All Forum Posts by: Kia E.

Hi Ryan, Thanks for your response. I'm arranging a deal similar to what David described above, i.e. giving our tenant the right to run the property as an airbnb arbitrage. I was wondering mainly for liability reasons whether we need to include specific clauses in our lease to protect us in case of an incident or catastrophe, e.g. if someone falls down the steps, short-term guests get into a fight with each other, someone cooks meth in their room, etc. I'd like to know if airbnb already has some legal structure in place to manage these situations or if it's a pass-through liability position, which would require us to hold our lessee unilaterally responsible for those situations... cheers. 

We've learned the phrase start small, to learn the process, make mistakes and optimize the system before moving on to larger deals. Would be interesting to have a discussion on whether this applies to multifamily syndication model and how "small" the deal can be in order to manage the risk while experiencing all the aspects of complexity? e.g. would it make sense to do one or two small/mid-size apartment buildings (say a few tens of units) and have that on our CV before approaching lenders and investors alike, for credibility/track record, or would some panelists think that's spinning wheels and might as well focus on learning the system to go after a larger deal (hundred doors order of magnitude) and go fundraise based on that? like anything it can be somewhat subjective but would be interesting to hear their thoughts. We probably know the first correct answer is whatever it is just do it, but I think we're all on the same page on that! Cheers.

If the numbers work, I'd go with A. It presents a good balance between distributing vacancy risk and consolidating management effort. The other two options seem to me to be on either extreme side of the equation.

Anthony– I was actually thinking about that. Need to print up some flyers and go for a daylong campus walk, and perhaps hit some of the local shops, whichever has a pinboard.

Matt– very good point. It is near Umstead Park and right on the bus line. That was actually one of the reasons I liked it and on top of that it showed a very nice documented rental history...

Trying to reach out to landlords and rental property investors in Chapel Hill / Carrboro area active in renting to student tenants. Where do you all advertise your rentals and what are the most productive channels to attract potential tenants? We recently purchased a duplex near UNC campus, half occupied. But having a very hard time to find tenants for the other half; even to get an inquiry. We've exhausted all the usual channels: cragslist, postulates, MLS, rent.com, uloop, and of course being syndicated to all the zillows and trulias out there – even some of the more local listings like chapelhillrent.com and Daily Tar Heel (UNC publication), but nothing is coming through other than the regular spam through craigslist. We have rental properties in other markets and haven't had any problem generating a steady flow of inquiries. We started advertising ~4 weeks ago so I don't think we were too late to the summer housing hunting game but now getting too close to semester start... what do you guys do to reach out prospective tenants in this area? Any particular listings or local resources to get a better exposure? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm thinking it's best not to engage in such activity. Certainly the risks outweigh the benefits... I think we can all live with non-granite countertops!

Tenant wants to upgrade kitchen countertops to granite at own expense. In general what is everyone's angle on pitfalls and cautions of tenet-initiated property renovation?

I need to hire a structural contractor to do some reinforcement in the foundation of a duplex I'm purchasing in Chapel Hill, NC. I've already had the inspection done by a structural engineer and have a specific plan of action. The house is wooden frame. The task will involve installing a few vertical wood beams on a concrete base. Does anyone know of a credible structural contractor who you have used in the past and can refer me to? Cheers.

Tim, I do agree with you. I'm discussing this option with the seller so I can do a pre-contract appraisal and hopefully minimize the uncertainty for everyone. It is indeed a good risk to take. But I'm also looking into other financing venues in case the property doesn't appraise per FHA requirements. There is also the possibility that the property wouldn't appraise to the figure we have verbally agreed upon. I suppose it's better to know it sooner than later...

Thanks everyone for their input on this topic. I have actively started looking into other financing options for this deal, including commercial and conventional loans. There just appears to be a lot of uncertainty around the FHA option which no one has a firm answer for. The only way to know is actually go through the process and find out down the line which doesn't seem to be a good investment strategy...