How has COVID POSITIVELY impacted YOU and/or your REI Strategy??

Question

Hey BP!

It has been pretty easy lately to talk about and focus in on all the negative aspects that COVID has placed on lives, and how it may change the way society and the RE industry operates in the future. Cap this off with on-going racial tensions all within an election year, it seems that we are constantly anticipating another negative event and questioning whether a silver lining will ever present itself through all of this. I'm a firm believer of "You are what you think about" and the Law of Attraction, so to switch up the narrative a bit, I'm curious to hear from those who are willing to share, how has COVID POSITIVELY impacted YOU and/or YOUR REI strategy??

Have you been able to take advantage of quarantine and spend more time with family or reconnect meaningful relationships, in which discovering this balance allows you to work more effectively? Any landlords take time to have a conversation with their tenants and provided relief/understanding of the current situation and developed a stronger relationship with them than before? Did COVID present a unique opportunity that proved to be advantageous to your RE portfolio/network? Did COVID eliminate a day-to-day distraction which allowed you to focus on personal areas of improvement? Learn any new skills, RE techniques, creative financing opportunities? Ignited a strong desire for success?

I can start by saying what COVID has done FOR me is kick-started my personal RE Investing journey. With already working in the RE industry (in Charleston, South Carolina) for about 5 years now, I've always been aware of the endless opportunities found in RE but never took the initiative to start my own personal pursuit. Because COVID was, more or less, sudden and unexpecting - it abruptly shifted my perspective on my quality of life and how I don't ever want to rely on another person, business and/or company to provide my only means of income. I then made the decision to not become complacent and find an opportunity that builds wealth and is self sufficient. And why not with real estate?! Fast forward a few months, I'm a part of the BP community and had the opportunity to virtually meet several awesome like-minded individuals, engaging in conversations sharing insights of our experiences in the industry. I'm now at the point where I'm actively pursuing my first (outside my primary residence) investment deal! Though this process isn't easy, I'm learning and motivated to pursuit and fulfill my goals!

I'm excited to read how everyone else is capitalizing and leveraging their opportunities during COVID!

Jack Martin · Answer

Great thread @Nick Webb it's always good to see the silver lining during times of uncertainty. Along with our investors, my partner and I own and manage a portfolio of value-add mobile home parks here in Arizona. In the first 4 weeks of COVID, we sold out of 100% of our inventory of mobile homes for sale in our collective parks. We do a thorough renovation of each home, so the demand for our homes is normally high anyway, but the pace we sold homes at in March/April was twice as much as normal.

We also implemented a rent deferral program for those residents who were impacted by COVID, and it was well received, even though only a half dozen residents have needed to use the program over the last 5 months. In total, the performance of the portfolio has gone up during COVID due to the increase in sales and very little impact to cash flow.

Again, great thread. Good to see folks looking at the positive!

Russ Scheider · Answer

@Nick Webb

I love this discussion. "What we focus on expands" It's easy to get caught up in the what can go wrong and miss out on what can go right. I have to make a conscious daily practice of asking myself "what can go right?"

1. COVID-19 has caused some cash buyers to become cautious, especially the buy-and-hold crowd. I pivoted my wholesale business more toward fix-and-flip cash buyers and have worked hard this year on building mutually-beneficial relationships with a few serious cash buyers. Specifically downtown buyers.

2. The local market is HOT. I have shifted my focus from cash-offer-or-nothing to "how can I solve this seller's problem?" After 6 years full-time in flipping, wholesaling, and short-term rentals, I added my RE license in 2019. This year I am offering sellers the option of trusting me to list houses for them and use the marketing, sales, and negotiation skills I have acquired in my private RE business to help these sellers sell at retail. The "how can I solve your problem" has also resulted in 2 sub-to deals this year.

3. As a result of the hot market, finding houses to flip is difficult. I won't stop flipping SFR's, but I am spending more time analyzing other property classes and have wholesaled a mobile home park and some vacant commercial land.

Thanks for starting this discussion. Let's work together on something soon.

Account Closed · Answer

@Nick Webb

I’ve got better at digital efficiencies requiring less man hours from leasing and general maintenance. I’ve also stepped ahead of any in my local market who haven’t implemented changes. I raised rents this summer while many sat vacant.

Troy Gandee · Answer

@Nick Webb

I was dead slow with my brokering for a few months. The market picked back up, but we had our toddler at home, so I didn't get back into it until June. I'm the busiest I think I've ever been with brokering right now. I have 8 properties under contract at the moment.

I also have 2 rentals that are BRRRs that I've not been able to refinance with hard money. Those loans dried up until July or so. At this point, it's wiser for me to just wait 6 months and use conventional funds, but most of my capital has been tied up for longer than usual.

I don't tend to flip much anymore, but I may look for a flip or two just because of how short our inventory is. Things are selling super fast, so a decent flip should move quick.

Our REI networking events, REI Central, have been on hold since March, I believe. Those were just starting to gain a lot of traction, but now we're just delaying them until the case count subdues.

Nick Webb · Answer

@Jack Martin sounds like you and your business partner didn’t miss a beat during COVID! Offering the rent deferral was an awesome opportunity to solidify strong relationships with your tenants (even though the majority didn’t need) which spoke volumes about your character and intentions as landlord. I’m sure you will see added future benefits (low turn over, higher collection %, less ware and tear on properties, etc ). Such a good idea, thanks for sharing!

Nick Webb · Answer

@Kris H. Nice! An old High school coach of mine always use to say something along the lines of “muscle through another extra rep, because you will always be that rep better than your competitor that decided to do the minimum”. Not to the point that RE is about ‘beating’ competition but the fact that we should always take the time to find ways to improve ourselves and our current processes. The accumulation of “extra reps” will differentiate ourselves from “the average” and give us that extra edge. Glad you brought this up, appreciate it!

Marlen Weber · Answer

@Nick Webb great question, I love seeing positive posts around COVID-19 for a change. Personally, COVID-19 has impacted me for the better in that I am now ok with things slowing down. I used to love being on the go at all times, so it took some adjusting at the beginning of quarantine. Now, I see the beauty in things slowing down.

Nick Webb · Answer

@Marlen Weber That's great to hear! I think we've all been guilty of getting caught up in the 'day-in, day-out' GRIND of work/life and forgotten that there is still beauty in slowing down and reprioritizing. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

Account Closed · Answer

Every individual obstacle is a chance to get better. And every common or universal obstacle is a chance to lead the pack.

Russ Scheider · Answer

@Ross Bowman Follow REI-Central on FB for updates. We have an email list, but we typically add people to that list after their first meeting.

How has COVID POSITIVELY impacted YOU and/or your REI Strategy??

How has COVID POSITIVELY impacted YOU and/or your REI Strategy??

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