All Forum Posts by: Jeff Rogers

You might want to check out the BP podcast #515, they discuss this topic. Good luck!

I've found TenantCloud good for screening, rent collection, and tracking income/expenses. 

@Justin Windham  Thanks for the link!  I've been digging the calculators as a Pro perk.  I'll have to check out the discounts and alerts.  Cheers!

@Aigo Pyles Thanks, much appreciated!

@Joe Martella Thanks, much appreciated.  Cool you had the passion early on.  Looks like you're in south Jersey - I used to work in Blackwood, NJ, not far from Cherry Hill, and I commuted from West Philly.  I have to say, Wawa has the best convenience store coffee station I've ever seen! Nothing compares here in MN.

I set my goals big, but hey gotta start somewhere. Set a goal, take action, then figure out if the bar too high or too low, haha. 

I love doing things myself!  So right now I'm pretty much doing it all. But as I'm learning it's definitely not scalable and I'm finding myself getting in my own way often.  But I find value in understanding the nitty gritty at this point, then when I hand things off to a property management company I have a really good familiarity with what I'm hiring someone to do. 

I like you're thought process - self manage but have a handyman/contractor on your team. I think that's the next phase for me. I'm also intrigued with using virtual assistants for some of the admin work. 

I'll be on the look out for your resources, thanks! 

@Stephanie Wells  Hi! Duluth has been great. I was able to close on a few deals. Actual snowfall amount and frequency is hard to predict, it can vary by the season. I've cleared snow myself most years, but this one I'll have to hire it out. I haven't shopped around yet, but it's also common to sign a contract for the season with a monthly charge between typical snowfall months.  It's really a gamble which way pay model is best, per-plow vs contract.  In a mild winter, you might make out better with a per-plow service provider.  If it's a snowy season, you might make out better with a contract provider.  There are a number of property management companies here that provide snow removal service.  If you have a single family home, it's typically the responsibility of the tenants.  In a multifamily you could always get creative and have one of the tenants agree to do it. 

As far as being a property owner here, you do need a rental license and if you're not local (looks like you're in FL) you need to have a local property manager.  There are variety of folks that hire a small time property manager, or there are a number of bigger and experienced local companies.  The housing stock here is old, as in built in the 19-teens, 20s, 50s.

@Will Gaston Thanks for that example, that's amazing! I'll have to try that.  Do you find you need a certain amount of equity in the property to do that? Obviously the more equity, the likelier you could pay off the remainder of the mortgage and have some left over for another property, but if you have lower equity (like I have), I could just pay down one mortgage completely, or put a big dent in two mortgages. I guess my question is, does it make sense to employ this strategy only when you have significant equity?

@Matt Schlosshauer welcome to the forums! Great people here. Very cool that you have your own business going. I know it's not what you mentioned as a starting point, but curious if your business owns any real estate, if not, maybe go commercial and have your business own a building but use only a portion of it and lease to other businesses? Just a thought. In any case, good luck on your journey!

Hey @Jeremy Salo, winters are definitely slow in Duluth for the tourism. I'll let you know how slow once I start up my house-hacked short term rental. I'm anticipating most demand will be tied to the few winter events, holidays and school holidays.  @Tim Swierczek speaks the truth...a limited number of STR licenses. All are taken as of now, and a lot of folks interested in getting in. If you're interested and able, there is a monthly REI meetup here, keep your eyes open in the events page. Aside from Duluth, consider other vacation destinations in WI, or maybe even Rochester. The main draw in Rochester is the hospital, patients seeking long term care and/or families visiting, or medical staff on short term assignments. Not sure about licensing situation there.

@Mike Reynolds yeah, that makes sense. Best to get moisture completely out!