Women Invest in Real Estate

Hey everyone! Welcome back to episode 17 of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. In this week's podcast episode we're going to be talking all about how you can make your mid-term rental stand out in a saturated market. This is such a great question and so relevant right now because the mid-term rental market is on the verge of some fierce competition and it’s super important to make sure that your listing stands out among others to keep your occupancy rate high and vacancy level low. You won’t want to miss this! Tip #1: Post great photosWhile we’re both guilty of not following this rule, if your MTR is in a highly saturated market we highly recommend investing in a professional photographer to take your listing photos. If you must take the photos yourself using your cell phone here are a few good rules of thumb to follow: use landscape mode, make sure your finger is not in the photos, take photos of small details (washer/dryer, kitchen utensils, etc.), and always brighten your photos.Tip #2: Accept petsWe have learned that many travel nurses travel with furry companions and you can do things like requiring an additional non-refundable pet deposit and charging monthly pet rent to keep your listing in demand and keep the tenants happy to have their pets with them.Tip #3: Provide laundry accessNurses, specifically, do a lot of laundry. They can’t go to their hospital shift in a dirty pair of scrubs and having to sit at a laundromat outside of their working hours is less than ideal. Also, generally, the first amenity people look for, is laundry. So if you can swing it, and you’re in a saturated market, invest in putting a washer and dryer in your unit (or have a shared laundry space).Tip #4: Add a security systemMany of our travelers are solo travelers and having that extra security feature can help people feel much more comfortable and safe when they are traveling in large cities. Also, some insurance companies offer a discount for having an active security system installed.Tip #5 Update small touchesSmall changes can make a big impact, without making a big dent in your wallet. Update light switch plates, cabinet hardware, faucet heads, and outlet covers; even simple ceiling fixtures can be a nice bonus to travelers (ceiling fans are big sellers!).Tip #6 Focus on the bathrooms and kitchenA big visual point in any property is the kitchen and bathrooms. Investing in even small updates in those spaces can go a long way.Tip #7 Create an inviting outdoor spaceAfter working a long shift in a hospital or corporate office, traveling professionals enjoy having their evening meal or even their morning coffee on a nice patio. Add a bistro table and chair set and this will help your unit stand out amongst the competition. It's so nice to have just that little outdoor space where you can spend time.Tip #8 Write a detailed description (that sets the mood)The more details you can add to a description the fewer questions people will have. They know what to expect which is a huge draw for a potential tenant. Help them envision what it looks like to live there: “enjoy your coffee outside on our shaded patio in the mornings and evenings”. Put yourself in the tenants’ shoes and answer the questions before they are even asked.Tip #9 Make the barrier to entry low Make your responses and communication timely; the application process easy; the deposit process seamless, and never wait to respond to questions and inquiries. If you wait more than 1-2 days, chances are that tenant has already moved on.  That’s all for this week. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us on Instagram.Thanks for listening and we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join WIIRE inside The CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we’re doing a deep dive into partnerships in the world of real estate investing. We’re so excited to share with you the different types of REI partnerships, how we have structured our own partnerships, and also things to consider when it comes to implementing partnerships in your own REI business.  Two Types of REI Partnerships: Debt & EquityEquity PartnershipWith an equity partnership, both parties are owners of the property. They both have a piece of the pie. And while your partnership style will depend on exactly whom brings what to the table, in the end, you both own the property. Pros of Equity PartnershipsEquity partnerships allow you to buy more property, with more credit available and more funds available in general. Also, with equity partnerships, you are merging two strengths together, making for a very powerful partnership and two parties who are typically willing to really give the project their all. Cons of Equity PartnershipsIf you wind up not getting along with your partner, in the long run, that can get quite uncomfortable. Make sure that every so often you reassess your partnership (agreement) and its functionality. It also typically comes with a longer timeline because these types of partnerships operate for years. Make sure the person you partner with is someone you get along very well with.  