All Forum Posts by: Greg R.

Ok, so I've been skeptical for many, many years of hiring a PM. My main concerns were that a PM wouldn't care for my properties like I would, that I would pay exorbitant amounts for any kind of maintenance, and that they wouldn't fight to get me high rents (in alignment with market comps). 

With that, my portfolio became too much for me to manage, and I've taken the plunge and hired a PM. My building just had a vacancy and the PM proceeded to get the maintenance company to quote out work needed prior to placing a tenant. 

About the unit: this particular unit is a 450 sqft studio with 1 full bath and a small kitchenette. When I got the quote I was floored, couldn't believe it. I've omitted the name of the company to maintain confidentiality. 

Parts I'm having a very hard time with... to paint the unit along with a very small wooden stairway leading to the front door, maybe 4-5 feet wide and 3 steps, they want over 2k. For unknown reasons to me they want to replace the faucet, angle stops, and supply lines. Upon inspection it seems that the only thing needed is a new faucet cap. They want $40 to plug in a C02 detector into the wall for crying out loud. For reasons unknown to me, they are wanting to apply a new "stain coat" on top of laminate. Maybe this is a thing, but I've never heard of it. Floors are generally in ok condition, some minor scratches. 

The one thing that did look ok to me was the electrical work in the bathroom. If there's something wrong there I would have no problem paying someone a couple hundred dollars to get it right. 

Are these guys trying to take me for a ride?

I'm not seeing it... 350k for $2,050 actual and upside of $2,400 doesn't sound appealing. Once you factor in tax/ insurance, vacancy & maintenance, there's no meat left on the bone. Based off the limited info we have, seems like a negative cash flow situation to me unless you buy all cash or put a lot down. 

I would highly recommend not investing in STR right now UNLESS you are able to get a very, very unique type of property - one that stands out from the rest. If you're in the top 2-5% STRs in the area you'll be good. However, a lot of STR owners are hurting right now. The STR market is extremely volatile right now. With an economy that's getting weaker by the day with layoffs increasing and inflation raging, it's safe to say that leisure travel is going to decline.

I would love to know more about your situation. What kind of price range did you have in mind? What kind of place are you wanting to find, what kind of area/ quality of home are you expecting?

Most people looking to house hack are not wanting to spend a ton of money on a house. Not sure if that's you, but if so we can eliminate all beach communities. For instance Ocean Beach only has ONE listing under 1.25m, and it's a 2/1 750 sqft cottage. That said, you're going to be inland... either straight back to El Cajon/ Lakeside/ Santee, or South Chula/ Otay area. You could go north as well, there are a few slightly reasonable places to live in Escondido area & San Marcos. 

But even then, if you want something turn key that you (and others) will actually want to live in, I don't see you touching anything for under 600k. In Santee, there's only one house listed that's under 600k and it's in extreme need of updating & maintenance. In Chula Vista there are only 2 listings under 600k, both small and need a lot of work/ updating.

My search criteria is house, so I excluded condos/ apartments. If you're interested in a condo/ apartment you will have some more options. 
 

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

Quote from @Greg R.:

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

You can run a PM company without ever stepping foot in the city or state. You need a good team of contractors/ handymen, cleaners, landscapers. All admin work can be done by a VA overseas

I already have that on the ground. I have a great handyman, contractors, and ppl on the ground who can drive by the property every month or two. 

Are you aware of any VA options that are 24/7 through a team, or are they all dedicated resources that only work 9-5.

They will work any hours you tell them to in the Philippines. Have two people on payroll, one working day shift and one working night. 

Interesting, thanks for the info! 

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

You can run a PM company without ever stepping foot in the city or state. You need a good team of contractors/ handymen, cleaners, landscapers. All admin work can be done by a VA overseas

I already have that on the ground. I have a great handyman, contractors, and ppl on the ground who can drive by the property every month or two. 

Are you aware of any VA options that are 24/7 through a team, or are they all dedicated resources that only work 9-5.

Quote from @Nirav Desai:

I think Hemlane.com does what you're describing. I've used them for many years in varying capacities. At first, it was just marketing and rent collection. And then I upgraded to have them handle maintenance requests unless it's over a set amount in which case I'm asked for. I see some threads here discussing Hemlane if you want others' experiences.

Does Hemlane provide a number that tenants can call to report an issue/ complain? Or is it just an app w/ automation?

Quote from @Drew Sygit:

Most PMC's would probably do this, as it's no different then taking over an occupied rental.

Guessing though, you want to go super cheap? Then a traditional PMC won't be a good fit for you.

What do you envision if the tenant you screened and placed, stops paying rent?

If you hired us, we would charge you for handling an eviction as we didn't create the problem.

Drew, I've never used a PM before, but friends/ colleagues have told me that the PM will manage/ coordinate the eviction but it's an extra charge. It's not included with the typical 8-10% management fee. 

Wouldn't this be the same as me calling an eviction specialist/ eviction attorney and paying them to take care of the eviction?

Hello all,

I'm not sure if what I'm looking for exists, but I'll ask. In an ideal world I'd have a remote property management company who has a limited scope of work, but is the primary interface with the tenants. In this scenario I would list the property, screen the tenants, and draw up the lease. However, from that point I don't want any interaction with the tenants. No text messages about a neighbor's barking dog, or a light bulb that burned out. 

I would want to pay a remote property management service to be the point of contact for the tenant, make sure rent is paid every month, remind me when the lease is expiring in 60-90 days, and handle small issues. 

If there were any big issues such as needing to address a major repair or evict a tenant, I would handle that. For this arrangement I might "technically" be the PM, but the company would be acting in the capacity of my assistant and doing all the work that I don't want to do. 

Do any companies like this exist? 

Quote from @Remington Lyman:

Quote from @Greg R.:

This is a very subjective question, but I'd like to know which markets you think are going to prosper the most in the future. There are no right or wrong answers, just curious which markets you're betting on to see significant price and rental growth in the future. 

 I think Columbus, Ohio will prosper the most

Hi Remington, you care to expand on that statement some?