All Forum Posts by: Greg Moore

Gosh @Lee Ripma that's a helluva story.  And one that rings true for me.  I remember the first home I ever owned in my mid-twenties.  An Appraiser appraised the home I was selling for $80k less than I sold it for the following week.  I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was something like $120k appraisal, but a $200k purchase price within 1 week!  (I don't think the same rules applied back then of having to wait for 3-6 months before getting a new "Appraisal."). What other industry is allowed to underperform so grossly and get away with it??! And sadly, it's been that way on just about every home I've sold over the years, including one last week.  I've got another Appraisal happening today.  I'm already bracing myself for a clown car to pull up to the property.

The role of the Appraiser is an odd one: Way too much art (opinions) and way too little science (data-analytics), with way, way, way too little accountability. While the world embraces tech tools to automate workflows and tasks, reduce errors, and thereby increasing precision, the Appraiser is basically doing the same thing they did 80+ years ago.  Show up with a tape measure and a camera, pretend like they are doing something scientific, pontificating unscientific opinions, charging ridiculous fees for said opinions, then going home with no accountability for the disasters that stems from those opinions. And the worse part: we have to pay for this rubbish, and live with the rubbish for 3-6 months we can pay for new rubbish --OR live with the rubbish and make a whole helluva lot less $$ then a scientific method would have yielded.

These people are not scientists.  They are not "professionals" in a true sense of the word.  Yes, in exchange for 75 hours you too can obtain a license to be an Appraiser and work on your own!  No one will check your work.  That's NOT a professional.  And by extension, it should no longer be a profession.  

This is a role in our investor ecosystem that is ripe for automation and transformation. I, for one, am sick and tired of these opinions (and folks, let's be honest -- that's all they are offering here.  75+ hours of qualification to offer you their opinion on what they think your property is worth.) Now I know there is the occasional rare professional equipped with both experience and a scientific method.  Well, I don't actually "know" -- I just suspect.  I've never actually had the privilege of meeting or interacting with such a rare species. (And to be fair, Robert Kiyosaki has said (once) 'a great Appraiser is invaluable.' I've just concluded that this is must be some mythical creature that would have great value if the creature actually existed.  But I digress...)

Alas, I don't know what one individual can do.  The ecosystem is set up to require us to get an appraisal the same ol' way we've been getting them since the 1930s.  So all I can do is joke about it.  So please join me in sharing your favorite Appraiser joke.  I'll start:

“What does an appraiser’s wife say if she can’t sleep? ‘Honey, tell me about your day at work.’”

Ok, one more...

“I finally figured out how to make a million dollars in the real estate business. You ask an Appraiser to appraise your two million property that you own free and clear.”

Keep it going... go on! I know you have a favorite.  Please share!

Has anyone heard anything definitive on new timelines under the COVID stimulus package?  Rumor from my 1031x intermediary was we would likely see the 45 day period extended to 120 days.  She went on to say that as investors, it is still our obligation to submit within the 45 days and only upon receiving a letter from the IRS allowing us to resubmit identified properties with an extended period would we have a legitimate extension.

I'd be curious to know if anyone has more definitive intel on this kind of relief/stimulus extension.  Thank you!

@Dorian Hood I’ve heard good things about RentCafe. I’ll check it out. Thank you!

Epilogue: I tried Cash App (now owned by Square) with two tenants and both payments were rejected. Cash.App claims they do this for the payer's security. But this ain't baseball, so two strikes and I decided to revisit QuickBooks Online.

Easy to set up properties as classes /ovations, automate the invoicing (a nice looking invoice with my logo). The tenant can click a link in the email (I can see if it's been opened or clicked), and the Tenant has easy options to pay (debit, credit, Apple pay, and bank transfer). It all goes into my ledger for the property with no further action needed (assuming they pay). I think this maps nicely to what I need since I am already a QBO user.

Having said that, this thread got a lot of mentions for Cozy. I will definitely take a closer look!

Thank you for these helpful replies.

@Matt Nico great response. Thank you!

Thanks, @Brian Braddock.  I've not used cash.app before, but think I'm going to give it a try.  Have you been able to push invoices to tenants or maintain some kind of backend that shows you and the renter the amount of rent due so everyone tracks to the correct rent that is due?

I'm setting up a new website for my tenants in properties not managed by a Property Manager. What payment portal have you used that you can recommend? (Square, Quickbooks, PayPal, etc)?

@John Fortes I just subscribed. Looking forward to listening.

PS #3 in your profile is true for me, too! I’ll PM you.

@John Fortes

What is the name of your podcast?