All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

Had a very positive experience today with Buildium and Buildium's CEO Michael Monteiro.  This is a bit of a long read but wanted to share.

If you search some of my post history going a ways back in a # of them I had a keyword alert set for Buildium and would try to help someone with the software if I could or tout the advantages it offered, simply because I do like the product.  Started using it in 2010 and still do to this day.

I started to develop some frustrations with Buildium as I had referred a # of people to sign up for the software and as part of that Buildium had been advertising a refer a friend credit.  I do not know what the credit is now, at one time it was $50 or $100 - really inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but it was something they offered and it would be like pulling teeth to get the credits applied.  I became frustrated over this as I felt it made me look bad when I referred someone and the credit would never get applied to their account after multiple follow ups.

Second issue I had was I was a little late this year in calling in to lock my old rate before a price increase went into effect later this year.  A rep had stated I went past the deadline and they didnt honor it.  That was mostly on me as they did do a good job of emailing and communicating when the deadline was to lock in the price.  I think I was a month out, however just asked to be thrown a bone.  They said they'd get back to me and escalate the issue with support to see if it could be done but a month went by and didnt hear back until yesterday when I was told they wouldn't honor the old rate.

So my frustrations boiled over a bit yesterday and I typed up an email and sent it to customer service and a # of others at the company expressing my issues and frustrations.  This morning I received an email directly from the CEO Michael asking if I could chat on a the phone for a bit - we arranged a time and he personally called me late this afternoon.  Michael did own the issues they had with the refer a friend credits in the past and said they have worked to streamline the system to make it way more efficient.  I'll probably give it a try again if I run across someone that is interested in signing up.  (He did note he was having someone go back and research anyone I may have referred and they will make it right if the credits were not applied - I may have been paid on all of them and the others may have as well....what I was upset about was the multiple follow ups required to get them applied so I didn't look like a fool on my side for referring someone)

Secondly he apologized for not having someone get back to me and they should have locked in the old rate for as long as I'd been with them.  We chatted a bit more about price and how I felt possibly they were wanting to get away from the smaller operators - he said the whole reason the company was founded by himself and his partner was due to the fact nothing at the time existed for smaller operators, which I am at the moment, and they want to continue to offer services geared towards the smaller guy at a competitive price.  

Honestly I do agree even at around $500 or so for the most basic package per year it is a good deal.  So at that point we agreed.  He did point out the price increases were 2 years apart and he couldn't promise there wouldn't be more but it was not a decision they took lightly.  I will say that if you take full advantage of all the features they offer (there will be a learning curve with some of them) you can save immense amounts of time, run your business more professionally and serve your tenants with a higher level of service.  The base level package is significantly less than Appfolio and does meet a nice middle ground, however based on trying out a couple others I've been sold from day 1 with what they have to offer.  I will admit with my recent frustrations I was thinking about switching next year, however the fact Michael took the time to reach out to me likely earned them a customer for life.

So in closing, I was very surprised at the very quick response by Buildium and the fact the CEO personally took the time to reach out to me directly.  That meant a lot.  I really did not type up the email seeking a response from anyone, just wanted to vent my frustrations.  The fact he reached out to me personally and owned the issues and listened is not something you find now a days.  And no.... I was not paid in any way to type this up and am in no way affiliated with Buildium etc.  I'm a guy with a full time day job and someone who is still grinding it out trying to make RE investing his full time gig so I'm like a lot of you out there.

Simply wanted to share my positive experience.  Michael seemed like a class act and based on his great attitude I can see why when you call in to support it's typically a great experience.  You'll likely find me joining in on more discussions involving Buildium now.  :)

@Christopher J Lemmon   Were you able to call down to the Wyandotte county courthouse and see if they had a case file they could email you?

I'm really curious how this will play out. My only guess as to why the closing company would not issue a title insurance policy is they saw something in the case file that threw red flags for them. Again I'm speculating there is a case file - but per my understanding of KS Foreclosure law there should have to be one even in the event of a tax foreclosure same as a bank foreclosure, HOA foreclosure etc.

@Christopher J Lemmon

Well as stated - experience in this deal is limited to one transaction - I did consult an atty to draft up the redemption rights form we needed and how to file paperwork correctly - the title company walked us through the rest.  

