Actually Steve I don’t think it will be that hard to manage 50 accounts. I use internet banking and have a single homepage which lists every one of my accounts and the current amount in it. I can quickly scan down the list and see which one is missing the payment. This is easy to do since every account has a total of $1 at all times (needed to hold the account open), except during the short time between when the buyer makes their deposit and it clears the bank. As soon as the payments clear I transfer them into my main business account (via the internet and a couple of button clicks on my banking homepage). I also keep a list handy of all the account #s and which home/buyer that account belongs too. Each account is also tagged with the address of the home so when I get a paper statement I know where to file it quickly and easily (good for a paper trail as well, just in case). Unfortunately, this tag doesn’t show on the internet or it would be even easier and I wouldn’t need my key list.
For my part I have found it easier because in Quickbooks each note has a individual checking account associated with it and it makes putting amounts in easier (ie easier tracking).
My only concern is that the bank will put a limit on how many I can have but I know of another stick built investor who does the same thing (and where I got the idea) that has over 30 accounts.
I want to get some good tips from experienced out-of-state investors in to manage their parks. I would assume most of their parks won’t need major repair or improvement to start out with, and have some management in place or hire property management co.
Areas of interests are:
-Finance/accounting
For example: how to setup to have tenants deposit their $$ directly to your bank accounts? I don’t like PM managing my money.
-Maintenance
-Legal: eviction
-How to monitor management or PM
-Auto pilot (as much as possible of course) your park
-Major challenges
What are some of major challenges facing owners(espeically for beginners)?
Re: How to best manage out-of-state MHP hands-free - Posted by Michael(KCMO)
Posted by Michael(KCMO) on April 13, 2006 at 12:18:18:
I was thinking about your question today and remembered one park I had talked to some time ago. I don’t remember where the owner lived, but it was a few states away. He had the residents mail the payments to him. I would therefore assume that all the resident PM did would be rules enforcement and the like. I would think w/ that system the owner would track payors & delinquencies and if someone didn’t pay he probably had a local attorney on speed-dial who handled the whole thing. Then, once they were out,the PM would handle it from there.
Just thoughts off the top of my head. I’m interested to hear how others are doing it too.
I have utilized bank accounts for payments on my lonnie deals and know that Greg Meade did something similar when he had a park in Texas and he was in Florida. I hate waiting on the mail and prefer for instant information that my online banking can provide. For me I have an individual (free) checking account for each unit. I use a bank that has locations both near me and near the units (about 50 miles away). I believe Greg had just one account and gave each tenant a payment that ended in the unit # they were in represented in cents. IE unit one paid $350.01, unit two paid $350.02, etc.
as you grow your business, you will find it easier to maintain a few checking accts, and track payors into each by sig on scanned deposit slip, weird change amounts, or other somesuch.
Imagine managing 50 notes, each with its own checking account . . . yeeps!