All Forum Posts by: AJ Leman

Hi David,

Welcome to BP! Lot's of folks say that the 1st deal is the hardest...and usually they are correct.  Your 1st deal probably won't be a home run (mine was far from it), but the real return is what you learn from that 1st deal.  Not sure if you are a reader, but if not, I would become one :).

Best of luck!

AJ

Welcome @David Cedillo! A good, succinct book regarding prop mgmt is Ken McElroy's: 

https://www.amazon.com/Ken-McElroy-ABCs-Property-Management/dp/B00RWTHW2G

There are also lots of BP articles on prop mgmt: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/interview-property-managers-ultimate-guide

Best of luck!

AJ

Welcome @Shawn Schwabe and yes - thank you for your service! Good Questions, @Darson Grantham.

My wife is a PA at UIHC. She went through PA school later in life. It was a great choice and its a great profession! Good luck in the RE world!!

@Scott Dixon is right on the money.  Student housing is overbuilt.  The local paper had an article about it:

https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/housing/tom-kacich-apartment-landlords-call-for-lower-tax-assessments-amid/article_b8b70990-e3b7-5f57-bd2b-a9a0689150a5.html

Hi Myles,

Welcome to BP. I was born and rasied in Champaign.  My folks and siblings still live there. Great Big 10 town.  I live in Iowa now, and most of our holdings are here, but we own about 10 houses in surrounding towns close to Champaign.  My brother, J Leman, is a realtor and investor in the area.  He is not on BP, but you can shoot him an email at leman47 (at) gmail or hit him up with a text: 2177785320.

He would have a good handle on the market.  Whatever you do - Good luck!

AJ

Lieutenant,

Thanks for your service and happy Veteran's Day!

NL is a nice market for rentals.  We used to own a few TH's in Coralville.  You probably won't have much trouble finding roommates as the communities in the Corridor are pretty transient.  Zillow, Craigslist, and Realtors could all be helpful. Best of luck - let me know how it goes!

AJ

Hey Quinn,

What kind of stuff are you looking for?  Happy to connect over BP.  We have units in Coralville, Riverside, Washington, and soon in IC.  Majority of our deals are from relationships. People we have met in the business and what not.  I don't have lots of time for sit-downs, but I'm a IC local who also invests in the area. Happy to shoot the breeze!

Hi Kade,

I agree with @Nicholas Wallraff.  Local banks are pretty good around here.  We use Hills exclusively.  My banker is Dean Stockman - great guy.  You might want to explore seller financing as well.  I've got a buddy who is getting ready to sell a zero lot by North Ridge park in Coralville.  He might be open to a seller financed deal.   Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you his info.

Best of luck!

Hi Oscar,

The deal looks pretty terrible from a cash flow point of view. One thing you will want to include in your expenses is CapEX, or Capital Expenditures. CapEx is the category investors use for big items like roofs, HVAC, etc. If you are renting a out, these things eventually need fixed, so it is smart to have a reserve fund.

Best-

AJ

Hi Thuy,

We just did a pretty simple seller financed deal.  It was 11 units and 10 garages.  Price was 460k.  We got a bank note for 368k and seller financed 92k for us.  His terms were 6% 25 year term with 5 year balloon. Very abbreviated pros/cons list:

Pros: No money down.

Cons: Cash flow is tight!

I think we'll be OK as we can force some appreciation over the next five years.  Originally the seller wanted to finance more with us, but due to his own tax situation he just did the down payment portion.