Also, many people don’t want to split the piece of their pie. And while 100% of nothing, is still nothing, you need to make sure you have a strong operating agreement for things that might come up. This partnership reduces risk and increases the availability of capital between the parties. Debt PartnershipA debt partnership is at the very simplest, a loan. Think of it just like you are borrowing money from a bank, except these funds are coming from an individual person (often referred to as a ‘private investor’). This type of partnership and loan comes with a specific timeline, interest rate, payback period, etc. Pros of Debt PartnershipsThese partnerships are often much shorter, and once you’ve paid back your investor, you’re all in, on your own. There are also a lot of people looking for dept partners - maybe they have extra money they are looking to invest and you have the know-how and expertise to allow them to invest with your REI project. Ultimately, in our opinion, the biggest pro of debt partnerships is that they are short term and once you’ve paid back your investor, the property, and income, are all yours. Cons of Debt PartnershipsDebt partnerships typically come at a higher cost. You have a higher interest rate to borrow private money, so typically you have a much shorter timeline for these; BRRRs, flipping, etc., where there is an exit strategy and end of a timeline. These types of loans also typically last under one year and you must pay off the loan in full by the end of that year.  How To Find REI PartnersA great place to look for equity partners is in your own backyard. Talk to family and friends, interact with colleagues, and post on social media that you’re looking for new partnership opportunities. Show them what you’ve done, what you are currently doing, and build that ‘know, like, trust’ factor with them to make them want to know more. Another place to find great equity partners is through your local real estate investing groups and meetups. All of the people in that room are already interested in what you do, so look there to network and structure new partnerships. To find debt partners, look for investors who already have that extra money. Whether it is equity in their home, a self-directing IRA, or someone with a higher income (doctor, lawyer, etc.) but who doesn’t have the time to do the project themselves. These kinds of people typically want to be hands-off (ideal for a debt partnership), so you are their boots on the ground.  Tips for PartneringPut yourself out there and don’t be afraid to ask for partnerships, but don’t try to partner too early.Negotiate and include a management fee if you will be doing the property management yourself.Make sure you outline a reassessment of your partnership after 1-2 years.  A final piece of advice about partnerships:Be cautious, but optimistic.Thank you so much for listening! We would also LOVE to hear more of your burning REI questions or episode ideas so shoot us a DM on Instagram! See you in the next episode!  Resources:Join the MTR Profit AcademyConnect with us on Instagram

Hello friends! Welcome to episode 15 of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. This week we are super excited to be fielding some FAQs that we often receive from our followers on Instagram. We’re going to answer some of these questions and hopefully help you out on your REI journey. The FAQ LineupWhen purchasing a property, should a mid-term rental work as a long-term rental first, numbers-wise?Our take: Absolutely. It should definitely function as a long-term rental first, at least enough to where it's going to cover your mortgage, your insurance, your property taxes, and your utilities. At the very least, you want to break even. What is the difference in amenities/supplies in an MTR as compared to an STR?Our take: We each provide a ‘starter pack’ of items such as paper towels and toilet paper, but in the long term we don’t provide these for the entire stay. We consider what they need to have a comfortable first couple of days while they get settled in, move in their clothes, buy groceries, to have a nice day.  If you know you could get $X for midterm rental, what would you pay for the property?Our take: We want to cash flow $200-400, or ideally as a long-term rental. As a bare minimum, we consider the 1% rule when analyzing deals. Where should I list my midterm rental and how do I find tenants and comps for monthly MTR rates?Our take: FurnishedFinder. You can check out comps and find tenants all in one place. We also recommend AirBNB to help fill gaps between bookings as well.  What value do you use for vacancy when running your numbers in MTR versus LTR?Our take: Amelia uses 8%, for MTR, even though we've found that it's significantly less than that. But again, she runs her numbers very conservatively and she also has some gaps in between bookings (maybe a week or two here or there) which adds up. Also consider that some banks, when you're underwriting larger deals like five+ units, they'll usually actually require a 10% vacancy in your underwriting. They simply want to see that the property still functions even if there is up to a 10% vacancy for the year. Do your units have washer/dryers? We have no room for hookups and I'm pretty sure it will be a hard pass for some people, with others expecting cheaper rates.Our take: You pretty much answered your own question. We recommend checking out FurnishedFinder for the specific area you’re considering and see if there are listings available that don’t have hookups for