All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Ruelens

If she "set up a hearing" you would have received notice from the district magistrate.  Follow the PA eviction process on your claim of non-compliance with the lease with having the animal.  If the lease has a late fee, charge it. The process is slower than 7 days.  If you don't charge the late fee, don't expect them to pay on time. Proceed with enforcement efforts and don't be distracted by their claims. 

It is very common for PMCs to upcharge maintenance work.  After all, it doesn't happen without work.  The PMC has found quality vendors, negotiated reduces rates for their clients' properties, verified the vendor is properly insured, received and diagnosed the complaint, hired the vendor, coordinated with the tenant, received the invoice, paid it and tracked it for 1099 reporting and does that each year as well.  

If you want to start a property management company, the most valuable thing you can do is join NARPM.  This is a very strong national trade organization that will impact your growth and development in PM faster than anything else.  

Hire a great real estate attorney and do what you need to in order to get the situation handled.  The asset is held hostage by this tenant until it is dealt with.  A cash for keys would be wise to do with attorney assistance. 

No, I have met owner operators at NARPM events.  

If you want to start a management company you should consider joining NARPM.  That is our trade association representing and educating single and small multi family property managers.  If you join and learn you will skip a bunch of mistake most newbies make. 

In Pennsylvania, if you are a landlord managing your own properties, you do not have to keep security deposits in a separate account.  HOWEVER-   at the start of the third year of tenancy the deposit must be held in an interest-bearing account and the interest dispersed to the tenant each year at the anniversary of their tenancy.  The landlord may retain the first 1% of interest earned for administrative costs.  So if the account earns 1.5% interest, you would send the .5% interest to the tenant each year.  Or what the rest of us do is put it in an account earning less than 1% interest and don't worry about sending the tenant any interest.  Best practice is to not comingle security deposits with your other monies.  They are a tenant liability and deserve to be treated as such. 

Exactly! We have been working on our clients' portfolios eliminating deferred maintenance, optimizing lease terms (how they run seasonally, concentrating during our more active leasing season) and increasing rents.  We have even taken on several expense management investments to reduce expenses (usually around utilities and maintenance).  When you increase your net income you increase the value of the property!

I don't understand, are you working for the PM company or are you a client of the PM company? In the case of the former, Nathan is right, this is wrong and you both need education on trust fund management.  In the case of the latter, I would recommend you find another property manager, this person doesn't sound like they have the foundational skills or tools to provide you the service.  If you are going to use them anyway, use Buildium.  It is easy and priced right for your size. 

Yes, the market is hot and new records are being set.  The best thing to do is to keep looking, sharpen your skills and don't compromise.  There are deals out there, but they aren't easy to find and they won't be showing up in your email inbox.  You will find them through relationships.  The job of an investor is not just looking at listings and using calculators. It is building a network that brings you deals. I make no assumptions about what you are doing, this is just general advice I have been sharing with eager investors lately.