All Forum Posts by: Andrew Johnson

My experience is that it can be lender by lender. I've done it but it was a true all-cash purchase. It was based on the purchase price and I wasn't trying to extract 80% (or even close). Most lenders I've talked to will prefer to have either a 6 or 12 month seasoning period but some don't require it. And there may be different LTV requirements without seasoning but I'm not sure.

Steve Cook Alternative idea: Break your portfolio up among 3 property managers for the first year. See how they perform and then ask your preferred PM for a discount in year 2 to move to entire portfolio to them.

Kyle Gendron You could look for old "For Rent" listings online (or drive by and see if there's a sign) and call whatever number is there. It might be to the owner or a PM. If it's a PM you can explain that you'd like to speak to the owner about selling their property.

Derek Walker Devils advocate, why not just wait until the settlement you mentioned in July? It seems like you're paying a huge annualized rate (36%) or $21K just to start early on a buy-and-hold strategy. I can't imagine that 7 months of additional cash-flow on a $100K portfolio (benefit of starting early) will be $21K. But maybe I'm not quite understanding your situation.

Diane G. Maybe a little clarity in the auction listing, is $400K the opening bid? The reserve? Set artificially low (with a reserve) just to drum up interest? As others have mentioned, check on the flood plane and any other reason why the property might be uninsurable.

Jacob Thompson Maybe the best thing to do is have a meet-and-greet with a CPA. Have them explain what they can do to help you and your business (to you and your wife). I know I met with more than one before picking one. Maybe she feels like you've chosen a CPA without her input? Get her more active in the CPA selection process and you might past the "sort of". I think the larger issue is that it's very hard to be "sort of" bought into a plan. Either your wife is engaged 100% or she needs to trust your numbers and assessments. Given the choice I'd imagine she will (and should) opt to be 100% engaged.

Mark Kudlach jr. Join my program for $10K! Just kidding, being facetious here. Unless you have personal friends with no financial stake that are using only that programs ideas to find auditable success I'd pass.

Carlos Cardenas I'll throw in another vote for Google Drive. It's where I keep my pro-forma templates and I can access it anywhere (even the mobile phone). I'm also a fan of Alerts on Trulia to track new properties hitting the market and price reductions. This runs afoul of any off-market strategies but the Alerts let me at least ask for a T12 easily and timely. Last but not least I like AppFolio. It lets me get my monthly statements and look at historical expenses in one spot.

@Brian Goodwin Just reading your question it sounds like you are finding a lot of value in the turnkey approach.  It's sounds like your valuing the real/perceived certainty of it.  While I use a PM in the market that buy in I definitely want to have a feel (and level of comfort) with the neighborhood and understand the property at a street level.  I personally can't outsource that discernment to someone in a different market.  I can have them get me the T12s, preview the property, etc. but I always want to put my own "boots on the ground" and compare and contrast a high number of properties.  That's the only I can get comfortable.  I think if you narrow your geography there's no reason you can't go down parallel paths with a realtor and multiple turnkey companies.  

One thing that I've found incredibly valuable is that the PM that I use will point-blank tell me "I will manage this property" vs. "I want to manage this property".  If you can find an (overly) candid property manager it will help you with your first investment as well as subsequent ones.

@Dan DeAngelo It's legitimate if it's in your contract. When I vetted my property manager it's something that I asked about explicitly as I know it's a common practice. On the plus side, where my properties are, management fees are between 10% and 15% so you're well ahead of me. In other markets they will charge 7% but then tack on a fee every time there is turnover. One clause I do have in my PM agreement is that any repair/expense over $300 requires them to notify me, give me the options of reviewing multiple bids, etc. Maybe I could ask for that for any invoice but - to be honest - I really don't want to review bids for fixing a garbage disposal if it breaks. As others have suggested, I'd call around and see what the percentages and fees are in your area.