All Forum Posts by: Soh Tanaka

I agree basically with what @Nathan Gesner said. 

Pretend that your goal is to have someone else who doesn't know anything about property management run your property management company. What kind of processes will you make? What kind of training documents will you have? Make them. 

Knowing how to manage units is different from knowing how to run a property management company.

I almost feel like it's better just to get a few doors initially. Once you set up the processes, etc., then you can start focusing on growth. 

I run a small mastermind group for small property management companies if you are interested. 

I'm sure you are looking for an honest, knowledgeable, and responsive property management company. But one thing people often fail to think about is the type of property management (PM) company. This is just in general, but there are 3 types of PMs. One likes to offer you options and have you make the decision. One wants to reduce expenses by limiting repairs. One likes to reduce the risk by being proactive. There are pros and cons to each approach. Make sure you know which one you like to go with and make sure that the one you chose matches what you are looking for. 

You should hire a property manager who will put the lockbox on the door for you. The PM company can arrange the repairs with trusted contractors. 

The rental properties I own and managed by a property manager, I don't have the keys, and I don't want the keys.

The properties I manage on behalf of the owners, I hold the keys.

@Colleen F. I was about to post saying, "You are wrong!" (in a nice way,) but you are right! 

I can't believe that the cost is $799 per year now! I'm sure you know, but until recently (a year or 2 ago,) you were able to pay a few hundred dollars and use it for a few years with updates. I guess they really want us (who still use the desktop version) to start using the online version, understandably. 

One of the issues for me to move to the online version is that, as far as I know, if you have multiple companies, you have to have multiple subscriptions. That is going to get really expensive for me. 

Xero sounds like a good option, but my accountant really doesn't know it much, so that's that. 

You can check NARPM.org to find a property manager.

I think for 14 doors, it's better to start simple, and then as you grow, add more layers. To have 14 LLCs for 14 doors seems too many to me unless each is a very expensive property. 

There are 4 types of "property management" software. 

1st is custom-made software (you might argue it's not really software.) For example, you can start keeping track of income and expenses on a spreadsheet. That's how I started. You can start immediately with little expense, but you obviously have to build the entire spreadsheet yourself.

2nd is software specifically designed for those self-managing landlords. If you go to the tools section of biggerpockets, you will find some there. A lot of people talk about Stessa also. Rental property accounting can get complicated, and I'm not sure how robust the accounting feature is for this type of software. 

3rd is software designed specifically for property management companies that manage other people's properties. While some use this type of software for their own properties, a lot of times its overkill unless you have a lot of units. They are Buildium, Yardi, Appfolio, rentvine, RentManager, Propertyware, etc.

4th is just wing an accounting software to use as a property management software. There are people who use QuickBooks to manage units. The pro is all the numbers are right there, but it might lack some basic property management functions that you want.

If you are looking for a property management company, NARPM is a good place to start. 

If you are interested in northwest Indiana, you can try One Property Solution.

I know what you mean as I thought about changing from the desktop version to the online version. Not only that, I think you need an expensive subscription per company, so if you have several companies, you have to have several subscriptions. At least that is my understanding. 

I use the desktop version, and it works just fine. Xero is another option.