All Forum Posts by: Spencer Abeyta

Do you have your Real Estate License? If you do, you could give them an option for a month to month lease if they use you to purchase their new home.

If that is not an option, I would stick to the lease end date of June 30th. It is a difficult balance to be considerate of tenants but you have to be considerate of your bank account. If the property is going to sit vacant for 3 months in the winter that does not help you.

Appfolio has an option for the daily late fee charge, but they do require a minimum of 50 units to use the software.

I would check to see if Buildium offers this option.

Our software automatically sends out email reminders the day before rent is due. If rent is not paid we follow up personally.

Familial status is a protected class with HUD. And a 2 year old is also too young to sign a lease. You could make the adults sign a new lease that lists the toddler as an additional occupant.

Be careful not to open up a legal can of worms by trying to fight or deny the addition of a toddler.

We charge one month's deposit as standard with new tenant move ins. If they are a conditional approval, which is very rare, there will be an increased security deposit. 

In Colorado we are capped at 2 month's deposit.

It is very common for a PM to sign on behalf of the owner. We do this at my company and it allows the owner of the property separation from the tenant. 

If you hire a PM company you should trust their competency in qualifying tenants and signing a lease on your behalf.

I am not familiar if Stessa has a yearly contract or what that looks like. But from their website, they charge $28 per month for priority phone support. I would pay the $28 for priority phone support and see if you can work out this problem. Once the problem is resolved, find a qualified PM company and transfer the management.

A lawyer is going to cost drastically more than $28 per month.

If I understand the question, you are asking about the management fee for STRs?

The management fee for STR is very location dependent. The best way to find this would be to contact local PM companies that manage STRs and ask what they charge. After talking to 3 companies, you should have a median price of what the cost will be.

Keep in mind, a professional company tends to have processes in place to increase efficiency like inventory management and 24/7 phone coverage.

We need to know how many units you manage. I know quite a few PMs who use Buildium and Appfolio. 

Buildium can accommodate under 50 units and I know companies that use it for 600 units.

Appfolio has a 50 unit minimum and it is the biggest player in SFR and small multifamily PM software. It has become so big that customer support is almost nonexistent unless you pay for the highest tier of pricing.

A PM company needs to have expertise in the area that they service. You should be able to learn from them so this makes you a better investor. 

They also need to be able to communicate in the form that you prefer, whether it be phone call, email, text, or online meeting.