LandlordMax Newsletter - LandlordMax General Update

Summer is almost over and the new fall and winter seasons are almost upon us. And like all previous years, we expect the coming months to get busier and busier. Winter is always our busiest time of year!

And on that note, we've been focusing the vast majorities of our energies and efforts working on the next major version of LandlordMax, which we (unofficially) hope to release pretty soon. This will be a major "feature" release, which means it will be loaded with lots of new features and functionality. We're very excited about it, and the list of features is pretty extensive. There will of course be a bit more on this in the next section.

Above this we're planning on coming back to a more frequent release cycle. Although we've had quite a few releases since the initial release of version 6.05, and some of them have been very significant, in our opinion it's been too long since major releases. The main reason for this is that the Network Editions just consumed a lot more effort than we expected, and as a result it delayed our overall release schedule. But now that it's released, you can start to expect to see us go back to our regular release cycles of a major release every 1/2-1.5 years. This will be the longest time between released versions ever for us. And to be quite honest, is we add all the features and functionality that was released in each of the minor updates as part of the main release (ie. included for free), then they actually pretty much add up to a full release with just the minor themselves! So that's a pretty good deal for you guys the customers! You almost got a free version in there. And for those of you who are interested you can read what was included as part of each "minor" and free update here.

Aside from that, we're continuing to expand and grow the company as a whole. We're continuing to improve our technical support, marketing, etc. A lot of internal and non-visible improvements have been made to help us better serve you. But today's focus is about the new upcoming version, so let's move on to that right now.

LandlordMax News and Updates:

As you've just read above, we're working on a major "feature" release. The last version of LandlordMax, version 6.05e was more of an update and new offering release (new Editions). By that I mean that we added Network support which is the ability to support multiple users in a network system. Yes technically this is a major new feature, and could in itself almost be considered a new release, it was actually released as a minor update.

Of course we did add a number of new features for the Desktop Editions as result, and we just included them free as part of a minor upgrade when they probably should've also gone as a new version. The reason we didn't is because we wanted to make upgrading to the Network Editions simpler and more affordable for people. In other words rather than force people to first pay for a version upgrade and then an Edition upgrade, we just said everyone get the version upgrade for free and only those who wanted an Edition upgrade could purchase as an ordinary Edition upgrade, saving them the upgrade version cost. At the same time, all our Desktop Edition users got the new features for free.

Just to give you guys an idea of some of the features we added in the last version (version 6.05e), for example we added Management Support. This was important for many of our clients that are property managers and/or property management companies in that it allows them to put their names on the receipts and invoices rather than just the property owners. You can now pick. We also did some major overhauls to the Workorder section, from a completely new printout to much more advance filters. The Todo section was also significantly overhauled, and as a result is now called Tasks. There was more, such as some very significant speed improvements and so on. If you want to read the full list of new things just for version 6.05e you can find it here.

That being said, for every major release we've ever done we've added at least a few very major features, several big features, a large number of standard features, and many many smaller features. If you want to read our release notes for the prior versions to get a better feel on what to expect, you can find them here. We expect to do the same again for this release. Although I would like to tell you more about what features exactly, as a policy we try not to say something will be available until it's actually available. This prevents false promises and makes sure we can deliver what we promise.

With that in mind, and this is all unofficial and subject to change depending on time, we're expecting to significantly enhance the accounting functionality, especially in regards to checks. We're also working on better processing of partial payments, pro-rated rents, and so on.

We're also looking at adding some significant improvements in the reporting section that I won't go into detail here. In addition and on a related note, we're looking at adding what we call Automations depending on timelines and costs.

Another very big feature we want to include is Templating. That is the ability to create template documents and have the software autofill parts of it. What exactly that means we're still working on and testing two different options to see what is possible. Depending on the results in terms of costs and time, we'll have to make our decisions from there.

And there's tons of other improvements, some pretty big and some small but very useful. An example of what we consider a small feature is improved support of the Logo/Letterhead. We're adding functionality in the software to have the software re-size the letterhead image if it's too large, to let you know if it's too small (and possibly offer re-sizing depending on the quality of the image), and to include the dimensions for the image right then and there in the software to remove any of the guesswork you have to do as to what size the image should be in the first place. Small improvements that can make your life easier.

