Norman, OK · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 3 votes
Hello everyone. I recently joined BiggerPockets I am an international student from France currently studying at the University of Oklahoma. I have one more semester left and I am planning on house hacking a four-plex right after getting my degree. I am not sure where I'll be working after college but I wanted to get comfortable with analyzing properties so I wanted to get some advice from you all.
What is the best search-engine for multi families properties? Do you personally look at more than one search engine? What exactly are you looking for to determine if an area on the rise or decline?
Thank you for your time. I'm looking forward to interacting with you all.
@Benoit Roddier As for search engines, I mess around them all. I have alerts on them all. I get those automated push-messages on my cell phone from the apps. It's efficient but it's not like looking at the same property more than once kills me. And it's something to scan through during cardio at the gym. Loopnet is for commercial properties and you won't be able to house-hack those. Not to mention that (for me) the response rate is achingly low if you try to reach out to a random broker that you have no prior interaction with.
As for if an area is on the rise or on the decline you have basic demographic trends. But (assuming you have a car) I'd also recommend you drive around neighborhoods. It's really easy to see if there are rehab projects going on or not. You can see how landlords keep up their properties. You can look at crime heatmaps. You could can drive through "borderline" areas at 2:00 a.m. and see how safe you feel (or don't). You can ask your fellow graduates where they are looking to buy or rent after they graduate to see where that 'young, educated, white-collar' demographic wants to be. In short, given you live there it's easy for you to do some ground work yourself that you can combine with online demographic data.
Another great way to find details on properties is through the township or city records. I am Realtor, and have done this a few times when the inventory is low or my client's needs are extremely specific. Occasionally the city/township will have a full list of properties. Otherwise you can go the more tedious route of finding an area and running an advanced search based on street numbers. I wrote a few hundred letters and had about 2% response rate of people willing to let us through the property. Additionally there are another 5% who said they are not ready to sell, but now I have put the bug in their ear if they do get to that point.
The best search engine is the multifamily broker. Utilize Costar and Loopnet to find out who the active brokers are, and pick up the phone and begin to create relationships with them.
You can also use the local area MLS for another search engine. There are several cities in Oklahoma that look are attractive. Investors point to job and population growth as the typical metrics for the health of a market. I would also focus on affordability of the market, tax situation, friendliness of local govt to business, quality of life and number of renters in the market.
The South East & West markets are more attractive right now, due to the factors listed above.
@Benoit Roddier I agree 150% with my friend @Gino Barbaro. Despite what you'll hear on BP and elsewhere about mailings and supposedly "off-market" deals, the single best source for deals is brokers. They are the market-makers. Sellers take their deals to brokers because they have the capacity to reach a wide audience. There is no secret pool of non-broker deals out there waiting to be tapped by people who know the password.
There is no substitute for developing good relationships with brokers. It's the only way to get access to good deals consistently.
I totally agree with @Gino Barbaro and @Jonathan Twombly . That's the reason I am out in the community building relationships with Brokers, Realtors and pretty much everyone in the business because word of mouth is the best referral. Working together with everyone in the business only supports our "Full Service" model to help all investors in Real Estate be successful when fix and flip or fix and hold/rent is their goal.
I am a new investor in real estate, currently have a single family home. However, I would prefer if my next deal is a multifamily home. Some have said in this thread that loopnet is not a good place to find deals, what is the negative stigma with loopnet?
Another great way to find details on properties is through the township or city records. I am Realtor, and have done this a few times when the inventory is low or my client's needs are extremely specific. Occasionally the city/township will have a full list of properties. Otherwise you can go the more tedious route of finding an area and running an advanced search based on street numbers. I wrote a few hundred letters and had about 2% response rate of people willing to let us through the property. Additionally there are another 5% who said they are not ready to sell, but now I have put the bug in their ear if they do get to that point.
Hey Macall! I was wondering how you go through the townships records? Where can they be found?