All Forum Posts by: Kenny Dahill

@Akeda Turner,

There are several options for landlords to choose from today, which is nice!  Some to consider would be Burbz, Cozy, TenantCloud, Tenant Turbo.

While the majority of the software tools/features are the same, there are some slight differences that could help you find the best fit.  Every company helps with Rent Collection, Leasing and Maintenance Requests.

The differences commonly deal with free vs. fees (monthly membership or per unit), marketplace of vendors and the accounting features they provide.  TenantCloud is commonly referred as the most powerful accounting software if that's your thing, most people are able to work with the basic accounting functions.

What are your goals and strategy for managing your properties?  That is a good starting point to find the right software solution.

@Jason Schatz, @Nathan Gesnerprovided some great tips on this!

Receiving advice on BP can be difficult because we all have difference experiences in different regions and different types of tenants.  If they're great tenants then make sure to communicate this issue to them.  You can always take it out of their security deposit at the very end.

Apply it like Nathan said, 'rent check' pays for all outstanding charges/fees before rent.  Even if they paid on the 1st every month, they'll always be $50 short and accrue another $50 fee because of that first unpaid late fee.

Personally, I don't think I would evict a tenant because they didn't pay the $50 late fee. As long as they're paying rent monthly then take it out of security payments at the end.  What is your exposure/risk for evicting somebody over $50?  That's 2 days of vacancy and anything more you start to lose money, cleaning fees, and paying an agent if you utilize one.  All for $50?!  Not worth it in my opinion.

@Michael Sontheimer, I agree with most of @Patricia Steiner's suggestion.  Although I do not believe you should require them to move out the stuff inside their house.  My personal take is they pay you rent for the right to access the space, they can store whatever they want as long as its legal, doesn't damage the property and non-invasive to other tenants.  I think informing them they have 10 days to remove everything will cause friction and the only areas of concern I have is the common space in garage.  Use your best discretion to decide which method is appropriate.

I would approach this from the fair treatment that both tenants deserve.  Afterall, he would be upset if the roles were reserved.  It might require you to put a literal line in the garage for each of their halves.  If he does decide to keep his stuff in the garage then explain the other tenants are not liable and leaving stuff in the garage is at his own risk.  Get that in writing!  The other tenants might forget to put the garage down.

@Jeshua Patrick,

I agree with @Christopher Brainard.  There are better criteria methods than 1-year in the job.  Consider these:

• Previous job durations: Are they habitual 1-year job movers or do they typically stay for 5-8 years?
• Debt:Income:  How are their spending habitats compared to income?
• Rent:Income:  Confirm they can actually afford your rent.
• Proof of income:  Provide their last 3 months of pay stubs to prove what they make.  3 months helps to remove any skewness from seasonal bumps in pay.  Not uncommon for bartenders to work more and earn more tips in prime season.
• Proof of funds:  By checking their bank accounts you can see their spending habits as well as income.  It's an opportunity to understand more about the tenants.  This can also help offset any other area that they did not meet your criteria: 1-year job.

Real estate is very local and only you know the type of tenants your units attract.  My units attract young professionals so I am not worried about 1-year jobs as much as I am proof of income.

@Jon Pinkerton,

A couple of solutions for your rent collection I would consider:

Software:  You can consider some of the landlord software that offers (typically) free rent collection.  A few sites do charge per transaction or require a monthly membership.  You can setup your business account and it will allow tenants to pay through ACH or credit/debit card.

Bank-to-Bank:  Zelle works great with the major banking brands but if you use a more local bank then it might not be available.  However, your tenant should still be capable of submitting a transfer to your bank account.  It might take a little longer.

Direct Deposit:  Landlords who allow cash payments often have success by providing their tenants the bank and account number.  Tenants will need to go to the bank branch and make a direct deposit into your account.  A lot of landlords feel uncomfortable with this approach but it does work.

Also, every state laws are different so it is important to check your property's state laws.  In Arizona for example, landlord's don't need trust accounts for security deposit but property managers do.  I would research to learn your states requirements.