washer/dryer and it will show what is available. If they're all available right now, that means people don't want them. If they're not available for another two or three months, it means they are getting booked, so you could probably go for it. For Amelia, her units don't have washer/dryer, but there is a washer/dryer in the unit in a shared room. However, it is a hard pass for some people to not have a washer/dryer in their unit, and that's okay. We also recommend taking a play from our friend Britt’s playbook and getting creative by offering a laundry service for an upcharge. Our friend Jess got creative by offering pet care because she lives on the premises and works from home. This is a game changer for travelers with pets, especially traveling nurses who work long hours. How do you get a hold of insurance companies to offer your an MTR for insurance claims?You actually can call the adjusters at insurance companies. They have a department that's called a re-homing or re-housing department, and insurance companies will place displaced families in your units and pay for their housing. This is also an option to offer to local realtors to offer to people who have sold their houses and are still in between homes. If you want to dive deeper into what we just touched on in this episode check out our MTR Profit Academy, which gives you the A to Z on how to start a midterm rental and successfully rent it out.Have more questions? We would love to hear them! Shoot us an email or DM us on Instagram.Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode!   Resources:Join the MTR Profit AcademyConnect with us on InstagramList your MTR on FurnishedFinderFill your gaps using Airbnb

Welcome back to episode 14 of the podcast. This week we’re going to focus on how to scale your REI business quickly. This is another question we hear quite often from our followers on Instagram and since we each scaled our businesses quickly, having gone from 0 to more than 20 units in only one year, we’ve learned some hard lessons along the way. We’re sharing our best tips and practices for scaling quickly.For Amelia, the realization of needing to scale quickly came when she purchased her first triplex on her own, had it rented out, and it was cash-flowing well. She had been bitten by the REI bug and turned around and purchased her next property rather quickly. She used the money to purchase her triplex from her first deal, which was a flip. She had planned for her next buy to be a buy-and-hold, so she already knew what she was looking for in the market. We frequently talk about how real estate investing really isn’t hard. It’s actually a simple concept, but can be hard to put into place. However, at the same time if you can do a decent job and have a decent product it could bring you a lot of success. Grace realized she was going all in on REI when she realized that it could literally be an end to a means and allow her to quit her job. Two deals in, Grace and her partner (Brandt) decided they were going to keep buying and not let a lack of funds stop them. They would find good deals, and the money for each buy, along the way. They did each of their first 10 deals very differently but her first most people would find the most interesting. Keep in mind they have never sold any of their properties. It was a BRRR and they put down 20% bank loan and then used cash to pay for the rehab. Grace’s second deal was two duplexes and was split evenly between herself, her boyfriend, and her sister. They paid $255,000 and they convinced the bank to let them put 10% down, drastically reducing the amount of cash they would need to pay upfront to get this deal. Eventually, Grace began to get super creative with her financing so she could continuously purchase value-add deals so she could re-access the capital out of it to pay off private money, etc. Simply said, Grace got scrappy with her financing and it has definitely worked out in her favor. We both have decided to see our goals and design how we want our future to look around those goals. Then, we go for it. For both of us, real estate investing is “passive”. We have built out our systems and put them into place which allows us to continuously move the needle forward.  Another way we have been able to scale so quickly is to find good partners to work with along the way. With constant buying, the money will eventually run out and in order to continue to scale we have figured out ways to not use all of our own money to tackle every single buy. When we first met a year and a half ago, we decided to partner up, and look where it has brought us! Partnering can be absolutely amazing if done the right way. One more important detail when it comes to scaling is financing. Grace used different lenders for her first three buys and has since stuck with the 3rd. It is a commercial lender which means their terms aren’t as favorable but the financing is easy to get. Plus she got in good with this lender by building a relationship with them and proving to them time and time again that she will under-promise and over-deliver on what she says she can/will do.Amelia has also built a good relationship with her lender and while they do still occasionally ask for her tax returns, they also know the level of return they can expect from her. Best Practices for Scaling & Building a Relationship with Your Lender:Be flexible/easy to work withPerform well: under-promise then over-deliverShow them you’re a professional, don’t be a mom-and-pop shopHave a strong mindsetKnow your buy-box (good-deal criteria)Spread the word - you never know who is looking to sell a property!That’s all for this week! Thank you so much for listening, we really appreciate you all so much and we will catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Grab our MTR Starter Guide

Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we’re sharing the top misconceptions about midterm rentals that we commonly hear and going to debunk each one of them for you! Not allowing yourself to get caught up in these common misconceptions could actually get you ahead of the game just by knowing how to tell apart a fact from fiction about midterm rentals. Let’s get started! The ListMyth #1: The units in midterm rentals must be luxury or extravagant. The Facts: Keep it simple: clean, safe, comfortable, and affordable. For the most part, traveling professionals are only in this space to sleep so their needs are low and they are trying to keep their costs that way too.  Myth #2: Midterm rentals are only for traveling nurses.The Facts: Recently a teacher who was brand new to the area moved into one of Grace’s midterm rentals because he didn’t know exactly where he wanted to put his roots down yet in his new local area. Amelia has housed all sorts of construction personnel, solar panel and wind turbine contract technicians, traveling corporate employees for companies like Starbucks, and more. They are only working 1-3 month contracts and don’t want to live out of a hotel for the entire time so they choose midterm rentals that suit their needs.  Myth #3: MTR tenants are always the best tenants.The Facts: While this might generally be true in 95% of cases, there is still that 5% of tenants who have been problematic renters. (Throwback to episode 13 where Amelia dished about her tenant who caused her internet to become suspended!).  Bonus Myth #4: Midterm rentals only work in large cities.The Facts: Cedar Rapids has a population of about 120,000 people and Grace lives in a town of about 1,000 people and MTRs are absolutely successful there. Amelia has a MTR in a lake town and her cottage is going to be an MTR for the winter when travel slows down for the season. She put up the listing on FurnishedFinder and within two hours her MTR tenant had paid their deposit and booked the unit! Bonus Myth #5: Short-term rentals have a higher vacancy level.The Facts: In reality, our midterm rentals typically were near 0%. We both work our business to keep our vacancy levels as minimal as possible where a tenant moves out and a new tenant moves in within a matter of hours, allowing for just enough time for a good cleaning and turnover.  That’s all for today friends, thank you for joining us! Catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Enroll in MTR Profit AcademyJoin the Property Management AcademyList your property on FurnishedFinder

Hello everyone, welcome back to episode twelve of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast! We have had such great feedback and so many questions about our day-to-day’s, so today’s episode is another behind-the-scenes WIIRE episode where we’re going to give you the scoop on what we are both up to in the world of real estate investing and managing our properties. We’re going to start off with a crazy story that Amelia has been bursting at the seams to share (and has made us wait until we recorded this episode to share) all the deets about recent happenings at her mid-term rental property! Amelia’s Internet NovellaA few days ago Amelia received a call from Mediacom that they were suspending her service for illegal video downloading. She inquired about the specific router and with several units sharing routers she had to determine exactly when the video downloading occurred to narrow it down to the exact culprit (tenant). The downloading apparently began the day after this tenant moved in and she was taken aback because they claimed they had called her to inform her previously (nope, they did not, nor could they prove it). No one (and we mean NO ONE) likes to deal with utility companies and this time was no exception.Amelia’s red mane was flaming and she was furious about the problem this tenant had caused, because not only did he cause her account to be suspended, but Mediacom informed her that if it continued they would be canceling all of her accounts! This would be quite problematic because not only were all of her units in this building run on Mediacom, but a few others as well, including her personal account. She asked them to give her a few hours to nail down the tenant and resolve the issue and as soon as she hung up she immediately called the tenant. While Amelia normally prefers to handle all of her tenant communication in writing, time was of the essence and she needed an immediate response. When he answered she immediately informed him that she was aware of what was going on and that the internet has been suspended and he was to remove all content from all of his devices, effective immediately, or she would be taking legal action against him.To cover her back, she sent him a text message detailing exactly what she had just verbally told him, as well. He was very apologetic but still received a BIG timeout from Amelia’s paid-for wifi.  