All Forum Posts by: April Crossley

Looking for some creative solutions. I looked at a 3 unit that is currently owner occupied by an elderly woman on the first floor. I made her an offer and she liked it but she asked me to make her another offer as if she would stay living in the property. She is currently 82 years old. The apartment she is living in is the largest one and would rent for $850/month if she wasn't there.  She does not owe anything on the property and states she does not want to hold financing -- although I don't think she fully understands this and when I meet with her again her daughter will be present to discuss. Obviously if I let her stay at no rent -- I would offer much less.  I feel bad having her stay and paying $850/mo because I feel she won't go for that as it is a lot for someone at her age in our area.   Has anyone ever purchased a building and allowed an owner occupant to stay? Or any creative solutions to this or how it can be structured differently? 

@Bob Mason @Ronald Rohde @Zach Quick @Jason Chen  thank you for the replies. They are asking 550k. it brings in $58,399 income  $9,372 in expenses. It is amongst a whole bunch of businesses. I haven't thought about vertical development, but I imagine there would be room for this, I will have to check with the local municipality.   Jason your comment about Ocala, FL cracked me up-- I am from PA, but in Florida all the time as my family lives there & so do some good friends of mine and a business partner. Thank you for the laugh :) 

I was recently presented with the opportunity to buy a surface parking lot. 83 spaces. In an area I am very familiar with. Spaces are rented to local businesses - for example, one business will pay for 10 spaces for their employees, etc.  Lot spaces are not rented to individuals.   I am wondering if anyone is familiar with purchasing surface parking and if so... #1. What do you use as a "vacancy" rate? The lot has been fully rented for years as it is in the middle of a city.   #2. Would it scare you to buy a parking lot if your intention is long term hold (with as popular as Uber has become, self driving cars, etc).  

Appreciate any insight. Parking Lots are out of my realm of  my usual purchases (single family and small multifamily). thanks! 

@Jeet Sangha I did one mailing and met with 10 attorneys in 1 week. So yeah.. my phone was ringing off the hook. 

@Corey Pope Welcome to BP! Wishing you the best in your investment journey :) 

@Holly Veal I think it is like any other REI tool.. my guess is in some markets it will work and in others it will not. I tried it in my market and it didn't work at all. Most the houses it brought up were bank owned that sold months ago. however, it may work in some markets. I have generally found that there is no deal finding software that is going to do it for you... deals are found by putting in the work to network, do direct mail, and find deals. I have yet to find any software that finds deals for me. Lots of claims -- none of them work.

@Muks M. nicer neighborhoods tend to cash flow less unless you can land a killer deal. Low income neighborhoods tend to cash flow more. So its kind of a trade off. My best advice... never, never, never, never bank on appreciation. Never. Buy as the numbers are now.. in this present day. SOOooo many investors get themselves in trouble because they are banking on appreciation.

Congrats on your rentals!!! Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate investing! 

You are in one of the hottest markets in the nation I would say. I hear your story A LOT from others in the central FL area. I have a student that is in a hot market in PA we have had many discussions like the above. She was doing everything she was told. I was frustrated as the coach, she was feeling burnt out and frustrated as the student. But we just kept plugging along.  Months and months of frustration- but still consistent marketing- she got her first flip deal : ) From what? Of all things... a marketing flyer in a discount grocery store.  We try to market in areas where we know people who are trying to save every penny go.   So now.. she has her first flip. And I tell you this story to let you  know that you are not alone. This is the craziest I have seen the market in 10 years. Very competitive, but there are deals out there and I encourage you to keep plugging away at it and getting creative with marketing (this doesn't necessarily mean expensive-- just creative- put yourself in the sellers shoes).  Also don't be afraid to venture a tad bit outside of your area. Pick the hottest zip code.. and maybe explore the markets 30 min or so outside of that zipcode. Because these hot zipcodes become too expensive and people start moving out further to find affordable housing.  In my market I organize the local meetup group so sometimes people reach out to me to say: I am looking to start flipping and if you find any houses in X zipcode, call me.  And my response is always: you and every other investor in the area as everyone is working that same "hot" zipcode. Don't be afraid to explore a little. And don't give up :) 1st deal is always the hardest. 

Welcome J. T.! Definitely go on meetup.com and find local real estate investment groups in your area. You will find local cash buyers there and likely a lot of education and information.  Finding deals in this business is key! If you can find deals and connect with local cash buyers, you can get those deals done.   Don't get lost amongst all the information out there. It can be overwhelming. Connect with cash buyers via networking and find deals!