All Forum Posts by: Zach F.

Hey @Diane Kruse I am about to use cozys background and credit checker soon to fill our next vacant unit. We're switching our processes around slightly and will be trying out Cozy. I love the other aspects of Cozy, but have not used this feature yet. I agree, $40 is pretty pricey for this. I will let you know what I think.

I use Cozy, it's free and you can have your residents setup direct deposit recurring rent collection. I see the appeal of venmo, not sure you can set it up as recurring automatic pulls from residents bank accounts like you can in Cozy though. I'm really big on Cozy, I've found it's the only free bank to bank rent transfer site available.

I do not have any electric baseboards in my buildings, but know other investors who do have them.  We get bitter cold winters here and the investors I know who use them love having them in the building.  

I'm not aware of a software that will be able to mail paper checks to vendors.  I think some banks might have this feature where you can go into the portal and pay a fee I'm sure to have them mail a check.  Have you considered asking your custodian to setup  a PayPal account?  You could help them get this setup and it's really easy to do.  Snail mailing and writing checks definitely takes up your time and I personally try to avoid it at all costs.

With a small amount of units, could you try and get your custodians introduced to PayPal (I was able to do this with one of my residents and now it works out much better)?  Then for mailing letters to residents, could you just switch to a email based system?  That way it will always be tracked for legal purposes, it's free, and takes much less of your time.  

Good luck!

In our area, I have found most PM companies charge you around $80/inspection and when you signup with them, they have you choose if you want to have that inspection 0x/year, 1x/year, or quarterly.  Then, you are charged a $150 move-out inspection fee.

From the quotes I got from other PM companies in the area, it looks like they really emphasize that their maintenance team does inspections while they go in for any routine maintenance that is needed. 

What are the structures for your units under management?

Going FHA has a bad reputation, but it is one of my favorite ways to get started if you purchase properly. Lenders are not fond of FHA for quite a few different reasons (in my opinion). For one, the FHA loans have a higher risk of not working out in the long run. Due to the stringent requirements that are associated with FHA, it's a higher likelihood a deal will fall through for the banker, who just spent over 20 hours of his time helping you. Same thing goes with your RE agent.

Another thing is that sellers will likely go with someone who does not have an FHA loan if there are multiple bids on the property. Another reason why I think FHA gets a bad rep.

However, when you are getting started, I think this is an absolutely fantastic way to get into buy and hold rental property real estate. If you buy properly, you can expect to see fantastic cash on cash returns and also potentially live in a unit while the others cover your mortgage AND expenses. So you could essentially be getting paid to live in one of your units. That has been my experience and I am a huge proponent of FHA loans if you buy properly.

Good luck!

Cozy has been my go - to for quite a while now.  I love using it.  Highly suggest you give it a try.  Seems simple for the tenants to get logged into it.  The UI from the landlord's standpoint is not super user friendly, but luckily you shouldn't have to go into cozy that often.

Hi @Devin Woods, I have seen it vary from property manager to property manager.  Remember, everything is negotiable and if you see something that you think is outrageous (say something like $150 per quarterly routine inspection of your building), then I would question why it is that much or find a new PM if they don't want to work with you.

It all depends on who the PM is.  I would suggest picking up the phone and calling your local PM companies (or the ones in the area you plan to invest) and asking them just this question.  

That will be the best way to learn I think.

Good luck!

One of the biggest decisions I think you need to make before you close on your first deal is first, "Do I really understand what the numbers are telling me?"  

Second decision, "Have I reviewed my numbers with someone who has many years of experience being successful in REI and do they agree this is a wise investment?"

If you can get both of those two questions answered, you should feel good about moving forward with the purchase.