All Forum Posts by: Obed Calixte

You may make more headway having your current PMS create/integrate that for you.

For example - Realpage has 2 way texting for comms, rent reminders etc. They should be able to (if not already) incorporate one tap payment via text. 

I get where you're going. Build an MVP and test it out.

One tap payment is not foreign for online shoppers. 2 way texting w/ providers is common. So -- in a vacuum -- I don't see too much in the way of adoption of those features.

With that shared, I envision you'll end up with a tool similar to other DIY/PMC software but with added benefit of the enhancements you mentioned. 

Your target market will be key. Either you target 1)tech or somewhat tech savvy DIY landlords or PMCs that want all the functionality of other tools (stessa, doorloop etc), 2) landlords that already have their tech stack that want integration or 3) low tech landlords 

As an aside: it would be great if only maintenance requests could be captured so easily.  Are you planning to integrate machine learning to identify requests and initiate subsequent protocols?

To drop all or most of your funds into a primary is not a great use. You've done a great job in saving, don't risk it all on one play.

On the financing side- find a reputable lender to get pre-approved with based on your current financial standing. Low/no doc asset based lending options are out there. That'll allow you a clearer picture of upfront costs and monthly payments.

On the property side - what type of property are you currently looking at? Did the buyer financing fall through due to the buyer or the property (ie. condition, insufficient reserves, owner/renter ratio, etc)?

What are your investment objectives?  

As shared above, getting a CMA is your most effective means to getting the info unless you decide to get licensed.

The property aggregators (Zillow) etc are good for high level comps but miss key details such as concessions & amount, private remarks about the property that materially impact value (for ex. solar panels are leased w/ 20 years remaining) and limited pictures of the property.  

How long have you been in Tampa?

Are you familiar with the area?

It comes down to your goals and the numbers.

It is hard to say yes or no to your question without either of those.

If I understand correctly - You want the bill to be split such that you pay up to a certain portion and then remainder sent at the same time pro-rata to the co-living tenants. 

It may exist but I've never once heard of such a solution.

Now to the question about billing back tenants for utility charges is possible. But not exactly cut and dry. Most property management systems allow for one time charges (which these will be as they are variable). The monthly effort of billing back will not be automated.  You will also need to have steps in place for collecting each tenant's last month's utilities since utilities are paid in arrears.

Are you making it more complicated than it needs to be? Yes.

Will it help you keep your net utility expense at or close to your cap amount? Possibly.

So you will have to decide if it's worth the effort.

Are you purchasing this with an owner occupied or investment loan?

If owner occupied, you don't have a choice but to live in it until you meet the required occupancy stipulations in the loan. Thereafter you can rent. 

Financial wise there are a couple things to consider: 

-When considering the property taxes, ensure it is based on reassessed tax amount, not current tax rate. It will change.

-Vacancy, maintenance and capital expenditures will need to be accounted for

-Will you self manage or use professional mgmt ? In either case it is great practice to account for property mgmt costs.

That's a large budget just to hit a 350K ARV. In my experience, you are over-renovating and/or have too broad a scope of work.

If you can get it for 110K or less, great. If not, walk away.