All Forum Posts by: Colleen S.

I too am a NNN investor & have been for awhile. It's hard to get much info on them but the best way to learn is start looking for properties and ask questions!

What Jeremy said above is spot on. And, location is always relevant in my experience. If the building goes dark you want a good location to find another tenant to setup a multi year lease. Many regional/national video store companies went out of business in recent years but look at how many of these locations have been retenanted after the corporate tenant moves on.

As for financing I've found that bankers will still look at the underlying property in addition to the lease terms & tenant quality. The dirts still important in my mind & an appraisal based on the income approach should bear weight.

I agree with Bill! Don't let a crappy person get the best of you so much that it ruins your attitude & co-op nature. I've had this happen with a commercial tenant late paying & after they were gone things changed for the better. I also make everyone sign up at erentpayment for residential & commercial is auto ACH payments. Having a 3rd party on line system do rent collection takes the personalities/drama out of it.

Do you have a local MFH owners association in your area that you could join? I was a member in the Twin Cities area when I was into MF and it was a great way to hear about upcoming deals as well as network for maint. prop mgmt etc.

I use Loopnet & have had been a paid member when I'm actively looking for a property. I don't really like the format but when I'm really seriously on the hunt for something it's been a the best resource that I can find. But then again I'm into NNN deals so those are National tenant brokerages which is a smaller market than MF.

I would still install a moisture barrier membrance (not coating) beneath the carpet pad. Use something such as Dimplex or Superseal to stop WV transmission. Flooring is expensive but proper underlayment isn't in the long run.

Ok so I'll liven up an older thread, I think it's very relevant to hear the stories of others that are or contemplating going FT into RE.

I was never a good employee & had too many ideas so I started a machinery manufacturing co. about 25 yrs ago. It was VERY scarey building state of the art machines but I truly loved what I was doing and that was the key to it all for me.

After many years of developing my products and patents I sold it and used the income stream to buy into the stock market. I hated that, no control, no physical asset, no fun. I love building things! After looking at RE I realized that I'm not into MF/SF residential tenants and buying cheap carpet! Plus, I was consulting at the time and traveling quite a bit. So I bought a Pamida store in IA with a NN lease and got into the commercial side of things.

Over time the last 10 years I sold that and bought 2 more NNN (triple net) buildings, heavily paid down the mortgages and am now living off the cash flow so WOW I am full time! I also got a GC license & have been flipping high end historical (hysterical) houses to keep me challenged. But limit that to one major project per year since they are a multi year design & restoration ordeal.

I would call Joel, he's on the money in my book.
I bought a NNN 10 years ago, traded up to a much larger NNN & it's working for me. You really have to do your due diligence on the tenant & the lease but it's worth it IMHO.

Good luck with your search, make it fun!