All Forum Posts by: Mary Aviles

@Michael Yeung I haven't used the silent mode. The couple of times I had issues, the alarm went off, the police showed up, and the intruders had already left. I've also set it off accidentally, and the police showed up. In all times, at least for my area, they show up very quickly. So if you do try silent mode, chances are high that you'll actually catch them.

I could be wrong, but I think if you install the alarm and it goes off just once, that will be enough to deter them, especially if they see police responding. If they can't sleep there, steal something, vandalize, etc, they'll see your house as too much work, and move on to another easier target.

I have installed the SimpliSafe security system in all my vacant properties for years, and they work.

I like Simplisafe, because it's not too expensive, you can easily install and remove it and take it to your next property when you're done, monitoring is cheap, they have an app, and best of all, it works off cell towers, so you don't have to have internet. If you want to videotape someone, then you do have to have internet.

The most important thing is not to capture intruders on camera, because let's face it, you're never going to be able to identify them to have the police arrest them. You want to prevent them from coming back, so if you have a security system, the alarm sounds, and the police show up. The intruder quickly realizes that, and they won't break in anymore.

@Henry Van Eijk Most real estate investors, especially the successful ones, don't use their own money. There are special lenders just for real estate investors, called commercial lenders, so you don't have to use your own money.

When you buy a property, there are lines of credit, Fix and Flip loans for flips, and Bridge Loans for rentals. Most of these provide 90%-100% of the purchase price, plus 100% of the rehab cost. These are provided by commercial lenders, and the amount and rates depend on your experience.

After you complete your flip, you reinvest the profits in your next purchase. And when you complete your rental, you BRRR it, and recycle your money to the next purchase. Both strategies require using very little to none of your money.

Finding out about these commercial lenders was one of the biggest things I learned about being a real estate investor. So you don't need to struggle to pay 20%, to save up for years and years, to own and risk your house through a HELOC, etc. You can finance your real estate purchases through commercial lenders.

Message me if you want more information on the one I use. They have the best rates, and fund in all 50 states. After using commercial lenders for years, I have used very little of my own money to buy my real estate portfolio.

I know this is a little late, but just wanted to raise another consideration when using Zelle. I love it, and have been using it for years, but there's a daily limit of $2,000. So if you have properties with a rent higher than that, it doesn't work, or you have to split the rent over two payments, which is a bit riskier and more work for the tenant.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I tried looking again to see if things have changed, and I still couldn't find any software that runs the reports separately other than the one recommended by Sean.

@Sean McKee  Thank you so much for recommending Lease Runner!  This software definitely separates them out, so I'm going to use that.  You're right; it does end up costing the tenants more because of the separate reports, but at least I will be in compliance.  And you're right about Transunion - the reports are pulled at the same time, even if the Tenant initiates it, so it definitely doesn't comply.

@Francis Rusnak I checked out Innago, and unfortunately, all the reports are run at the same time, so it doesn't comply with the ordinance.

@John Warren  I'll check out Zillow again, but the last time I used it, all it did was ask you to agree to not look at the criminal report until the end. I got the impression it ran them at the same time, but I could be wrong. Plus, to use the reports, you have to use their applications, which aren't very good.  And I didn't think the credit reports had enough detail.

I was on a call with RentPrep very recently, and they are very close to launching an a la carte service, which allows us to pick and choose what we want to run when. Hopefully it will be soon, especially since BP partners with RentPrep, and they're really good.

I think you have the wrong impression about commercial loans. Most of them do not have balloon payments, high interest rates, and all the bad stuff you think about when you think commercial loans.  All of my properties have commercial loans.  I just closed 2 recently.  My interest rate is 3.5%, 30 year, no balloon payment, fully amortizing, etc. - exactly the same terms and conditions as conventional loans.  The only difference is that they are not in my personal name, which is better for privacy. And you don't have to go through the full documentation process - they pull your credit, ask for a quick financial statement, and get an appraisal, and that's it. 

So if you can get virtually the same rate as conventional loans but without the hassle and less liability, you should consider them. The company I use works with out of state investors, so please let me know if you're interested.

I think these are your two best options.  I'm not a fan of VAs, for several reasons. Both of these allow you to stay in control and use your own contractors, while eliminating the time and hassle.

Property management software:  There are many free or low-cost PM software companies that have a maintenance section. The way it works is you set up your tenants and contractors on the software.  Tenants send a maintenance request through the software; it's really cool because tenants can send pictures and videos. Your contractors receive an automatic email with all the information.  They handle talking to the tenant, getting the information they need, coordinating repair schedules, etc. Then you work with your contractors as you normally would to set up rules of automatic approvals or running them by you first. 

Latchel or NestEgg: Both of these companies are similar, because they both handle maintenance requests. The company handles all tenant phone calls. They do an initial assessment of the problem, run through common solutions, etc, to get info about the repair. You can set up automatic approvals with them, or they contact you or the contractors. You can use their network of preapproved contractors, or register your own contractors with them. So they are essentially your VA, but they are specially trained in maintenance, so this is much better than hiring someone you don't know and have to train. The only difference I've seen between Latchel and NestEgg is the cost.

Has anyone found a screening service that runs the criminal check after or separately from the credit check?  I know the rules and have the forms for Just Housing, but I can't find a screening service.  All the big companies run them at the same time: Transunion SmartMove, Experian, RentPrep.  I Googled screening companies, and there are tons of them, but I have yet to find one that pulls the criminal and credit check separately.  

@Francis Rusnak - Did you end up finding a tenant screening company?

@John Warren - You mentioned that most of the credit agencies have made changes, but I haven't seen this.  You mentioned that Zillow warns you not to open the criminal, and I know that for the other services you have to manually open the criminal and credit sections separately. But these do not comply with the ordinance, which says you have to RUN them separately.  If someone calls me on it, I wouldn't want to run the risk by saying "I didn't look at the criminal."

@Mark Ainley - I know that the larger property management companies, such as you, can pull these in house separately, but any suggestions for those of us who don't have access to this?

By the way, I belong to a Landlord MeetUp group, and we had someone from the office that developed and enforces the Just Housing Ordinance, and the speaker was shocked to learn that there wasn't a DIY screening service that met their requirements, and she didn't have any suggestions for us.

@Sean McKee

We are all anxiously awaiting word when these will be available. Since you're from the Chicago area, I suggest you listen to the "Landlord Workshop" meetings from Fairview Realty every Thursday afternoon. https://rentroster.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e88e905525f6828012c4b021c&id=bd68844893&e=50f811b063

They update us on everything important that's going on with property management in Illinois and the Chicagoland area, including the rental assistance funds. They'll let us know when these funds will be available and how they will work. We've also been discussing the new Cook County Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance, and last year we had a long discussion about the Just Housing Ordinance. There are so many things happening now, it's important to plug into a group that will help you.

@Victoria Torres Do not use Quicken Loans under any circumstance. They definitely are shady and pushy, and you will have nothing but problems with them, including failing to close. Search "Quicken" on BP, and you're going to find many negative reviews. You're better off using a broker who can understand your situation and match you up with an appropriate lender.