If screening tenants is something you could use help with, look into Rent Perfect.

This is how it works. The company, a National REIA affiliate, sends a potential tenant an online application he or she can fill out using a phone, tablet or computer. Then you are given access to a report that shows you these things about your prospect:

• Criminal record (if any)
• Past evictions (if any)
• Credit history
• Government watchlist info
• Sex offender registry info

All you have to do kick off this process is send Rent Perfect the prospect's email address. (Rent Perfect keeps the $35 application fee.)

Besides the immediate report you receive, you'll also get the benefit of Rent Perfect's private investigators looking into realtime data for jurisdictions that don't show up on instant reports.

If you'd like to take your relationship with Rent Perfect further, you can also let the company shoulder more of the process for you: sending prospects a state-specific lease that can be signed electronically, collecting rent payments over the Internet, and helping you get
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Do you need to raise your credit scores by a few points to qualify for a loan? Or would you like to help your tenant buyers boost their credit so they can get a bank loan and purchase your house?

Check out the video replay from February 9th's Lunch & Learn. Julia King, CEO of King Financial Repair, a KREIA sponsor, conducted a quick class on credit and answered questions from the audience.

KREIA members logged into their account can click here to watch Julia's presentation now.

The March 1st deadline has come and gone, and now all the pieces of the Metro Council's new protected class ordinance are in effect. Source of income, including Section 8 vouchers, must be considered for all potential residents who apply to live in your Jefferson County properties.

Louisville landlords can no longer say, "We do not accept Section 8." Have you scoured your website and all your online marketing to reflect that? If not — if language remains stating that you do not accept Section 8 — you could be cited, and it could get expensive.

For tips on how to survive — even thrive — under Section 8, be sure to watch the video replay of KREIA's Feb. 27 workshop. Attorney Michelle Rawn and KREIA board member Stacey Duvall interviewed five property managers who have had years of success working with Section 8:

• Chrystal Stoudemire from LREI
• Justin Leanhart from LREI
• Ashley Combs with Ramey and Asso
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In our Feb. 25 KREIA meeting, CPA Mike Grinnan fills us in on what's new and changed this filing season in the wake of COVID-19. He also lays out REI tax fundamentals for new investors. If you missed this main meeting or want another chance to take notes, watch the members-only video replay!

In the early meeting segment, longtime landlords Greg and Cindy Shell talk about how to successfully appeal your rental property's PVA tax valuation. If you think your assessment is too high and that you're paying too much property tax, you need to catch their presentation!

In all you'll find about 4 hours of real estate instruction, real estate talk and open-mic Q&A. Watch this members-only video. (You'll need to be logged in as an active KREIA member to see it.)

Arcana Insurance Services, LP, a National REIA affiliate, bills itself as offering unique coverage on property & liability insurance to landlords, property managers and house flippers.

Arcana covers rentals and rehabs, and occupied properties as well as vacant ones, with "no photos or inspections required to issue coverage." You pay only for the days a policy is in force.

Property limits are up to $1 million (additional limits available). Packaged coverage is available for windstorms, fire, vandalism and flooding. And the flooding coverage is for all flood zones.

You can "quote it, bind it, and print it right from your desk top," says Arcana, which also keeps things digital by offering electronic billing and payment plans and giving clients online status reports for their policies.

Do you require your tenants to have a renter's policy? Arcana's renters program offers packaged coverage for direct physical damage to personal property (broad form) and tenant liability. Tenants may enjoy knowing that it covers their personal property no matter where in the world they're using it, and it also covers guest
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Rob Bergeron interviews longtime real estate investor Erik Hitzelberger, who's the principal in Freedom Property Group, a turnkey rental company. They discuss "Why We Love the Louisville Market," the current inventory shortage, and also address this question: "Should I buy when real estate is high?"

KREIA member Steve Craven takes us on a tour of his house off Dixie Highway in the St. Dennis neighborhood. This is not a rehab — it's a new build from the ground up. And you'll be amazed by Steve's all-in cost.

MM Lending's Mike Fallot anchors the Zoom call, and KREIA board member Alexis Fentress facilitates from the site.

Looking for inspiration for your next fix-and-flip project? Or want to try a new build project of your own? Watch this members-only video.

Are you meeting your goals and benchmarks in your real estate investing plan? Still need to finalize your strategies? Or maybe you need to create that plan in the first place? Check out the replay of this month's virtual meeting.

The goal of our January main meeting was to help you take stock, refine your plan, and set goals for reaching financial freedom. Whether you’re new to real estate or have been around the block a few times, you'll gain insight from this meeting.

January's speakers were Erik Hitzelberger, Mike Fallot and Harry Borders. We also invited a panel of four relatively new investors who have gained success in a few short years.

And in our early meeting, Rebecka Taasaas from America's Choice Security talked about ways to discourage burglars from targeting your home. She also shared a PDF document full of tips and resources — watch the video to find out how to download it.

In all there is about 4 hours of real estate instruction, real estate talk and open-mic Q&A. Watch this members-only video. (You'll need to be logged in as a KREIA member to see it.)

On a January 21st Zoom call, attorney Michelle Rawn described the four new protected classes covered in Louisville Metro Council's Ordinance No. 146, which goes into full effect on March 1, 2021.

 If you're a landlord or property manager — or you work in any aspect of real estate where you're buying and selling property in Jefferson County — you need to hear Michelle's breakdown of the ordinance.

In her online workshop, Michelle explained the ordinance in detail, giving area investors a thorough understanding of potential tenants now under the umbrella of the new protected classes: homeless people, those currently in the military or who have been, people with felony convictions, and people who seek to qualify using various sources of income (including Section 8). Michelle spent more than an hour answering questions and clarifying points for investors.

KREIA members who are logged into their accounts can click here to watch the video replay.

Normally Ed Gibson acts as host of our Lunch & Learn events, bringing in other experienced investors and experts to educate KREIA members on an aspect of the real estate business. On January 12, Ed stepped behind the microphone and talked about his own experience as a longtime investor.

From flipping to wholesaling to buying and holding, Ed has done it all, and he's been doing it for decades. For about an hour, Ed answered questions and talked about how he has reached success as an investor.

He described strategies new investors can use starting out in today's market. He explained how his rent multiplier of 1.75 kept the banks from calling loans due on his rentals back in 2008. He talked about ways to negotiate with HOAs that don't like rentals in the neighborhood.

KREIA members logged into their account can click here to watch Ed's presentation now.