All Forum Posts by: Timmi Ryerson

I agree with Nick G. Banks are bound by Dodd Frank regs and even though repeal of that bad bill is in the mix it is still on the books so banks, large or small will have problems lending to you.  There are individuals and groups of investors who will loan money using rental property as collateral. The interest rates are higher but you can get the money you need.  Just factor in the increased cost of money when doing new deals.  There are literally hundreds of investors on Linked In.  I know there are many who specialize in collateralized lending in California.  When Dodd Frank is repealed, you will once again be able to get money from a bank, especially local community banks.  Good luck.  

Yes Jessica I think you missed the message.  I was not condoning the markups only reporting about them.

It can be from 8 to 15 %.  For short term rentals (I live in a resort area) it is 25%.

In my experience, marking up an invoice for repair is a common practice.  Maintenance and repair management is a time consuming task and has many facets.  The PM has to coordinate the repair appointment with a tenant, be sure the repair was done correctly and pay the vendor for the repair.  PMs are realizing that they need to get paid for their time to perform these services.  I suggest that you confront the PM you use and be sure to check your contract for language that allows this practice. You may be able to negotiate an amicable result.

Maintenance is often the most labor intensive part of Property Mangement.  As you all know, getting a phone call in the middle of the night from a tenant with no heat or water leaking is a nightmare most do not want.  The industry is changing and new services are coming online to help owners and property managers to streamline this process.  But the truth is that property management companies routinely mark up repair invoices to cover their staff cost fro managing the repair. This may change as maintenance management becomes more automated with software.  You can google for companies that provide this kind of service.

Hi Kenneth,

You can contact me directly and I will give you some suggestions.  I have been doing residential property management for over 30 years.  I also managed commercial properties for my family for awhile.  Just connect.

Niyi, I suggest you contact me directly for some suggestions.  I have added you to my contacts.

I would ask if the untility is separated by unit.  If not you will have headaches.  You can set the rent high including utilities, but tenants tend to waste energy and heat and water when they have unlimited use and feel that they have already paid for it.  I would not buy a property that did not have utiities separated, unless I could get a screaming deal on the purchase price.  

First of all, did you do tenant screening and check with the previous landlord(s)?  Tenant screening is the best way to guard against this kind of "professional sob story" tenant.  Collect an application fee from the tenant up front in cash.  That cash will  cover the cost of tenant screening.

Tenants know when rent is due.  First time they are late take no excuses.  Charge the late fee.  Are you using software? If so, late fee automation should be built into the software so that the late fee is  added automatically the day the rent is late and a notification of the late payment should be sent which states that rent is due now.  

The excuse that she can't buy one money order has many red flags.  First of all, she probably has no bank account.  Not good. No bank account is a sign that this person was not managing a checking account well or is trying to stay under radar from tracing income or both.  Second of all she can easily buy both money orders at the same time and send them both.  Automated rent payments would have solved this issue.  You could have told her that she would be making automated rent payments using her checking account or credit card.  When she mentions that she has no bank account it would be your red flag.

As was mentioned earlier in a post, repairs are a separate matter completely.  She has a contract to pay you rent and it is not conditional upon repairs.  I use software for maintenance and it sends a tenant survey to the tenant as soon as the repair is done and asks if it was done, if the problem was solved, if the person doing the work cleaned up after the repair and gets an overall rating for that repair.  Then there can be no issues later on tied to any thing in the lease contract because you have a tenant statement of satisfaction.  In the event that there is still a problem payment can be withheld from the person doing the work until the repair is finished.  It solves any repair dispute.

If this tenant can be trained you will be able to get paid ontime, but if not be sure to use tenant screening next time.  Also do regular inspections of your property to be sure that it is being cared for.  Good luck

Welcome to Bigger Pockets, Randy.  Lots of bright people and lots of good advice here.  Best of luck.