Grace’s Next MoveWith more than 12 units using Mediacom for internet service, they finally advised Grace to move to a commercial internet account (quite literally to help her avoid situations just like Amelia’s), so it doesn’t cause an issue across the board on her accounts.Grace is also in the process of hiring an in-house Property Manager and could not be more excited! After so much back-and-forth about the decision to hire Grace has pulled the trigger and is now learning how to ‘be the boss’! This investment will come back to her simply on the time she will be saving by having someone else handle all of the little (and big) details for her biz. For the time being, Grace has been in a reactive stage. She reacts as requests come in, and would rather be able to be in more of a proactive space where she can be prepared for things ahead of time. It is going to be a whole new stage in her business. Other UpdatesAnother announcement Amelia is excited to announce is that if you tuned into our first BTS episode you heard that I was under contract on a seller-financed triplex and they finally closed on that property last week! The first thing they are planning to tackle on this project is actually replacing the roof. It will cost around $22,000 to fully demo and replace (including the removal of 4 old layers) the roof of this property. She is also going to have the gutters replaced as well which will add on another $4,000, spending $26,000 right off the bat, which they are financing through a line of credit and they will BRRR into a commercial loan once they are finished with the rehab.A couple of fun surprises they found on this property were that it still has old knob-and-tube wiring. While it is in good condition, they will likely still go ahead and replace it since so many walls will already be opened up. Another surprise was that this owner actually did a full clean-out from all of the ‘stuff’ that originally had been packed into the property (rare, but a much-appreciated surprise!). Lastly, while they were pulling up the old, brown shag carpeting they discovered beautiful wood floors, in immaculate condition!That’s all for this episode, friends! If you’re looking to connect with us outside the podcast you can find us each on Instagram:Amelia’s IGGrace’s IGThat’s all for this week, we'll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join the Property Management AcademySee how you can use TenantCloud in your businessCheck out Hospitable for your vacation rental properties

Welcome back to episode 11 of the WIIRE podcast! In this week’s episode we’re sharing with you about our very first (ever) rentals; how we found them, how we managed them, and if we still have them in our portfolio.  Amelia’s First Rental PropertyAmelia’s first rental property was a triplex in a small town in her hometown, with a population of around 5,000 people. It was a 2-story property with 3 units; two bedrooms, one bathroom on the first floor, and two units with one bedroom and one bathroom each on the 2nd floor. Amelia found this property listing on Zillow and really, only by accident. She typically had only been searching for single-family properties and didn’t realize she had the multi-family filter selected when she came across this property. She scheduled a time to walk through it and was taken aback by the awful tenants living in the residence. So she wrote what she now calls a ‘love letter’ to the owner stating how she was excited to purchase a property in her hometown and be able to give back by providing quality housing to the residents of her hometown. With the list price sitting at $99,000 she submitted an offer of $65,000 and after some negotiation they landed on a purchase price of $78,000. Amelia purchased the property for all-cash because the appraisal was taking a long time to come back so she made it an all-cash purchase with the intent of refinancing into a mortgage right when the appraisal could be completed. This wound up being a blessing in disguise situation because the property needed some work and she was able to make them to the property before the appraiser came out. When they finally did come out to do the appraisal it appraised for $92,000. Part of Amelia’s contingency on this offer was that the property must be sold vacant, meaning no inherited tenants upon closing. With only 45 days until they closed the tenants moved out and Amelia ran the numbers again on this triplex (crazy for a first rental!) and knew there was no way she wouldn’t make money on this property. It’s been nearly two years and taking the risk on her first-time rental property as a flip, wound up being a huge success and now cash flows around $800-900 per month.  