All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

I use Buildium and would vote for it.  

Big fan of Buildium -- they'll give you a free test drive.  Takes a while to set up, however the software is pretty powerful.  Would work great for your operation.  Get the online payments set up -- huge time saver!

www.buildium.com

Believe there are quite a few buildium users on here.

I echo what everyone else has said - it all depends on what your competition has to offer.

You're right - they need some work, but how much "depends".

I'd start by browsing craigslist, zillow, trulia, hotpads, apartments.com and whatever rental site I may have left out for comps similar to your size of home, rent range # of baths/bedrooms and see what they have to offer.  Make yours just as nice or nicer if the economics justify it or shoot for a lower price range if you cant compete with your competition at that price range.

That's my best advice.  Personally I'd rather spend a bit more money to make the property a bit nicer than the competition and "hardened" to attract a better tenant.  Dont think you can go wrong spending the money in the kitchen and master bath.

I have whats called "LVT" luxury vinyl tile locally (the glue down verson) in one of my rentals and like it.  I think I'll probably switch other properties over to this product.  Its a commercial grade type of product which has a faux look of wood, tile, bamboo or any # of materials, you'll see this in grocery stores, commercial buildings and a lot of newer residential homes in Wichita.  Pricing is good, just need an underlayment down and a good solid level subfloor.

I'd think at a min a paint job, a new backsplash and new flooring along with better lighting would help your case.   Wouldnt hurt to get rid of the el cheapo faucet.  If you have Menards in your neck of the woods they have good prices on Moen or Delta products.  (Could order online from them as well)  Here's one I'm installing in a unit now (chose stainless, though if you go with Chrome no one WILL even come close to touching that price Moen Traditional )

Best of luck.

Are you looking for residential or commercial?

Have a contact for commercial.

@John Thedford

Hello John - not to hijack this thread - however I perked up after reading the Florida story - I lived in Cape Coral (worked in Ft Myers at an office by the Ale House) and later lived in Pt Charlotte, worked out of an office there as well for an insurance company towards the end of my stay.

Moved there May 2005 - moved back to KS Aug 2006 -- Bubble still had not popped summer of 05 - was so very tempted to purchase and was looking for a duplex/single family however the economics and the loan I was approved for made no sense, something told me not to do it.  Glad I didn't.  Many former co-workers that transferred and purchased around the same time I did walked away from homes or are so far upside down they'll never make their money back.

Only regret is I almost wish I had stayed so I could purchase after the bubble burst.  Paid attention for a while and many homes far larger and newer were priced considerably less than something similar in Wichita.  (Came home in 2006 simply so I could afford a house)

Has the SW Florida market come back any?  Did the Naples/Marco Island area suffer the same rate of foreclosures and crash as the Cape?  Really miss the area during the winter months when the KS temps dip in the single digits with the N Wind howling outside.  Not so much in July/August though we've been hitting triple digits or nearly so fairly regularly the past couple of weeks....ha!

Do miss seeing Grouper on the menu in practically every restaurant.

Congrats.  I plan on starting my own thread w a similar title in the next three years.  Looking forward to that day. 

@Jeffrey Giffin

My wife is similar, hopefully if I ever convince her to join BP and share my passion for RE she wont find this thread...ha

I probably had a leg up in that I already had one property when we got together so she's on board for more and has lived through a couple others.

Not sure how you take care of your finances - could always start your own accounts or if you have your own, simply use money out of it, forego a large purchase (upgrading the car etc)

Now might be as good as time as ever to hone your negotiation skills....Good luck!

Welcome.

How long have you lived in Chicago?

Have you tried putting the #'s down on paper or using BP's calculators to put together a report to show her the #'s?

Maybe go to some open houses together?  See if you can spark an interest or at least let her know it's something you're serious about.

@Jim Workman

Hi Jim, I've used Buildium for the past 5 years -- I have not done specifically what you are asking and am not quite sure if it can be done.

That being said, I do know every time I've called Buildium their folks have been MORE than willing to help me with any issues I might have.  Maybe your PM and yourself could complete a conference call with Buildium Tech Support at the beginning of the week and you can describe what you're after and possibly they could walk your PM through the process if it's possible?

Sorry I wasn't much help, but the best solution I can think of.