Originally from Brazil, Victor Bandeira de Mello settled in the Bay Area over thirty years ago after receiving his master’s degree from Stanford University.

He owns two homes in Mountain View, CA, one of which he lives in and the other he rents out. Victor approaches his real estate investing from a hands-off approach. After a reliable background check and qualification process, he prefers to pick up the rent check and not hear any news from his renters. This approach has been named passive investing.

 

Challenge

 

For four years, Victor rented his Mountain View condo to the same renter. In December of 2015, Victor receives a call that his renters are looking to move out. At that time he battled the rent versus sell dilemma, ultimately deciding to rent his property because it made no sense to sell. Property values are dramatically increasing in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it would be a better investment to hold on to the investment rather than sell.

Victor dreaded finding a replacement renter. From open houses, to running background checks, the entire leasing process felt like a pain. Victor has a family and a full time job outside of real estate and was not looking to invest more time for his side hustle. To make things worse, December was the peak of the holiday season where very little renters were looking to move. Victor felt like he was out of options and running out of time.

 

 

Solution

 

Not all property managers are made the same. Victor was looking for a service that can handle the entire rental process from move-in to move-out. When he heard about Poplar Homes’s on-demand showings philosophy, automatic online rent payments, owner dashboard, and no markups on maintenance services, he was skeptical at first.

What made Victor sign with Poplar Homes Property Management services was the option for a month-to-month contract. Poplar Homes’ month-to-month property management agreement states that a homeowner can terminate service with Poplar Homes with prior 30 days’ notice, regardless of the reason. This gave Victor confidence that however good or bad his experience was, he had nothing to lose.

Recommended for you: Why Should a First Time Rental Owner Hire Property Management? – Poplar Homes Review

 

Within a few days, Poplar Homes found Victor a qualified renter group by listing on 40 different websites, increasing listing exposure through relocation agents and local companies, and scheduling same-day private showings.

Hands-off homeowners like Victor prefer not to be bothered with property updates every other day. He prefers for rent payments to be automatically delivered in his account in the beginning of the month, and to be notified of only major maintenance expenses. Poplar Homes homeowners can choose their maintenance threshold amount depending on their personal preference. A homeowner can set their threshold at $200, meaning any mandatory maintenance expense under $200 will automatically be serviced.

 

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“It’s the call on the 11th hour that you need to address. Sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot. I feel relaxed knowing someone is there and taking care of it, and your guys [Poplar Homes] have my back covered.”

– Victor B.

 

This takes the nuisance out of homeowners receiving calls about a $2 light bulb fix every other week. Of course, all property activity and maintenance expenses can be viewed on the personalized Poplar Homes dashboard.

Let us know what you’ve thought about Victor’s Poplar Homes review and experience in the comments below!