Hope this helps!

Hi @Toan Le, congrats on the new units!

There are several options for you to consider, they practically all offer the same tools.  Software companies like Burbz, Cozy, TenantTurbo, Tenant Cloud will provide tools for Rent Collecting, Leasing and Maintenance Requests.  Here are some tips to find a program that works best for you:

Rent Collection:  Everybody offers this feature so tenants can make direct deposits to your bank account.  Your tenants can only pay through ACH or credit/debit cards typically.  To my knowledge, no software allows PayPal or Venmo which are common alternatives.

Leasing:  A nice feature is allowing you to easily upload your Rental Listing to popular real estate sites like Zillow.  Most offer about 10 popular sites, a few have 40+ which is a little excessive to me.  Cozy only has 2-3 sites, Zillow not being one of them.  Facebook Marketplace is another popular option. 

Screening Reports:  There are only 3 major credit bureau's that we all use as an affiliate program.  Regardless of the software, reports should generally be the same.  We've decided to partner with RentPrep because they provide an additional handchecking on reports to verify no errors.

Maintenance Request:  Most of the software companies allow you to submit/receive maintenance requests.  There are a few that have marketplace of vendors as well (ours will be in 2020), some have access to vendors but they partner with only 1-2 per trade in each market.  If you plan to hire vendors you can either use the internal marketplaces or need to find another source of vendors.

Accounting:  From my knowledge, TenantCloud has the most accounting features available.  Some people really like reports, most people only need the basic rent rolls and Profit/Loss statements.  If you want to sync with Quicken or Quickbooks you will need to research the companies that export.

Fees:  There are a few sites that are free and others that charge membership fees.  Our approach is free with an a la carte approach to pay for only the extra's you need.  Sites that have a membership charge either per unit or tiers of units.

I typically like to know what your goals and strategy for investing.  If you fully intend to always self-manage every little tasks then every site works, but if you want the capability to delegate certain tasks that really narrows down your options.

@Tatiana O'Hara,

Get them out!  The sooner the better.  You already made 4 months rent payments in the first 2 months: security/last month.  Chalk that up as a win and move on.  These tenants will not give up and only cause you more stress and money.

@Tarcizio Goncalves, there is always risk of separation with tenants: divorce, breaking up, ending friendship, etc.  It's probably safe to assume less risk with married couples since that is a longer process to end.

I have several rentals that typically attract roommate scenarios, young professionals.  I always have that conversation 'if your friendship ends' because they need to know the consequences before they sign my lease.  Personally, I don't care if they hate each other and one of them moves out, they are still legally responsible for making rent payments or finding another tenant who is qualified.  If I go through evictions court then I will make them both liable; it's 1 lease document.

It's never ideal but it happens.  I am a strong proponent for communicating and the earlier the better.  They need to communicate when one of the tenants moves out.

@Jon Dorsey, the issue you're dealing with isn't whether it's gross rent or not.  What other element would they charge a percentage of?!

The question is whether they earn their fee on Rent Expected or Rent Collected.  If it's collected, then months that are not paid would result in no fee for them.  However, if they get the tenants to pay months later than that is technically 'rent collected' and would activate their fee.The way I read your agreement clause was Rent Collected.

Are you making a mistake?  That's a decision only you can weigh and answer.  Not getting paid rent is a big deal and if you pay them when rent isn't being collected where is the incentive for them?  I think a conversation is always best, make sure each understand where the other is coming from.  Good quality PM's can be tough to find, if you like them then you need to decide if Expected vs Collected is a big deal or not.

Personally, I prefer my partners to have similar incentives and interests.  I don't like Rent Expected.

I agree with points that @Rachel Foster and @Maya Roberts made.

• Have them on one lease!
• Definitely check sponsor's proof of income and proof of funds
• When screening, treat the sponsor like you would a tenant

A few extra things to consider:

• High security deposit, obvious reasons
• Still check the college students income: grants, funds, job
• Hope for the best, expect the worse!