All Forum Posts by: Karen Higgins

@Kim Meredith Hampton. Are you by chance going to the Appfolio Conference in Santa Barbara this October?  I'm going to attend the conference in hopes of networking with other property managers and learning tools to maximize the Appfolio software.

@Kim Meredith Hampton. Yes, my husband is a broker, and a member on our team is a licensed real estate agent.  I think I have an understanding of how the MN rules work, but I'm hoping to find someone who can help with the logistics of setting everything up correctly from the start.  We recently started using Appfolio to manage our personal properties, which has been great so far.

I have a question about property management trust accounts.  My husband and I currently own and self manage 105 units in Minnesota.  We are looking to expand our business this year and potentially start a property management company.  I want to make sure I have everything set up correctly before we do that.  My question is regarding trust accounts.  We currently have a trust account that we hold all the security deposits in, and an operating account that rent is paid into and bills are paid out of.   

Based on some research, I'm finding that if you are to manage other people's property we will need another trust account for their rent to be deposited into.  My question is, can this also be an operating account to pay bills for that property from, or is this strictly for rent deposited and then transferred to the owner?   Also, can the property management fees be pulled from this account to pay the property management company each month?  

Another question, can we use the current trust account that holds our security deposits for owners security deposits or is that considered "commingling"?  Or will I need to set up another trust security deposit account specifically for owners?

My goal is to get this set up correctly from the get-go, so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Has anyone used the Bigger Pockets landlord forms and would you recommend them?  I currently just have the basic membership, but am looking to upgrade solely for the Wisconsin landlord forms. 

Our portfolio was entirely in Minnesota until we purchased 20 units recently in Wisconsin and I was wondering if anyone has used the WI forms.  Or should I just work with an attorney in WI to determine what, if any, changes need to be modified from our current  Minnesota lease.

Any input would be helpful.  Thanks!!

@Tim Swierczek

We currently using Intuit Quickbooks invoices for rent collection.  We were using erentpayment.com until last fall when they had their fiasco with bankruptcy and our rent was withheld.  I use quickbooks for all of our accounting, but we don't have a online system for maintenance requests at this time.  I'm looking for a way to have everything a little more cohesive.  

What system are you using for electronic leases?  We are using the standard MN lease, but have not got docusign set-up yet.  That is one of the goals of this month.  Please let me know how you went about that. Thanks!

I'm looking to upgrade to an online property management software and am deciding between Buildium and AppFolio.  Our portfolio is located in Minnesota and includes 90 units, combination of single family, small multifamily and a few small (12 unit) apartments.  I'm leaning towards AppFolio because it supports more growth.  Our goal is 1000 units someday!  But Buildium's pricing is more appealing with the current number of units we own. 

Does anyone have personal experience with either one of these property management systems?  Please let me know the good and bad of each.  Thanks!

Thanks, @Isaac Braun!

Thanks @Andrei Bortnov! I’ll send you a message. 

Thanks @Michael Roeder, I’ll contact them. 

Thanks @Tim Swierczek. I’ll send you a message.