The same with partial payments, we're looking at adding a new button to make handling partial payments a lot easier.

Another example of smaller enhancements of the software is that we want to improve the support for Leases. Again I won't get into the details, but what I will say is that we're looking at adding some fields, better handling of pro-rated rents for Scheduled Entries, and so on.

All that to say, there's lots of new features and functionality expected with the new version. We're very excited about it and I will definitely keep you updated on our progress through this email newsletter. At some point, as we get very close (within a 1-2 weeks of our planned release), we may even add a final Daily Status Countdown graph like we did for the Network release. And unlike the Network Edition that had a lot of "unknown unknowns", this release is almost all "known unknowns" and "known knowns". If you've never heard of that expression I'll refer you to the following Wikipedia article for some interesting reading.

Other News:

LandlordMax Tip:

With the release of version 6.05e of LandlordMax we've had to drop support for unsupported Mac OS X systems, systems that Apple no longer themselves support. To that extent, we no longer support Mac OS 10.6.x, it's considered obsolete and has not had a security update in just over 2 full years since July 2011!! Yes Apple has released updates for Safari and a few other applications for that version of the Mac OS, but the Mac OS itself has not been updated. As a result it's considered obsolete, out of date, and ultimately insecure. Again there have been no system security updates in over 2 years so you have to expect it's not as secure as a recent system.

With that in mind, and considering the sensitive nature of some of the data that some of our customers store within LandlordMax, we strongly recommend that people using this operating system upgrade as soon as possible. There are too many people still using Mac OS X 10.6.8 that do not realize that their system is obsolete. All Apple says is that it's up to date, which although technically true, does NOT mean it's been update anytime recently. It only means that you have the most recent version. In the same way that in 100 years you'd also still have the most recent version because there will be no further updates in the next 100 years. Similarly if you have the most recent version of Windows 95 you're also technically up to date with the most recent version, but it doesn't mean it's a recent update and/or secure system, just that you have the last update that was released . Everyone would agree that using Windows 95 is not a secure option today, even if you're using the most recent and last update for Windows 95.

It's not only the Mac OS X 10.6.x that's obsolete, but Apple has also stopped supporting Mac OS 10.7.x. The last Mac OS system update for Mac OS X 10.7.x was in September 2012, so almost a year ago. So if you have Mac OS X 10.7.x, including the most updated version 10.7.5, you will also want to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.8 or higher as soon as possible. As a rule of thumb Apple generally only supports each Mac OS X version for 1-2 years. This means only the current and previous versions of the Mac OS X are supported so you do have to keep upgrading to stay secure and safe. For many people who come from the Windows world where Microsoft tends to support their operating systems for about 10 years or so this can be quite a shock, especially considering the higher costs of Apple systems. Apple has much more frequent releases but at the cost of forcing you to upgrade pretty frequently or be left behind.

Apple and Windows have different operating systems and different life cycles, and each has their own merits. Whether or not one is better than the other is a debate that is irrelevant here, the key is that you as a user needs to understand which is which and make sure your computer systems are on supported versions of the respective systems (Windows or Mac) due to the sensitive nature of the data that is stored on computers managing properties. Just as I'm sure many of you would not appreciate if your sensitive data was stored on an obsolete computer system, many of your tenants and clients will not appreciate this either. So it is important that you are on a supported system, be it Windows or a Mac.

And on that note, for Windows XP users please be aware that in April 2014 (in the spring next year) Windows will stop supporting Windows XP, so you will have to upgrade your Windows computer before then if you want to stay on a safe and secure computer system. The same as Mac OS X users on 10.7 and earlier. Yes it will have been 13 years since Windows XP was initially launched, but that's more than long enough to warrant forcing users to upgrade. In comparison to Apple's 3-4 years of forcing you to upgrade, anyone would have to admit that's pretty fair of Windows. Unfortunately a lot of people are still using Windows XP, even if they stopped selling in 2008 (about 5 years ago), which will impact quite a few people next year.

