All Forum Posts by: Angie Shires

Welcome to BP, Mikhail and thanks for your service. 

You've obviously been doing some planning, and that's fantastic. My first question is do you have your finances in order? Have you saved enough money for your down payment, rehab costs (or a creative way to finance them) and reserves for the just in case? You want to make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row, it's important for every new investor, but even more important when you'll be out of the country! 

Have you decided on focusing on SF or MF units? I love the idea of the AirBnB while you are gone. Do you have someone to help you manage and maintain? 

Congratulations on your first negotiation! 

1. With no idea of what property values and rental rates are in your area, I'll say that the rental rate seems high for the price of the home (unless you are getting a phenomenal deal). Could I ask where you got the rental rate? 

2. Also, repairs seem low...that is unless it only needs minor cosmetic repairs. How did you arrive at the repairs? Have you had an experienced contractor take a look? Be careful you aren't going to have to throw more money at it to get it rentable. 

3. Unless you get one heck of a deal, I would never offer to pay for the seller's closing costs. Every dollar counts when you are investing, and it can get out of hand. If it's done, it's done...just beware of getting emotionally attached to a deal to the point that you are costing yourself money. There are other homes out there, it just takes work finding them! Make sure the numbers work, if they do, jump on it. 

Congratulations! Is this your first? 

1/2 bath to full won't add that much value, I'd put my money to use somewhere else. Are there any other areas of the home that could use a little extra TLC? 

@David Woz have you contacted the owner of the PM Company directly? They may have no clue that their property managers are unresponsive and not doing their job 100%. I would start there! As stated earlier, change companies and just change problems! 

As far as the contractors, while it is their job to help with that...I'd have a list of preferred providers set aside to call for every repair imaginable. Let the PM know those are the providers you want to use and communicate with those contractors on a regular basis. Relationships are everything! 

We teach people how to treat us, do your due diligence and maintain constant contact with your PM...they will learn quickly and won't want those accountability phone calls. On the other end, you must be active in your investments. 

Good luck to you! 

@Bryan Gambina those prices seem high for my area, where are you located? That can make a huge difference. 

You can sub out a lot of the work yourself and save yourself quite a bit of money. Do you have many contacts in the area you are trying to sub? If so, reach out to them! I always ask for referrals first from people that I trust will be honest. People are always very happy to tell you about the good/bad experiences they've had with contractors. 

If you don't have a lot of contacts, ask for referrals here on BP! 

Spring is every contractor's busy season! Don't be afraid to negotiate with the contractors that you like....and ALWAYS check references! Good luck! Let us know how it goes. 

Hey Ryan, 

Do you have any property management companies locally? I ask for two reasons...1. If there are several in your area, you're probably in a good rental area. 2. They make their money from investors and will usually happily answer your questions about rental rates, best rental areas and sometimes have investors looking to sell a home or a group of homes that haven't hit the market yet. 

I'd go in and have a face to face conversation. You'll never regret getting out making connections, the more people you have a relationship with, the more successful you will be. 

BP is a great resource for finding people in your area. Also local meet ups will help you educate yourself about your market! 

Without knowing the details, it would be hard to say...that being said, it doesn't look bad at all. As you stated, paint and new hardware would make it look fresh. The question to ask is will remodeling bring higher rent? If not, then I wouldn't do it. 

Hi Daniel, 

I like J Scott's Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. If you are just trying to estimate to run numbers. It will help you see if a deal will work initially. If you are just starting out, before you get in too deep, find someone that has some experience to go out with you to give you a better idea. If you don't know anyone, find someone here in your general area that might have a referral. You don't want to have your offer accepted to find out that what you thought was a 20k rehab is more like 50k!

If you haven't started building relationships, start today! Sure, you could do it all by yourself...but why not build a network of like minded people in all businesses and trades, you will learn quickly there is not better way to succeed than to build a team! If you don't know where to start, then find a Realtor. We basically know a reliable expert for anything you could possibly need, from a handy-man to a CPA! 

Not at all, most agents really aren’t interested in investors, and in larger cities, agents generally concentrate on a certain area. Remember they work for you! Just make sure if you’re signing buyers agreements with those agents that you stay within the criteria area mentioned or it could cost you. 

@Matthew Pierson the best way to get that info is from a local agent that is investor friendly. We are like unicorns, but there are some in each market. I suggest looking for someone that lists in the neighborhoods that you’d like to invest in.

You’ll probably have to talk to several, but a good agent is a must to have in your team. Do not use Zillow, at least in our area, it is ALWAYS wrong!

Good luck to you!