Grace’s First Rental PropertyAfter looking for a few weeks Grace and her boyfriend purchased their first rental property when she saw a property for sale, called the seller, and asked for a list of properties they were interested in selling. He sent over a list of about 30+ properties and was trying to sell them down to about 8 or so. She told him she wanted to see the grossest property he had.He did, and it was absolutely disgusting. An absolute gut. Backing up a few steps to her Buy Box, Grace knew they needed to BRRR because they had the money for a down payment and for the repairs, but did not want to buy cash. They also knew they wanted it to be a single-family property, and the town Grace lives near. They also did not want inherited tenants so they could start work right away. Plus, they were going to DIY the project. When it came time to start working on the property it seemed to be even more disgusting than they initially thought and found more trash than they could have ever imagined possible. After purchasing with 20% down, they told their bank they would be refinancing it ASAP so the bank put them on a construction loan so they only had to pay quarterly interest on it until they refinanced it. It took about 6 months (which was 3 months over their initially estimated timeframe) and between $35,000 and $36,000 (when they had only estimated $23,000), which added a significant about of stress to the entire project. One of Grace’s ‘fondest’ memories (and biggest lessons) of this particular project was that when they were roughly one month out from completion, they made a schedule of what needed to be done. The entire 3-story property needed painting (doors, walls, ceilings, trim, you name it). She scheduled herself 3 days to paint which quickly, and painstakingly, turned into one month.Their hard work paid off and was roughly $120,000 and when all was said and done the property appraised for $185,000. They pulled out roughly 70% equity and walked away with around $8,000 extra to use on their next deal. Today, Grace still has this property in her portfolio (renter occupied) and has learned some major lessons to take along her REI journey. If you’ve enjoyed hearing our stories in this episode head over to Instagram and give us each a follow and see what we’re up to now!Follow AmeliaFollow GraceCatch you in the next episode!  Resources:Grab your seat for our free 60-minute training

Hey friends, welcome back to episode 10 of the Women Invest In Real Estate Podcast! This week we are so excited to welcome Kayla Thorp, also known as thatlandlady on Instagram. Kayla is a residential real estate investor in upstate New York whose real estate portfolio currently sits at 40+ doors, mostly in the long-term rental market. Kayla is one of the smartest people we know in the REI biz and we are so honored to have her join us today on the podcast and dive into how she systemizes her business.Kayla started out like the majority of investors, self-managing her rentals but since then she and her husband now have their own property management team they can rely on to keep their units and operations running like a well-oiled machine. After purchasing their first couple of rental units, they started out using Cozy.co, and when Cozy merged with Apartments.com they realized the service was not serving them well, nor was it meeting their tenant needs. They pivoted and made the switch over to Buildium, and ultimately switched again to AppFolio, which is what they still use today.One thing Kayla impresses on other investors is that if you buy a property and don’t factor in a management fee, you are not buying an investment. You are buying a full-time job. The reason for this is that eventually if you want this to become a more passive business, you will need to hire a manager (which hopefully you will see a good ROI with appreciation and rent growth). For Kayla, that time came sooner than later and they were quickly glad they had factored in that management percentage from the beginning. Being able to keep that management percentage to fund their own business and lifestyle, while building their portfolio, became super valuable for them. At that point, they were already ready to put more systems in place to be able to hire out different pieces of their business.Their first property management hire was an internal hire. Because Kayla had done her due diligence and created SOPs for each step of her business in the early stages, it made this transition much less painful. They could continuously point back to all of their documented systems and procedures for every detail of exactly how to screen a tenant, turn over a unit, review standards for rental criteria, and so much more. Being in New York, a very tenant-friendly state, Kayla has had to adjust her management style in a much different fashion than most others operate. Because New York has a unique set of laws and regulations regarding things such as evictions, collecting pet fees, the inability to check previous eviction history, and so much more. They have developed a problem-solving style that has really helped them get through most of these situations, without having to go through the eviction route.Kayla and her husband also started the Rochester Housing Coalition, which is a group of housing providers and also nonprofit organizations that deal with homelessness in their city to address some of the housing policy concerns and to help the city work through those things in a way that's beneficial to everyone.Eventually, Kayla and her husband were able to pivot their business and hire their first external property manager, who was actually an old friend of their business partner. They began to hand it off piece by piece starting with maintenance ticket coordination. They began by introducing them to their maintenance team. Introduced them to their ticketing system, worked out all of those kinks, and handed off just that piece. Next, they handed over learning the rent collection system, collecting outstanding rental payments, and so on. Ultimately Kayla’s goal for herself and her husband was to get down to only working in their business for a total of 10 hours per week before they would consider the stand-up complete. Finally, they were ready to really test their systems and booked an Airbnb, out of town, for a full month to allow their team to really run the show successfully with their hands off. Kayla’s Tips for Property Management1. Do not be afraid to reach out to your investing community.For the most part, the real estate investing community is so welcoming and genuinely wants to help one other. We all want each other to succeed. 