All Forum Posts by: Rachel Jacobson

A lot depends on how specific your lease is. Generally, charging a car or truck is not included as part of utilities. I think you can safely refuse this request, but you would have more solid ground to stand on if the lease specified the exact utilities provided. 

Once the lease is signed, you can't change it unilaterally until the end of the rental period, and you must give proper notice of any changes according to the timeframe specified in your state laws. The good news is you have a month-to-month tenancy, so you have more flexibility on that front than if you had signed a year-long lease

If your lease did not specify the type of parking (even if it was verbally clear which spot you meant), then the situation becomes a little complicated. If the snow plows make the space unusable, then you should consider providing her with an alternate space or discounting the rent for the inconvenience. 

@Tyrell D Bradshaw - Good for you for jumping into some part time property management work! I'm sure getting a feel for the day to day will give you a good idea of where you land.

As others have said, it's a very personal decision and depends on the type of investor you want to be. Some love handling management tasks and dealing with tenants, while others prefer to be more hands-off. There's nothing wrong with either strategy! It depends on your situation and personality.

Self-managing gives you a much greater level of control over your rental properties. Dealing with tenants directly eliminates some of the back and forth there might be with a property manager, but it also eliminates the buffer a PM could provide. You save on management fees, but you also spend a lot more of your own time on management tasks. 

Hiring a property manager means you lose some of your profits to management fees, but you save time. This is the reason some investors don't look at hiring a manager until they have a larger portfolio with more income. If you have less-than-stellar tenants, having a property manager be your first line of defense can help preserve your peace of mind. However, hiring a property manager means you're also giving up control over your rental properties. That's why it's so important to do your research and hire someone you trust will do a good job.

It also depends on the amount of time you have, what your cash flow looks like, and how comfortable you feel letting someone else take the reins. You're going to get a lot of experience in the next few months as you try it out for yourself. Keep us posted on what you decide!

Tenants do not always have the same incentive as you to handle lawn and yard maintenance. If this is a real concern for you, once your lease is up, look into hiring a gardening service and building that cost into the monthly rental price. I agree with what JD Martin said above about automatic sprinklers. Those will take care of the watering, and you can hire someone to come every few weeks to mow.

It depends on several factors, like when the property was last updated and how risk-averse you are. Some investors feel fine with the bare minimum, while others want a larger reserve fund so they can handle anything that comes up. I would say $5000 per property is a great start, but you should look to grow your reserves each month so you don't have to replenish it all at once if you end up needing it. Setting aside around 10% of your profits each month (on top of the $5000 base) will help.

Congratulations on the 19K a week! It would seem like you've graduated from an app like Venmo.

There are several options for property management apps with no transfer limits that will appeal to your younger tenants and still give you the convenience you're looking for. I'd be happy to share more if you're interested.

Keeping your rental business separate from your personal accounts helps you treat it more like a business. Plus, it's not that hard to do. Good luck!

It depends on your area. Research properties similar to yours and find out what the tenant pays for and what the landlord pays for. Some states may have local laws dictating who should pay for certain utilities. 

I would caution against including all utilities in the rent price. If your tenants ever go over their normal usage, you're the one who will end up paying. Furthermore, they have less incentive to be judicious with utility usage if they know they only have to pay a fixed rate each month.

For me, it boils down to good communication and transparency. I want to feel like I can trust a property manager with my investment. If I have no idea what's going on with my properties, then it's easy to feel frustrated or confused. I think a good property manager is proactive, communicating with the owner before they ask for a status report. This helps owners to feel like the manager is on the ball and will take care of things before they become problems. When communication is done right, owners feel like they can see into the operations and be a part of the major decisions (without having to stress about the small stuff).

A property manager might be a good fit for you, especially if you have a full time job and are looking to add more properties. Run the numbers and see if it would work. Some management companies also offer a la carte services if you only need help in specific areas. What takes the most time right now? Is it communicating with tenants? Repairs? Finding and screening new tenants? See if you can automate or outsource the most time consuming tasks to free yourself up to find your next deal. Good luck!

The fees would be one hangup. Another would be a lack of visibility into their operations. Some landlords get frustrated by poor communication from their property managers, especially if they don't understand the rationale behind a manager's decision. That's why it's such a gift to have a good property manager who communicates well.

Other landlords only make marginal cash flow, so a manager's fees would cut out their profits. It depends on the area, the property, and the landlord.