But yes per my understanding - when it goes to foreclosure and they have the auction at the courthouse....if the bank or in this instance the gov't entity did everything correctly then theoretically all other junior liens should be wiped out.  Again I'm guessing tax sales are a tad different and I did recommend an atty in another thread that I personally know has experience with foreclosures/tax foreclosures - Ed Robinson - Robinson law - however he's in Wichita - not sure if he could help down here or not.  I'd guess the laws would be the same but geographically may not work for him.  Maybe a suggestion is to get involved in the Mid America Real Estate Association in KC or give them a call - they may have a suggestion - @Kim Tucker is the president I believe?  Kim can you maybe chime in?

I'd still think a good starting point is if there is a case file definitely see if you can get it emailed to you and read through it.  May hold the keys to the puzzle for you.  If you can get ahold of the file I'd be glad to read through it and make some sense of it.  Of course keep in mind I'm not an atty and it would not be legal advice etc etc - just simply seeing if I can help.

@Christopher J Lemmon

I'm not an expert at this but have purchased redemption rights here and redeemed a property out of foreclosure before (obviously there was a large equity spread to make it worth my while) so not a greenhorn.  And have pursued a # of others.

With that being said - this is a new situation to me - all the case docs I've read involving bank foreclosures have a hefty paper trail in them.  Photocopies of certified mailers - notifying the owner of record, & John/Jane Doe/Does - copies of the notice of foreclosure in the legal publication of record, copies of the reports from the sheriff along with receipts for the task of serving the owner of record/john/jane does among a few other things.  With a tax foreclosure I'm only guessing - but I'd think there may be a case file associated with it and if you went down to the court house or called Wyandotte county courthouse up they may be able to look it up by the owner of record and email you a PDF file of all the case docs to review (if there is a case file on a tax foreclosure case - of which I'm guessing there is since there is one on a mortgage foreclosure case)

Second thing I'd do before using a title company only to clear this up if you dont have any luck researching it yourself is find an atty in the KC area (on the KS side of course) that specializes in foreclosure/RE law - they should be able to help you better than other companies out of state.  From what I've read on here I am led to believe our KS laws have a few quirks in them that other states dont (with the redemption rights etc)  

I guess lastly if this guy is in jail and a quit claim deed will solve your problem - why not see if you can visit him, first I'd see what he's in for and how long - if he's in for a while maybe offer to make a sizable donation to his "Store"/commissary account at the jail in exchange for signing the deed?   Supposedly haveing a lot of money to spend at "store" is a big deal to an inmate.  Who knows if that will work - my familiarity with jailhouse terms only comes from watching "Lockup" and "Hardtime" on Netflix and MSNBC....ha

@Chris Policicchio

Ed Robinson - Robinson Law

I've done business with Ed in the past and know he likes to focus on RE/Bus law and has done a # of things regarding foreclosures - I'd guess a note/mortgage would be in his wheelhouse as well.

Thanks @Steven Hamilton II & @Steve Vaughan

Steven Hamilton - I think that is what I was referencing.  So I guess when/if I get my penalty/fine in the mail I'll fill out and send back hoping for the best.

Steve Vaughn - I agree - the new deadlines make sense - Normally I have these done way sooner - at this point my circle of partners is my father and a longtime friend who happened to file and extension himself so they are not upset.

Next year with the additional help I plan to have they will be done way early so moving forward I wont have this issue again.

 I read that - I guess my question was do you think if you are a small partnership (less than 10 partners - revenue under certain thresholds etc) that the penalties etc will be waived this year?

I guess I've been living under a rock and this year is reason #300 I need to complete the hiring out of my bookkeeping.  Have never minded doing it, just don't look forward to it at all and have had a few more complex transactions last year and definitely this year.

Anyways I was thinking that the 1065 Partnership return deadline was the same as last year (Today) and did not know it was switched to 3-15-17 (After reading the reason why it makes sense) -- so my bad.  Next year will be different as I will have all the bookkeeping hired out, if I pay someone to do taxes or not will be the question - will have to see where I'm at when 12-31-17 comes around to make that jump or not.

That being said do you think if I send in the extension paperwork today I will have penalties/fines assessed? I have 2 1065 partnership returns to file both are only 2 member LLC's and I'm small at this point. I've seen in the past if they assessed a penalty and you can answer yes to all the questions you simply sign the form with any penalty assessed and mail it back and the IRS will waive the fines/penalty. I'm hoping that's the case this year -- surely I'm not the only guy who missed this deadline this year.

(Disclaimer - I understand if you are a professional somewhere out there participating in this topic - you are merely providing advice/opinion and there is nothing legal binding us - seek my own legal counsel, professionals etc etc - you will be held harmless)

@Adam Stevens  Welcome

@Brent Depperschmidt