In either case, the tip today is to make sure that whatever computer system you're using, be it a Mac or a Windows computer, that you're using a version of that system that's still supported by Apple or Microsoft. Many people are using older unsupported systems and don't realize it. And with the sensitive nature of some of the data used in managing properties, it's important that you're computer systems are up to date.

Property Management Tip:

We sometimes get requests from people asking us if we can process credit cards for their tenants. We don't, and we actually recommend AGAINST it as a general rule. Yes it can be convenient but it comes with costs and can have some very high risks associated with it that you don't learn until later when the penalties can be quite high.

Firstly most credit card processing systems will charge you at least 3-5% per transaction. That's an at least figure, it can be higher depending on where you go. So for some people with already small margins this can have a significant impact. If you're making 10% on your properties, accepting credit cards can cut your profits in half. And this is NOT the high risk item!

The high risk is chargebacks but not for the reason you might think. Unlike most vendors, transactions for a rental properties (ie. the rent) will tend to have higher amounts than your normal credit card transactions. In other words instead of say a $20-$200 transaction at a store, your normal transaction will be closer to $500-$2000. As a result you could potentially be exposed to $1000+ chargebacks. Not only that, but if the tenant requests a chargeback for a few months, that could be multiple months of chargebacks. For a $1000/mth rent, that's a $3000 chargeback! For 6 months that's $6000! That's pretty significant. And this is still NOT the high risk part.

The high risk part is that unlike a check, the merchant (that's you) will generally have to prove to the credit card companies why the chargeback should be reversed. If you haven't noticed the subtle wording, notice I said "should be reversed". That's correct, they are applied and you have to get them reversed. And believe me when I say it's very hard to get a chargeback reversed. In most cases the credit card companies will side with the consumer (in this case the consumer is the tenant) and it's up to you to come up with all the details, paperwork, etc. to prove that the tenant owes you the rent. And even with all the proper paperwork, in many cases the credit card company will not want to reverse the chargeback. For example if the tenant says they did not authorize the transaction, than how can you prove that they really did? It can be very hard to get some chargebacks reversed.

An example of a chargeback that's really hard to reverse, as I just mentioned, is if the tenant says they did not authorize the transaction. This could mean they say the card was stolen, but it could also mean they just said they didn't give YOU the authorization to process the credit card. They could say they paid you the rent in cash, by check, etc. In that case the credit card company will apply a chargeback and you have to prove that they didn't pay you by other means also and that they DID give you authorization. That's almost impossible, which means you'll then have to go to court to try and recollect your money.

In the meantime, the credit card company can withdraw the amount of rents allegedly paid out of your account. So if the amounts was for say $5000, they will just pull that out of your account and give it back to the tenant. And you're now stuck going to court to try and reclaim your $5000 in back rents from the tenant (and NOT the credit card company). So instead of just one month's worth of rents not paid you have quite a lot of months not paid in one instance! Of course the tenant can't do this over and over, but in some cases they are able to get away with it. This is the worse case scenario, but it does happens. Until it goes to court and you report them to the credit card companies, you're out of funds. And again, it's up to YOU TO PROVE everything, not the other way around. Of course the credit card companies will quickly notice a pattern, but if it's their first time they could potentially get away with it.

So unlike a bounced check a chargeback can be for many months worth of rents. Generally with a bounced check, it bounces pretty quickly, and it's generally for only one rent at a time, so you have time to do something about it. And once a check has cleared it's over, the money is yours to keep, the bank won't pull the amount out of your account. It's then up to the tenant to try and get that money back through the courts. And unless there's very good reason, you generally aren't required to pay back their rents for months back. If a tenant stays months in your rental, then they have to pay rent.

With a chargeback, the funds are generally reversed immediately (taken from your account and given back to the tenant) AND YOU have to prove to the credit card company why they should reverse the chargeback. And like I said, that's a hard thing to do which then means you generally have to go to court to get your previous rents paid back. And that's rents, it can easily be more than one rent. Chargebacks can occur up to a year after the transaction. Although very unlikely, it's possible for up to a year of rents. Now I'm sure the credit card companies would be very suspicious of a year's worth of rents and investigate, but if it's a few months, there are decent chances they could pull that off.

