All Forum Posts by: Alecia Loveless

@Bob P. This sounds like a smart idea, joint ventures.

However you end up structuring your agreement make sure you have at least 1-2 agreed upon exit strategies spelled out in the agreement in case things go south.

I failed to do this twice at great expense to myself. I have now learned from this mistake and hope I can share this advice with many.

@Jose Quinones I primarily use Facebook Marketplace but occasionally answer a post of someone looking for a unit that turns out to be a solid lead.

A ton of people who initially inquire about a unit on Facebook drop out of the process quite quickly.

For those who continue to interact with me beyond the inevitable “Is this available?” Post I send out the screening application.

I then lose a ton more.

Once I start getting applications returned to me I set up showings, both individually and usually 1-2 open house style options.

Once tenants have viewed the property I go in order of the first qualified tenant that says they want to proceed to the background check.

If they’re approved and pay the deposit I’m done. If not I run the next background check in order of who got to me first.

I often start out with 100 leads from Marketplace and then by the time I’m ready to do background checks I only have 3-5 left in the process.

It’s frustrating but for the most part I have gotten solid tenants that are staying multiple years.

@Fahima Hilal I have ones that are wood, white ones, and black ones.

I’ve found that as long as they’re somewhat insulated and well installed the color won’t matter. Also they still need to be in good enough condition that they can be easily cleaned.

@Shane Quin In 2023 my accountant told me I needed a bookkeeper as I scale my portfolio. For reference I have 31 units. I immediately went out and hired one who I worked with from May 2023-September 2023 to get my books setup.

Fast forward to February 2024 when I contacted the bookkeeper to see about getting my stuff to do my taxes and I discovered they hadn’t even started, hadn’t been to their office in months, and that I needed to find someone else.

I went through 2 more potential bookkeepers before I posted on my local Facebook town site for recommendations and got a good one.

We’ve hit it off and it took about 20 hours to square away 2023 and 2024 to date. We now meet via Zoom for about 20 minutes 2X per month.

Depending on the size and complexity of your existing situation it may take some work for your new person to get you up and running. Get your books set up right the first time, it’s worth it in the long run.

@Matthew Mclean May not apply to your loan but for others that read this they may need to make sure there is no pre-payment penalty. If there is one you would need to take into consideration the effects of the costs associated with that vs. your new savings via the lower interest rate.

@Chris Villegas After losing out on many tenants due to showing a unit that was occupied or under renovation I never advertise any more until the unit is empty and ready to go. I know I likely leave something on the table doing this but I’ve had people not move out on the expected date and then been in a pickle for what to do about the new occupants who have made their arrangements to be in a certain date.

By the time I go through my entire process of pre-screening I usually only end up with 1-2 applicants that meet my requirements. I then do the background check on the 1st completed one that meets the requirements and has no glaring red flags. If that comes back good they get the unit. If there’s problems I run the background check on the second tenants and so on and so forth. I never run background checks on more than one set of applicants at a time.

My rental market is still very hot. It’s a huge red flag to me when someone won’t come view the unit. I’ve never rented one site unseen. I feel there’s too many variables that can come in play.

@Freeman Schultz I typically buy what fits in the space first and then the unit that is on sale and has the best value after that. I only worry about matching appliance brands on extremely high end units. I also won’t buy one that has water/ice dispenser. I usually don’t even buy an internal ice maker. I’ve seen too much damage by these.

@Rebecca Morris The Bigger Pockets bookstore has a great collection of books on multiple topics that are beneficial to beginners.

Multi Family Investing Volume 1 (think that’s the name) by Brandon Turner is a great starting out point. It covers everything relevant for 2-10ish units. The numbers on prices and rates are a little dated post pandemic but the concepts are all there to get you started.

Women’s REIN (real estate investors network) can be found on Facebook and has a great beginner workshop that was only $47 the last time I saw it posted. I believe for an additional fee you could retain access to the replays forever but replays for 30 days were included in the $47 cost so I wouldn’t waste my money on forever.

I wouldn’t spend a lot on courses or mentors starting out. There’s plenty of good books in the $10-25 range that can give you great information. I wouldn’t spend more than about $100 on any course either.

Of the 3 $6500+ courses I’ve taken the only one that was worth much to me was on self storage because I knew nothing about it. I learned a lot but probably not enough to justify the price. Skip these and save your $$ for your first down payment.

@Leah Ramsey If you’re starting out the cash out refinance is probably best for a novice. It’s straightforward and locks in the interest rate.

If you truly only need $65,000 that should be fairly easy with minimal requirements for you regarding your income and ability to repay the loan.

There’s tons of options for this. Personally I use my local regional bank where I’ve banked for years. They have competitive rates and I’m familiar with their branches as well as their online platform.

@Mary Jay I have a difficult, complaining tenant as well. I finally had to take a hard stance regarding my specific policies to curb the complaints.

For example the tenant has been complaining about 2 ceiling tiles that became stained during a rainstorm 2 weeks ago. We are working to resolve the leak, which only stains ceiling tiles and does not drip into the unit. I finally had to send a message that we were aware of the problem and would resolve it when we were able but that it wasn’t impacting the tenants physical use of the unit.

This advice may prove useful to you in the future.

Document all conversations, texts, emails.

I’m not a judge but I feel if you send certified mail telling them to either contact the repair person directly or to reach out to you to set up the appointment then you have done everything in your power.