All Forum Posts by: Joe Maris

My experience in Cape Coral has been a disaster so far.

I used apartments.com for marketing. I plan to use it for maintenance requests, too, but so far no maintenance issues. Unless they fixed it, apartments.com was having trouble with criminal background checks. They could not provide reports. I will probably use something different next time . . . maybe work directly with Transunion. 

I'm using Baselane for accounting and rent collection. They still do not have an app, although they claim to be developing an app. They pay a minimal interest (around 4%) on account balances, and you can categorize transactions (much like Quicken if you're familiar with it). You can also have as many subaccounts as needed. I have one main business account, and then an account for each property (only one property at this time). The property account has a Deposit subaccount so I can track/hold refundable funds separately. The rent collection seems to work well. In addition to rent, you can setup late fees and other fees to be collected. I have non-english speaking tenants, and they registered the tenant portal to pay by ACH (so no fee). It's fairly easy for small portfolios. I like it so far. 

Thank you. You have been very helpful, and I appreciate it. Here's the short version of a long story. I purchased a property in my personal name. Construction loan to do the rehab, etc. Formed an LLC while doing the rehab. Following rehab, refinanced with a conventional loan that does not allow the property to be owned by an LLC. So I will keep the property in my personal name for now (will refi again later). Obviously, we do not get the legal protection of owning the property in an LLC. CPA is recommending that we have a property management agreement in place so that the LLC can be paid by the property owners. I guess in that sense the LLC is the property management company, so the property owner (me) will be paying the property management company (the LLC, but still me) for business accounting and taxes. Does that make sense?

I think it may happen with some frequency. So, do I understand you to say that most REIs managing their own properties are doing it illegally, or just those who choose to do so with a PM Agreement? Do you know of a good resource to determine if a particular state requires PMs to be a brokerage as well? 

That makes sense. Thank you. What about the Investor that managers their own properties? There are many reasons why an REI might want to remain confidential, or separate their property management business from REI business, even if they are only managing their own properties. I can see where BP might not be serving the profession of property management. However, how many REIs manage their own properties? If you search the forums, you will find that REIs have been posting for years asking for sample PM agreements.

BP has a hole (missing info) for property management. I've seen several posts asking for a sample Property Management Agreement. Before you recommend calling a RE attorney or warning that laws vary from state-to-state, keep in mind that BP has sample lease agreements customized for every state. The same could be done for PM Agreements. Of course, the sample agreement could come with the obligatory warning about contacting your local RE attorney and checking the agreement with state and local laws. The point is, a sample PM Agreement is info that BP needs to offer to PRO members. 

Regarding Baselane, does anyone know when they will have an app for landlords and tenants? I'm considering Baselane for banking and accounting. I'm thinking apartments.com for marketing, leasing and maintenance requests. Has anyone used a similar setup? Would love to hear about experiences with apartments.com and Baselane. TIA

Does the square footage impact income? Do the numbers still work so that you have a profitable property? I appreciate the situation and would not be happy, either. However, I wouldn't give up a profitable property for spite. 

Thank you. Yes, I've seen the videos and discussions. I'm looking specifically for spreadsheets and tools based on the 4 Square Method.

I've been studying the 4 Square Method for property analyses. In reading through the Forums, I see that some users created spreadsheets and other tools based on the 4 Square Method. It appears they have been removed, or maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Can someone provide a reliable spreadsheet or other tools, or maybe point me in the right direction to find tools based on the 4 Square Method? Thank you.