Again, a large number of rents can be paid back to the tenant and it's up to you to try and get the rents back, even months worth of rents. Not just the last bounced check, but possible many months of rents. If you want to read about a small but very real example of this, the following article really brings it home: How to sell bitcoins on Ebay for 300% profit . Yes it's not about rents, but the same principles apply, just to a larger scale when it comes to rents. Luckily in the story they used Paypal which is more friendly to the seller due to the larger amount of fraud on Ebay in that if you can prove you sent the product they will take your money back to give it to the buyer. Also the chargebacks happened pretty quickly, within weeks. But the reality is that it could be months later. In this case they could've gone through the same cycles 5-10 times before the chargebacks started to happen which may not have been pretty.

In any case, credit card payments can be especially risky for rentals with problematic tenants. Some tenants do seek out properties that accept credit cards for this very reason. Luckily they can't do it many times before they completely lose the ability, but chargebacks are currently one of the more common types of frauds being committed with credit cards these days. It's up there with stolen credit cards. And if they ever give you a stolen credit card, well good luck with that. And please note that in some cases, it can take some months before a card is reported as stolen, especially if it's not a frequently used credit card. Which means you could have a tenant paying you with a stolen credit card for months before the person realizes it's stolen, at which point all their rents are reversed and pulled out of your account! And in this case there's nothing you can do about it, it's a stolen credit card. Even if the credit card was authorized by the credit card company, if the card is reported as stolen the transaction is still reversed at the cost of the merchant (ie. you)!! Visa and Mastercard do not pay transactions done with stolen credit cards, the merchants (you) do.

This is also why if you try to use a credit card for larger purchases such as say a $7000 ring, the jewelery stores will generally take extra precautions to process your credit card, if they accept it at all. Go ahead and try to purchase a diamond ring online for over $1000. It's very hard. Good luck over $2000, it's pretty much impossible. For sure you'll have to call them and so on. Now you know why. If the jeweler ships the ring and there is a fraudulent chargeback, such as the customer saying they never got the ring, they are out a $2000 ring and $2000 in cash. I've asked Visa and MasterCard about this and indeed it's the way it works according to the phone reps. The jeweler has to prove they shipped it, that it was received, and so on. And if it's reported as stolen, you're out of luck. Again there is a limit to how many times someone can request a chargeback, and if they are caught they will be criminally charged, but it's enough that you see online jewellers not accept credit card payments over a certain amount without further verifications.

Oh by the way, did I also mention you generally get charged additional chargeback processing fees for each chargebacked transaction.

This isn't to scare everyone away from accepting credit card payments for rents, it's just to let you know there are some high risks due to the larger amounts. And that if you want to accept rent payments by credit card you should be aware and willing to accept those risks. Unfortunately most people assume it's just accepting the payment, and once it's authorized that's the end of it. Unfortunately it's not always the end of the transaction.

Industry News, Information, and Recommendations:

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• How real estate prices can drastically affect real estate prices
• How your FICO score can greatly affect your cash flow
• Building a Fort: Lessons in Software Estimation
• Mortgage REITs - The Next Savings and Loans Crisis?
  

LandlordMax Testimonials of the Month:

"I have been looking for a program for the past couple of months and was getting very weary and discouraged.  Especially for a 'smaller' complex, such as ours.  It seems  the  market for automated recordkeeping has gone to  mostly online with monthly cost, which is probably great for large complexes but not economical for us small operations.  I have been relieved to find your program and the great support from you as I learn the program."
- Ann Noel

"Love the program!!"
- Jerry Carr

"Knowing that I have Help/Support for the future is like having insurance on your car."
- Gil Rheaume

"And again - thank you for the absolutely amazing customer service and product support"
- Doug Doody

"Once again, thank you for the outstanding customer support. It's incredible easy to use. Using it is very intuitive. When I run into a problem or have a question, I can always count on FAQ, discussion forum, screenshots and an outstanding customer support to solve my problem and/or answer my questions."
- Christine Chan

"Now that is what I call top class support! Good job!"
- Meirion Roscoe

"Thank you for the prompt response...I also want to thank you for taking the time to send me the links to these articles. Not many companies would go the extra mile - most would have simply said yes or no or see this FAQ. Thanks!!!"
- JATER Property Management Services