2. Visualize the absolute worst-case scenario and piece together exactly how it could play out. Could you handle that? Consider if you’ve done all of your homework, you’ve measured and taken responsible risks, and you have done your due diligence. If you cannot cover that risk and if there is not something that you are willing to live with, in that scenario, then you might need to change your strategy and direct it towards a scenario that you can live with.  Kayla and her husband have now transitioned to a property management team. This is an amazing option if you have a larger portfolio and they chose to partner with someone who had extensive property management experience and was also interested in starting a property management company. Kayla and her husband brought the systems, processes, and business knowledge to the table, so this operating partnership made perfect sense for them. If you want to learn more about Kayla’s business you can visit her website or connect with her on Instagram.Thank you so much for joining us this week, see you next time! Resources:Sign up for our FREE 60-minute trainingConnect with Kayla on InstagramSee how Kayla operates her businessCheck out the property management software Kayla uses in her biz, AppFolioFind out more about the Rochester Housing Coalition

Hi everyone, welcome back to the WIIRE podcast! In this week’s episode of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast we’re going to talk about the five property management mistakes that you should not make. We’ve each learned some of these the hard way and want to help you avoid them at all costs too!First and foremost, a reminder…Do as we SAY, not as we DO! 5 Property Management Mistakes1. Not using a property management software!  Yes, they cost money but hear us out. This investment will not only save you time and energy but will streamline your processes, tenfold. We love TenantCloud and highly recommend checking it out. There are a few key things a property management software should do for your business:Allow you to collect deposits, rental payments, fees, etc.Submit maintenance requestsSign rental agreements/leasesCommunicate with clientsBookkeeping (you’ll thank us come tax season!) 2. Not setting (and sticking to) regular business hoursWhat that means is don't train your tenants to think that you will reply instantly on Saturday and Sunday, or even instantly at all. We are huge proponents of setting business hours so our tenants know when they can reach us and what our rough turnaround for requests is, aside from emergency situations of course.What does this look like? If you are on your computer at 7:30pm on a Sunday evening and you see a question come in (not an emergency), let it sit until Monday. Then on Monday, respond by letting them know you just received their request from the weekend and add the rest of the response to their request. Unless you want property management to be an around-the-clock business, set your business hours, and stick to them. (There will be situations that are clearly emergencies or more urgent and this does not apply to those.) 3. Failing to properly onboard a tenantOnboarding tenants is definitely more work on the front end of a move-in, but it is so beneficial in the long run. Setting ground rules and training your tenants on expectations from the start is going to help save you a lot of headaches down the road. After they sign the lease, provide them with a simple welcome packet. This could include:Instructions on submitting maintenance requestsHow to setup utilities (bonus points for adding websites or phone numbers)Expectations for property/communityYou should also include a move-in checklist where the tenant goes through the property in the first few days, notes anything that is broken/needs repairing/is damaged then turns it in so they are not held responsible for those upon move-out.  4. Not having an Estoppel Agreement in place for inherited tenants.An estoppel agreement is a fancy way to describe a document that reiterates the terms of a lease for an inherited tenant. It includes anything that might be a verbal agreement between the tenant and the current landlord. With estoppel agreements, we also ask for all outstanding maintenance requests to ensure there are fewer surprises upon purchase of the property. Key components of an estoppel agreement are:How much their deposit wasWhat they pay in rent and any fees each monthWho is responsible for the utilitiesWho lives at the residenceAny verbal agreements in place between landlord and tenantLease length 5. Last but certainly not least is doing