a w-9, prior to doing ANY work. They use their ss #'s or TIN numbers issued by the state you are in. If the company is a CORPORATION, you won't need one. "

Ren Ver, are yoiu sure this statement is correct?

Thanks Chris for your input. I respect your opinion and always get a lot out of it. I may have to replace Jack Miller with you as my new Role Model.

15 years ago I didnt get it. I had a realtor friend once say to another person in my my presence "What can I do to help you". More amazing she seemed sincere. Needless to say as a lifetime opportunist trying to take advantage of every opportunity and work every last angle, I sized her comment as either the dumbest comment in the world or could it be so startling so life changing that maybe I had it all wrong. Of course it was pretty persausive that she made more money per year and seemed to be enjoying herself more than I was.

Her comment changed my life. I have sinced learned to help others, if not for any other reason, do it strictly for selfish reasons. I am absolutely convinced I do more deals than ever because not only am I willing to help others, I sincerely beleive it makes good business sense. Also most importantly I have built credibility to myself. I now beleive in myself, because I do bring value to the table since I no longer have to win, but instead have fun.

Thanks everybody for the reply. I also looked at rentec. I tried looking at property ware before but couldnt get pricing without talking to sales rep. Felt a little like i was being handled by them.

Probably been covered a gazillion times but I would like to know what the best property management software is for our applicaiton. We have about 150 properties, mostly houses, some are ours and others are either partners are owners, We want to report to owners and tenants. We would want it to be cheap but functional. it needs to be expadable to 300-500 properties. Interfacing with quickbooks is improtant. Thanks in advance for any response.

Mark, we have had this happen to us three times over the years. The last time I was renting to a friend of mine. This was the only time that a cleanup was required. I shopped around and the prices were through the roof. So Like the other 1000 mistakes I have made in my life I did it myself. That was 2 years ago and I can remember the smell like it was yesterday. I will never forget it. Next time I will spend my time shopping the hell out of it, unless it was real minor. I did learn a lot. For example I would have bought a shop vac wet and dry with the hepa filter, and then throw away the shop vac afterwards.

By the way, always disclose whether it's the law or not. If you don't then your neighbors will 100% of the time. It's a lot better to have the people say No before they move in, then afterwards. If this really creeps someone out to the point of not wanting the property then its not fair to hide the fact, then hold them to the lease after they find out, even if you could.

Working for these trust and LLC's can be tough.

I recently went to look at one of The properties that "a" Trust owns. The tenant wanted to know if the trust would sell it to them. Naturally not being the owner, I couldn't say one way or the other but I asked him to let me know what he could do and I would try talk the Trustee into it. I might have asked him if that was his best offer just so I don't get shot down. Of course I didnt have the "Higher Authority" to make any decisions, but I would go to bat for them.

Now if this were a case of not getting rent on time it could be, and has been a case of the Owner really kind of keeping my feet to the fire, and who knows I could lose my job(violin playing softly in the background). The tenant and I would be in the same predictament where neither of us would want to get fired. Me as the property manager and him as the tenant. Obviously him and i were in this mess together. It's not easy working for these SOB owners.

Sometimes it's hard to know who you really are.

Hi Bryan. Thanks for the discussion, but couldnt get the link to work.