All Forum Posts by: Amy H.

@Perry Mcintyre great question! I have been researching direct mail as well and I will follow this post to see what other lists people use to get the best response rate.

@Karla Yudy When I worked in residential, I was in charge of a portfolio of bank owed foreclosures. I worked for a broker as an Account Manager and handled all the Freddie Mac, HUD, and other banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc from acquisition (foreclosure date) to closing on the property that the broker was representing the bank on. A few were occupied by delinquent owners or by tenants and we would offer relocation assistance on behalf of the bank, a majority of mine were not occupied. So I was given the opportunity to see all the offers that come in and how the bank chooses which offer to accept, I was able to learn and manage the capital repairs that the bank paid for that made money (and those repairs that weren't necessary), and learn the residential market all over my state. I would be the person who decided if the market demanded a certain type of counter top, what type of flooring, if it was worthwhile to replace the roof for added value or not, if new siding is cost efficient, etc. I learned A LOT and made a few mistakes. But I was able to learned while using the bank's money instead of using my own.

When I worked in commercial, I managed some mixed use spaces (commercial or retail in some spaces and usually apartments above) or just commercial spaces (warehouses, industrial, or retail) . Commercial was just managing the maintenance calls, annual and monthly budgets, and dealing with commercial tenant issues (improvements, demands, etc) in my opinion. I learned a lot about budgeting in regards to commercial space but that hasn't helped me at all with my hunt for SF rentals which is my long term goal. I felt like tenants were always just barking demands in commercial, as opposed to me actually learning in residential. 

I hope I answered your questions, definitely let me know if you have any more!

Jerry Thompson I worked in both residential and commercial asset management and in my honest opinion it was repetitive and daunting. I definitely enjoyed residential more because I managed REOs and got so much experience to prepare me for becoming an investor. I also got to see how investors bid on REOs, which was invaluable. However, in commercial I felt like everyday was just another roof leak, high maintenance retail tenant, etc. I learned a lot about roofing and zoning thanks to commercial AM but that's about it. Good luck in whatever you decide to go for!

Good question! In my current role at my 9-5 job, I can't hold an active license but this will be good info for me to keep in the back of my mind for down the road. I definitely will be following this thread.

Welcome Matthew Cochran !! I'm a BP rookie as well and have learned so much thus far. The podcasts got me hooked and the forums have been a great way to dive deeper into discussions and learn even more. Good luck!

I've always wondered about the pros vs cons on condos/townhouses in my area so I'll definitely be following this post. Great question!!

Welcome Lucy Vang !! I'm new to BP and have learned so much in such a short amount of time.

I'd definitely ask about retention rate of tenants and the average length of lease (do they have people that resign the lease for 2 years, 3 years, etc). I'd also ask if they add on a service fee for when they make maintenance calls on your behalf to vendors.

My why is because I love my small town and I want to help improve the community. There's a cute downtown area where railroad tracks and an Amtrak station are situated and I absolutely fell in love with this town four years ago. There's definitely areas and streets that have run down homes and my goal is to purchase them and fix them up and make them into QUALITY rentals. That'll also help push out the crime and really help develop a closer community amongst neighbors.

@John J. welcome! I was born and raised in Virginia Beach and went to college in Norfolk, so I know those markets pretty well. 2+ bedroom houses near ODU or NSU in Norfolk are great if you don't mind student tenants. I once lived in a duplex that had 8 units total and it was bringing in $3600 a month back in 2011. The owner paid $300k for the duplex in 2008 I believe. Let me know if you have any questions about different areas in Norfolk or VB!