All Forum Posts by: Shaun Palmer

Lana Lee Smart Move will provide a recommendation on the credit check on whether or. It they would be good tenants. However, it means nothing to me because it is vital to your business to have your screening criteria set for your business before you get recommendations from someone else. Their criteria could be completely different than yours. Smart Move costs $35 to run a background and credit check. I ask my tenants to pay this as the rental app. They can pay directly through Smart Move. That way I don't have to collect SS #'s and the liability associated with that. Also, I could be wrong but I don't think Cozy is free to run a Background and credit check. If memory serves me correct, they do not run criminal background checks so that is why I use Smart Move. Hope this helps.

Lana Lee Smart Move is the best way to go in my opinion. You can run background and credit very easily. You typically will get the report almost immediately if there is. It much in either of the reports.

Ryan Schaefer It is a good site to use if you only want to collect rent. The site has really updated their processes to improve expedition of rent payments to your bank. However, if you are looking for property mgmt as well for a tool, Cozy would not be my first choice. I used to use them but left once I figured out I needed PM software as well.

Andriy Boychuk There are pros and cons to both but PEX is generally more accepted in the construction industry. A general note about PVC is that it does not accept hot water well. Therefore it typically is only used for the main supply because it is cold water. CPVC does not do well with cold weather. This is why PEX is generally the more versatile pipe. There is always copper as an option as well

Justin Dixon I like Tenant Cloud

I was wondering if anyone has any references for transferring an existing lease from a personal name to a business (LLC). After creating an entity, I now need to transfer my leases, have my existing tenants sign, into my business and I was wondering if anyone has a good reference that wouldn't mind sharing. Thanks

@Justine Scheuher

I would recommend that since you have little knowledge of what renovations cost, I would first network to see if you can find another RE investor willing to partner with you that knows the costs.  If this is not an option, I would consider networking to find a reputable GC in your area and then paying them for their time to walk through the house with you when you visit prior to making the offer.  They might charge you $200 for an hour or two of their time but this will probably be the best money you can spend  considering your knowledge base.  

I think it is smart to go into it knowing your areas that you need help with.  One thing I would recommend is a having a concrete idea of what the scope of work needs to be prior to showing up with your contractor.  The last thing that a GC wants to do is have to wait on you to make decisions after you do the walk through.  They will want to walk through right then and there and get an answer from you for each room.  Think it through before you show up.  This will go a long way in getting a bid quickly.  

Hope this helps.

Mike Day Find a broker you can work with. It should be fairly easy to find one who can get you 10 loans in your name.

Alex Deacon Thanks Alex. Good points here.

Does anyone have any good references on how to evaluate a credit score? I always run a score with an application and typically my criteria is 620 because that is usually the cutoff for a lender to offer a mortgage. However, lately it is getting more difficult to find a tenant with a score above 620. I am considering lowering my criteria but I first want to understand what a "score" means in common terms (i.e. If I reduce my criteria to say 570, what does that mean in terms of risk of someone not paying the rent?). I just what to evaluate risk with the credit score. Is this possible and does anyone have a good tool or reference?