All Forum Posts by: Ashley St. Gelais

Jeff, 

I did a quick search online and found this:  http://www.deptofnumbers.com/rent/oklahoma/oklahom...

As long as these numbers are correct, looks like the vacancy rate in 2013 was 6.23%.

: )

Ashley

Is there a catch?

Hey @Dr. Robert Jack

Thanks for posting this opportunity.

I hope this doesn't sound rude, but this sounds too good to be true?  Is there a catch?

Do you lend across the country?

: )

Ashley

@Jean Bolger I love that idea!

Or maybe whomever mows the lawn can scoop it and forward that charge to the tenants split in half.

In qualifying tenants in the future, perhaps you can ask past landlords if scooping the poop was ever an issue?

Ashley

Welcome @Annmarie Toms!

So excited to see you on here.  : )

What is your biggest question that we can help answer for you?

Ashley

@David Boroughes

Hey David,

Al has the right idea. Before you form an LLC go to a local bank or credit union and ask to speak with their commercial department. They typically have a different and easier formula they use to ensure 1st the property will cover it's own expenses and 2nd that you can cover your own living expenses.

As long as you get approved, your attorney can help you form an LLC (to ensure it is done correctly to ensure you actually get the additional protection it allows) right before closing. Typically, it makes sense to open a separate LLC for each property. That way if someone falls and sues you at property A and sues llc a, then they shouldn't also be able to get to the other assets you have in other LLC's.

Hopefully this is exactly the info you need to keep on keeping on!  : )

Ashley

@Davon Lowery

I feel your pain. As a past mortgage lender, I saw lots of people who didn't qualify because they were taking their rightful deductions.

We have maxed out our conventional loans and are continuing to get commercial. Have you considered trying out commercial loans with a local bank or credit union? Typically they have a different formula to determine if a loan makes sense. The first thing they look at is if the property can support itself with the monthly income. Then they look to see that you can support your own living costs.

Hope this helps!

Ashley

@Roiquel Rodriguez

Welcome Roiquel!

Is there anything specifically that we can help you with?

Ashley

Hey @Ross Lombardo,

We invest in and live in Vermont.  In Burlington we've also realized that the property prices are not able to be supported by the rental income.  We have started looking outside the area lately, and have found some good deals elsewhere where we can have handy-people on the ground for small issues.

Can you run numbers for places outside your reach and work into the equation paying someone else to do repairs?

And last idea, not sure what type of financing you are using, but could you look into getting a longer term loan?  For example, if you are running your numbers at a 15 year commercial could you stretch it out to 20 year?  Or maybe you could start targeting owners who might be willing to hold a note over 20-30 years at a lower rate than the banks.

I hope this helps! : )

Ashley

Hey @Jeff Howard!

Happy Sunday!

I love that you are asking these questions.  Sometimes folks just jump in without thoroughly investigating the area, other folks tend to be too nervous and never end up taking any action.

1) I don't think that there being that many houses in 1 area is a bad thing.  Whenever the houses were built there had to be enough demand in the area to support it. And hopefully there is still that amount of demand.  The question that I would ask is what is the vacancy rate of the area you are looking to invest in?  If you knew how many houses were rented in that 1 square mile you could divide the number of empty units by the number of rented units.  Let's say that there are 250 rented units (just a wild guess)... 14/250=.056 or 5.6%.  That is a pretty low vacancy rate.  This means that it would be wise to assume that 5.6% of the time your unit will be empty.

2) I do think it is wise to under estimate the amount of rent you can expect.  It's always better to plan for the worst and hope for the best than the other way around. If you are new to rental prices in the area you are investing in, I'd suggest going to see other houses to determine how yours compares.  If yours has additional features such as parking, storage, allows dogs, etc you might end up being able to charge more or the same amount.

We know our area pretty well, but when a owner wants to try to obtain a higher rent, we'll list it for them at their desired rate with the understanding that if we don't get any applications, we'll reduce the rent in $50 increments until we find a qualified tenant. It's always easier to reduce the price on your listing than to realize you listed it for too little.

And lastly, when qualifying tenants, it's always better to lose out on a few months worth of rent to find the right tenant than to jump at the first person who wants it even if they don't seem qualified.

Hopefully I've provided some assistance!  : )

Ashley