All Forum Posts by: Jon S.

 Any updates; how did this turn out Dan? 

Thanks Christopher. Fortunately, there is no HOA involved.

Just as clarification, I, as the owner, am not occupying the main house, the main house is being rented to good tenants, and I would like to also rent out the in-law suite, which is a really nice little 2/1. I am trying to learn what problems others have had, what to avoid, etc. 

I have a locked privacy fence placed between the main house and the in-law suite, and separate yard entrances for them, so I am trying to provide maximum privacy. 

Without a separate address for the in-law suite, the back tenant won't be able to get mail. 

The utilities will have to remain in my name. Rent will have to include water, electric, sewer and garbage. 

I'm worried about the lease language, identifying in the lease, access to the main house only, and access to the in-law suite only. How would you word that? 

I'm worried about, in the event of an eviction, how would the sheriff be told to only evict the tenant in the in-law suite, not the tenant in the main house, or visa-versa, when there is only one address? 

Thank you BP community. 

The good news is that it's not located in an HOA.

Have there been any horror stories about renting out in-law-suites that don't have a separate address? I'm contemplating renting an in-law-suite that doesn't have a separate address. While I know many people do this with their rental properties, I am wondering if anyone has had any horror stories as a result of doing so?  

What is the language used in a lease to indicate that the mother in law suite is not part of the rental? I'm renting a house to a new tenant, but not renting the mother-in-law suite that is behind the house. I want to make sure I use the correct language to indicate that the main house is being rented, and the mother in  law suite is not.  Has anyone else had a similar situation? 

Thanks

Jon

I have a few questions about property management software. I am doing a free trial of Buildium, but was advised that Buildium is missing an important feature, the ability to create eviction notices. Is that true? 

1) Can Buildium create of documents, such as eviction letters? If not, which other property management software packages do create documents? 

2) which software, if any, creates leases that are appropriate for the state you reside in? 

3) which packages are best for those with just a few properties. I currently own 5 units. I hope to add a few more units over time.

4) I like technology, smart phone apps, and would like something that takes advantage of smart phone apps in order to stay on top of deadlines, tasks, repairs, etc. 

5) which one has the most user friendly portal for tenants? 

6) which one creates the best web page for prospective tenants to find and view properties? 

7) which one has the best background check services? 

8) do any of them show a good an analysis of rental rates in an area? 

Thanks! 

-Jon

Great info, thanks for writing this up, and also a great thread overall, one I will be following. I am leaning towards Buildium, as it seems to make listing properties easy, background checks, creates a website, offers a portal for clients, and a portal for owners, a lot of features for $40/month - seems reasonable for what it provides. I appreciate the warnings about credit and debit charge backs as well, as now I'm going to be a bit leery of allowing clients to use credit cards and debit cards to pay rent. Again, thanks everyone for such a great thread. 

@Steven Hamilton II - Can you please elaborate on this distinction, re, not putting rental properties in any corporation, reasons why? I'm just starting out, now have two rental properties consisting of 5 rental units. I have an LLC, and intend to use form 2553 to elect the LLC to be treated as an S-Corp. Is that an error? I also intend to do some flips. Thanks for any suggestions.

thank you for putting this together!