All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Hayek

The idea of owning office space right now is probably scary to many. I am wondering if there might be potential in smaller, more flexible office space, and I'd like to hear your thoughts. You know, the whole, "... be greedy when others are fearful...". idea.

I've invested in small multi for several years and am now looking for different options, particularly in the commercial space. I'm in a small market (60k people) with a large air force base that is getting a massive investment in the next decade that is expected to be huge for the local area. It's a capital city. Like most places, multi family is going crazy here.

I do not have tons of money or tons of investors, so I'm simply not ready to buy a big box store or huge commercial complex. I'd be using 1031 money.

There is an office building available in my small downtown area for what I believe is a fairly reasonable price (~$700k). It is mostly vacant. It's about 10,000 sq ft of office space, divided into about 20 individual suites (about 350-400 sq ft each). 3 floors, elevator and stairs, men/ women single bathrooms on each level, only street parking. Excellent downtown location, attractive building. Condition is good and needs minimal initial improvements (maybe freshen up the bathrooms). 3 out of 20 office suites are currently leased. I believe it would rent in the $10-$14 /sq ft range. My thoughts and questions, bearing in mind I am brand new to analyzing commercial deals:

- High vacancy, which is what I look for in multi family. Is there value add potential in buying vacant office space, leasing it, and selling at full occupancy?

-The layout is such that the offices could be occupied by single people needing a small office space or a company with several employees that could lease an entire floor. There are reception areas on each floor. This flexibility is what attracts me to this building.

- Am I delusional in thinking I can make money investing in office space right now?

Thank you for your insight!

Welcome! Tyler is great. We've been fortunate to sell a property to some clients of his. If he's not on BP, he should be. 

@Cheryl Packham We are actively buying, rehabbing, and managing in Cheyenne. We're always open to opportunities. I'll send a direct message to you. 

I've never done a Sub To so I'd welcome any insights. 

I have a lead from a guy about to be foreclosed on. Set for January 25. He owes 222k on his loan and $12,500 immediately. He's paid nothing since June. The house is worth worth $275k as is, $350k after cleanup and updating. 

My idea is to give him some cash (maybe $10k) take over his loan and get him up to date, clean up the house and resell. I haven't seen the house yet but I will tomorrow. 

What could go wrong?

Any leads on a Subject To Contract would also be helpful. 

Thanks! 

Have to be contrarian here. In my mind, having two phones is simply unnecessary (and will probably keep you from growing as fast as you want). You seriously want to carry around TWO cell phones with you all the time? 

If you're just starting out, a separate Google Voice number can serve you well. Get the Google Voice phone app and your phone will ring/ text when that number is contacted. However, Google Voice has very basic and limited functionality and Google has basically stopped making updates and improvements to Voice. 

If you want to be serious, get a service like Ring Central or Call Rail. We use Ring Central. It's not expensive - $20 per month. It has more functionality than you can imagine. Great desktop and mobile app. Add as many numbers as you want. Forward them wherever/ whenever you want, plus tons more that we find very useful. 

I'd caution you against thinking "too small" and keeping things as cheap as possible. It's the same argument in using a Spreadsheet vs. actual CRM to track leads. Start thinking bigger and grow into your software, rather than constantly playing catchup. I guarantee you will grow faster. 

@Jennifer Donley, thanks for the additional info. We will consider adding it going forward! 

@Jennifer Donley, the current home visit is very interesting. How much lead time do you give the applicant before the visit? I know the thinking is someone who keeps their house well will be fine with even short lead time and someone who doesn't wouldn't benefit all that much from lots of lead time. Do you say that from the beginning? 

@Nathan Gesner Understandable, thanks for sharing your experience. 

@Jack Langfald Check here (https://www.meetup.com/Cheyenn...) to get signed up (free) for notifications. It's been a mixture of in-person and virtual meetings. Next meeting January 2021. 

There is another landlord group that used to meet at the library. I know they've had some virtual meetings. These are the folks that run it: https://www.daynightprocessser... Contact info is on their home page. 

@Nathan Gesner is it fair to say that tenant might not have passed your screening criteria if you were placing a tenant under your management? These are of course all anecdotal; we inherited a lady on Section 8 who's been in the unit for 5-6 years now and almost always pays early (takes good enough care of the unit). Another Section 8 tenant we placed is a single parent family and a hard worker. Both pay about 1/3 of their monthly income. 

Welcome to the real estate investing world. Like James mentioned, that group on Meetup is the best REI community in Cheyenne. We do accept Section 8 in Cheyenne and overall have had a good experience with it. Like Nathan said, tenant screening is the key to landlording for Section 8 or for free market tenants.