All Forum Posts by: Jonah Hartsburg

I believe it's only the right move in specific scenarios. It's not a magic bullet to solve all operational needs, but the process works very well when a remote team member at a lower labor rate fits into the needs of a scaling business. I'll send you a DM to chat further!

@James Martin - Have you considered working with a dedicated virtual assistant who can learn your processes and provide general admin support? 

In your approach, consider high-level customer service coupled with risk mitigation.

First, decide the target rent. You will want to be reasonable, considering the property's true condition, the proportional increase to their current rent, and the turnover/vacancy cost if the tenant were to move.

Let the tenant know well before the upcoming increase, typically 60 days minimum is preferred. This common courtesy allows the tenant time to look at comparable rentals and make the decision with confidence. This is opposed to signing a quick renewal because they can't move and causing disgruntled feelings that encourage poor behavior (delinquent rent, complaints, more maintenance reports, treating the property badly, and non-renewal in the future). 

The communication should be friendly, transparent, and empathetic, and is typically best in person or over the phone.

Make sure to provide a deadline for the tenant to sign the renewal or provide notice so you are prepared for the potential vacancy. 

No, I haven't used them and wouldn't state their opinions as facts. I was offering one company resource and what they say on the subject. 

@Colleen F. - Thanks for the clarification. Here's a link to what FrontLobby says about their reporting options. In short, the tenant can opt-in to report on-time rent payments, and the landlord can report late payments without the tenant's consent.

There seems to be a differential feature among providers where some are a tenant opt-in service and others don't require tenant consent. If you want to report both on-time payments and delinquencies without tenant consent, it appears that FrontLobby is an option. I haven't used them before.

Congrats, Chantel, on this purchase! 

At one point, I lived in a duplex I owned and could see 7 other rental units I was managing on the same street from my porch. I would 100% recommend creating systems where they don't physically pay you or show up at your door. 

There are great property management softwares just as easy as Zelle and CashApp. I'd stick to those. For 1 unit, Apartments.com is free and should work well. When there's a tenant who won't use this software, I've set up a system with my local bank where my tenants can pay rent there if needed. 

Best of luck to you!

Well done on these investments! I'm a fan of Suzie, Larry Howard, and Grant Co. Abstract.

@Nick Thomas is spot on. 

Even if all an agent did was set up a listing in the MLS, the difference in listing presentation between Realtors is quite remarkable. From time-stamped cheap camera photos to ALL CAPS TWO-SENTANCE DESCRIPTIONS, make sure to reference the agent's prior listings before deciding which one to use.

Hi Lucas - It's a game of risk mitigation as you understand. The more you can reveal unknown variables in their rental history, the better. Is their reference sufficient? Maybe. But if you want to feel more confident in this prospect, you could request bank statements that show the monthly rent payments and when those were made. 

You could request a reference from the prior landlord before their most recent one.

Hope that helps!