ADVISE/FEEDBACK FROM 6 SFR TO 10 AND MORE

[Sib Bahjat]

I am looking to acquire several SFR prorties in the next few months. All of my current (6) properties are located in good neighborhoods. I have minimum issues with tenants and chasing checks. Overll it has been great. I am about to leap into 10 plus properties very soon. I would like to get some feedback from folks that own 20 plus properties. I would like to know how many total hours a good self manager is involved in coordinating handyman, placing ad/signs, handling emails/phone calls, verifying employement/references, showing properties, movin in walkthrrough, chasing checks and etc...
I am looking for feedback from owners that own in all neighborhoods (A/B&C areas). Thank you!

[Mike H.]

I think you just want the secretary. :-)

You could get a phone service to take calls.

But I would never want to give up the leasing part. To me, thats where most investors really make the difference. When there's an applicant I really like, I will definitely turn on the charm and put in the effort to close. And, by close, all I really mean is chat it up with them.

For me, I've found that once the tenant has had a lengthy discussion with you, as long as the house is even remotely viable for them, they'll fill out the app and want in.

At one time, I was having my wife do showings with me since she had more free time during the day. She just didn't know how to "sell it". There's an art to showing houses and highlighting the good stuff and downplaying the negatives. So now I do almost all the showings unless I really get a case of the lazies.

Plus, I think I'd be missing the best part of real estate - meeting all the interesting people and hearing all the crazy stories. Tenants are great. But their stories are fantastic.

I guess I should mention to that I don't fix anything. I don't clean. I'm terrible at painting. The only thing I'm good at is putting everything together (finding the deal, financing, managing the contractors, etc) and leasing the houses. Once you stop that, I don't think I'd have the same attachment to investing to keep me interested.