All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Griffin

Hey BP,

We have several friends that own a lot of rental properties, and several of them mentioned using us as their property manager. 

Is this a good idea or will it make our BBQ's awkward? 

We know we'd do a great job  but as everyone knows not all PM's can make everyone 101% happy all the time.

@Lori Sturgeon

Yeah you have some valid points. In our case, we are always talking to our potential tenants, and always answer their calls. My husband owns all of the properties and they are all in his name entirely.  I just manage them. So I am not lying, I do not own them. The guy I spoke about previously who told me he was a registered sex offender ended up calling me at 1:00 o'clock in the morning asking for Tabitha. Kinda strange considering his background. So in many instances they actually do inquire about ownership to see how much leeway they might get with a troubled past, a poor rental history, or any other issue. 

@Account Closed

Congratulations! How did the closing go, have you closed yet? Did everything go as planned?

@Justin Tahilramani

You guys are exactly right. All of the applicants and potential renters that have asked us who owns it, have not panned out. After we tell them what criteria we look at, the truth comes pouring out. I just encountered this exact situation this evening. A gentleman called me and the very first question he asked me was if we were private owners. I told him we owned it. He says oh ok great so it's just you two that own it. He asked how to apply and I told him we check criminal background and prior rental history. About 10 minutes later he texted me saying he was a registered sex offender. 

@Fred Heller

Yeah that's what we thought as well that they were probably hiding something. What process do you take for accepting out of state tenants? 

@Randy E. & @Steve Babiak

No, they are not under an LLC or Trust yet, so they are able to look it up, and that is my husbands biggest concern. We own 17 properties / Doors and they are almost all paid off. So therefore we have a lot of equity. I think it will ease his mind to find a realty lawyer who can transfer them into an LLC or Trust.

But you guys are right the best way is to be honest and to let them know they are part of our portfolio. 

@John K.

We use a property management company called Buildium. Very reasonably priced. We are able to do online applications and print them out. We recommend they fill out the application first to see if they meet our minimum requirements to secure a showing. If they do like the property we do a background check next. Another suggestion would be for them to sign up for credit karma and have them email the info to you. It will show debts credit history ect. I would also suggest signing up for it yourself so you know how to to instruct them to use it. Hope this helps.

@Richard C.

I think my husbands main concern is he is wondering why some potential tenants ask the question right off the bat. They will ask, " Do you own this property, or do you just manage it?" He really just wonders do they ask it to see if we are more or less leniant? Do they ask to try to figure out if we will do a background check, because they have something to hide? It seems as if that is a specific question with a specific agenda so we just ponder it. He also listened to a podcast and one of the speakers said you should never "own" the asset just "manage" the asset. Less liability. So he's stuck on that.

I would suggest trying to find a wholesaler in a different market and that you can go 50/50 with. It's better to have part of a deal than no deal. This will give you more credibility in the future knowing exactly how to close a deal. My husband and I were dealing with a wholesaler and they did not know what they were doing so we won't use them in the future.

@Helen Ingham Sometimes when you put it into an LLC or trust it is more difficult to identify the property owner. My husbands main concern is putting our name out there for liability reasons.