quarterly, biannual, or annual walkthroughs of your units.This is so important because it gives you a chance to get into your units and make sure they are being properly cared for but also allows you to look at general maintenance that needs done to keep the property in top shape and not degrade over time (looking at faucets for water leaks, checking for mold, pests, etc.). It will allow you to stay aware of any issues that may arise or what to expect when a tenant moves out and how much work you could expect to have to turn that unit over. Avoiding these 5 things is simply about being a proactive landlord, rather than a reactive landlord. We too are guilty of (likely) all of these, and like everything in business, there is always room for improvement. See you next week! Resources:Check out TenantCloud

Welcome back to episode eight of the Women Invest in Real Estate podcast! In this episode, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what we are up to in our businesses, and we’re kicking it off with an eviction story from Amelia. Let’s get started! Amelia’s Tenant Eviction StoryWith what is Amelia's first (and also hopefully her last) eviction, she’s learning some excellent lessons on handling tenants and the process of an eviction. This particular tenant has been problematic for the past 9-10 months and it has escalated to his becoming verbally abusive towards her and physically destructive to her property.While no property owner wants their property to sit vacant, it will serve her much better in the long run, to hire a lawyer and evict this tenant. She will be able to rehab this unit and be able to up the rent on the unit - so while evicting a tenant is never an ideal solution, in this case, it is the best choice. She has positive, regular cash flow from her mid-term rentals and can afford to let the unit sit vacant while she goes through the eviction process and rehabs this unit.  Hiring a LawyerHiring a lawyer has been the absolute best decision to move through this process and has served Amelia well. Amelia paid her lawyer a retainer of $1,990 to essentially handle her entire eviction process. If the tenant leaves without having to go to court she will receive $900 of that back and feels it has been 100% worth it.  Best tips for the eviction process…Communicate only in writing, not by phoneIf you can afford to do so, hire a lawyerDon’t accept a partial rent payment if you’re already in the eviction processSend documents, or any deposit/checks, via certified mailPut your human feelings aside and just like move forward from a business standpoint Grace’s UpdatesGrace is in the process of purchasing a single-family (nearly turn-key) home that is on the same street as her existing four-plexes. For this property, Grace negotiated a seller-financed deal that was a bit different than others she has done because this particular seller is an investor herself. It will be a quick turnover - a solid house, in a solid neighborhood - just needs a fresh coat of paint before listing. She has already reached out to some insurance agencies who are all interested in renting this property for their clients. After this house is finished, Grace is excited to be done rehabbing and buying for a solid three months so she can do some traveling and just take a massive break. Grace has been rehabbing for nearly a year and a half straight and is excited to hit pause after this house is complete. Also during this time, Grace is excited to get some much-needed systems upgraded and new systems in place to help her productivity and also take a good look at where she’s at and what direction she wants to take coming up.  In The Works…Amelia currently still has 5 inherited tenants. Once they move out she plans to convert them into mid-term rentals, however, there are two tenants who might be hold-outs as long-term tenants. Frankly, she is fine with that. They have been there for 10 and 17 years and despite being under market value provide stability and the property functions well as it sits right now. Amelia also has an Airbnb property in Clear Lake Iowa which reached over 80% occupancy for July and is set to make over $2,500 in cash flow on this property in July alone. This has given her the bug to keep her eyes peeled for vacation rental properties that makes sense for her. Grace on the other hand doesn’t want to be all mid-term rental. She likes the consistency and stability that comes with her long-term rentals. Like Amelia, Grace also has her eyes peeled for an Airbnb-style property that is small, doesn’t require a ton of rehab work, and will serve her well. Another reason Grace is looking to add an Airbnb property to her portfolio is that she wants to be able to hire an internal property manager but right now it doesn’t make sense financially. But if she add an Airbnb to her portfolio that would add to her cash flow she would be in a better position to add this person to her team and take some work off of her own plate. That’s all for this week, thank you so much for joining us and getting a little behind-the-scenes look at the happenings in our lives as real estate investors! We're so happy that you're listening and you can follow us over on Instagram for more updates! We'll see you in the next episode! Resources:Stay connected with the WIIRE CommunityGet the scoop on Mid-term Rentals