All Forum Posts by: Ronald Perich

George Skidis has a bunch of paid meetups he hosts. I've never been so I can't tell you if they are good or not. Peter MacKercher has a get together once a month in West St. Louis, too.

And these stories are why I have not placed my rentals with a PM.

@Andy Moore, I checked out your PM company and it looks like a company that I would use. The problem is, most are not like your company. Simple to understand fee structure, good reputation, etc. Very difficult to come by.

@Fred Heller You sound like a good guy with a good sense of right and wrong. I commend you for that. 

The question was asked and we answered. I really don't see where anyone trashed property managers in these responses. What we did was explain why we don't often use them. Also, property managers and property management companies are not the same thing. In my area, there are very few reputable PM companies. There are a few good PMs, though. And most of them are members of my local REIA. BTW, they are also the owners of their properties.

Here's my challenge. I checked out a couple of these companies that have solid reputations. They will charge me almost $14K a year for managing/filling my nine units. I spend maybe 20 hours a month managing them. That means they are getting nearly $57/hour for managing my properties. My contractors don't even charge me that much.

So I plan on "doing it myself". The next stage is to hire an assistant who can manage the properties, who can help me fill the vacancies, and who can help me with the marketing. I get to choose the programs we use for resident retention and service. I get to design the overall approach to cash flow and I ensure my team is meeting the expectations of our clients and vendors.

The best regulationsare those voted on by the pocketbook. There are enough rules and regulations already and nearly every state requires PMs to be licensed agents. 

Give me a PM who treats my residents like gold (cause they are), at a fair price, and take some ownership in the property and they'll make even more money than otherwise.

It may be a scarcity mindset. Not sure. But I look at the financial cost versus the return and really don't see the benefit. PM fees are not the 8-10% everyone budgets. They are more in the 15-20% range. 

The PMs interests appear to be opposite of my interests. They get a Lease-Up fee, usually a full-month's rent. They get a renewal fee, typically in the 1/2 month range. They upcharge for maintenance calls. They charge for evictions of the very residents they placed. It is in their best interest to have turnover. It's in their best interest to have churn. And they have contracts where they get fees if you cancel with them?? 

Give me a system where I can actually plan out my costs and where I have an out for poor service or poor results. Where our interests are aligned with each other so we both do well financially without it being an us vs. them situation. Stop trying to pull every nickel and penny out of the owners.

Do the math. 10 units at $700/mo is $8400 a year in standard fees. Then I get charged for five turn-overs at $3500. Five renewals at $1750. So we're up to $13,650. Now add on another $1000 or so in other "fees". So almost $15,000 a year to manage 10 rentals. Give me a break. I can hire someone to work for me 10 hours a week and take nearly all of the burden off of me. And they work on my behalf. Our interests are aligned. 

I don't have a problem paying for good service. I do it all of the time with my contractors and vendors. Just work with me, not against me. If I am successful, you are successful. We grow together.

So I'm probably not thinking this through. I keep looking at it and wondering where I am wrong.

At this point, both residents are month-to-month. The lease states 30 days notice. You can give either or both said notice properly (check FL laws on what proper service of notice means). If you are concerned about a backroom deal, then an estoppel is the way to go, but it is not a guarantee of anything.

Unfortunately, even with a 30 day notice, you're not guaranteed you can move in. They could fight it in court. I understand FL is a pretty fair and fast state, so it wouldn't be too long after that to take possession.

You do receive an email stating the residents have paid. That's the day I use to determine any late fees. You can also look at their lease and payment page to see the transaction.

Regarding the float time, I don't have an issue with the delay. If you want it faster, you can upgrade by paying for the service. I think they promise 2 to 3 days.

Just had my first month with using Cozy after the previous service I was using couldn't handle rental payments any longer.

Renter A "paid" Cozy on May 27 (Friday) and the deposit was made June 3rd - 7 days.

Renter "B" was on May 29 (Sunday) and the deposit was made June 6 - 8 days.

That's acceptable to me. Like @Mike F., I think a few enhancements to their service would really make it shine. I'm OK with the time for payments to hit the bank. I'd like an easier way of getting a receipt to attach to my PM software, the ability for my residents to pay bi-weekly, and a more consolidated review of payments made. 

When you get above a few residents, you'll find it's necessary to use their "export" feature, which delivers an Excel of all payments made. Kind of klunky. I'd like a simple web page that shows me a listing of where everything stands.

@Josh Dillingham I agree with @Chris Soignier. The property valuations done by the county rarely match with the true value of larger properties. They can be closer on SFH (up to four units). Income is the determining factor for sales price and property value.

When you refinance, if it comes in lower than the county's assessed value, use that as leverage over the assessment value. $1200 in tax savings would mean $12,000 in sales price at a 10-cap. Even higher if your market is under a ten cap! For example, a 6-cap would mean you've increase the potential sales price by $20,000.

 That's great news!

I don't want my property to remain at the current valuation, of course. I've been working very hard to get this back into a B property to help keep vacancy and maintenance calls low. The quality of the residents is what's making all of the difference right now from a management perspective.

We've done things like remove older carpeting and replacing with vinyl plank flooring, changing out water heaters, putting HVAC maintenance on a schedule, pest control, and better yard maintenance. The transition has been amazing. 

In the next month or so, I am looking to refinance this thing to pull out some cash. I'll gladly pay more in taxes for a property that's worth more.