All Forum Posts by: Wade Sikkink

Sure thing, Judie.  You can sign up to be invited to the launch at www.alcalo.com/signup

Quicken doesn't have a good solution.  I'm waiting for something better....

@Wes Shaw You don't have to share any of the criteria.  It will only become an issue when you deny someone based on that criteria, then they will ask you about it.  We have denied tenants based on that criteria before and had to tell them that they don't make enough money to rent this apartment, then we explain our criteria is 3x the monthly rent. If you don't put that criteria on your hand out, then deny someone over it, it will be an uncomfortable conversation when you explain to them the sheet with the criteria you gave them didn't include ALL the criteria.

Another tip, we don't schedule any showings until we have received a completed application from a prospective tenant.  We don't want to waste our time showing apartments to people that won't qualify, or that are just kicking the tires.  We want serious applicants only.  You can waste a lot of time showing units to people that won't qualify, or aren't really serious, just nosy.

I use a surface pro 4 and love it.  Very powerful, but still a tablet, so easy to take on airplanes, etc.

Seems expensive.  What features are attractive to you?  How many units do you have?

Definitely establish your criteria and stick to it.  The two most important, in my opinion, are verifiable income (>3x rent), and references.  If you can actually speak to a former or current landlord, they will tell you if the tenant is good or not.  We had an applicant give us his current landlord's contact info. When we called the landlord, he told us the tenant was 2 months behind on rent.  Made that decision easy.

Good luck.

@Judie Morris Thanks for the question!  alcalo is designed for keeping track of rentals.  However, it will record all your transactions and allow them to be categorized.  Give it a try here in a couple months when it launches and let me know what you think.

Quickbooks is a turd.  Not designed for real estate investors.  Too many "tricks" required to make it work.  I have 14 units and use a spreadsheet, but it's cumbersome and requires a lot of tweaking and checking formulas and links.  Definitely not user friendly and takes up a lot of time.  I'm waiting for something better.

Buildium is too expensive for your situation and Excel gets too messy.  There is a solution tailor made for you coming this fall.

What's the age of the property?  Deferred maintenance can be a big deal on older properties.  Make sure you understand the condition of the property and if you will need to make any significant repairs or rehabs.

Also understand the tenant situation.  Ask about his screening process.  If there are problem tenants in there you will be the one that has to deal with them.

Good luck.