All Forum Posts by: Brett K.

Hi Sylvia, I'm in Louisville KY and I have a background in appraising and helping investors find investment properties.  Welcome to BP. 

Rob,

This is a nicely written comprehensive piece on what's going on.  Thanks for taking the time to put it together.  

Hi Eileen,

Is the property vacant?  If it is, it's super easy to show so it's not as much hassle for the buying or selling agent. Is the buyer likely to be an investor? If so they may have a real estate license or they may work with an agent that relies on repeat business rather than a one-off purchase.  My point is that there are plenty of motivated participants at this price point even if the gross commission is low.  

You might want to do an online search for brokerages in your area that offer larger commission splits or a flat fee to their agents.  I'm not going to through out names, but there are companies that only take $500 at closing from an agent.  Those agents can be profitable on lower priced properties.  

Good luck.  

An appraiser will try to choose properties nearby that have sold in the past 6 months. Nearby is relative. In a dense area, such as in-town (city, dense suburb, etc) you should be able to find sales within a half mile. In a suburban area, typically a 1 mile radius is the benchmark and you need a good reason to go out farther. In a small town or out in the county usually 3 miles is the benchmark. Don't make the rookie mistake of overlooking build quality. Try to find sales that are similar in style which should account for build quality in most cases. Your ARV should be about the top 20% tranche of sales because you probably won't be remodeling to the same level as a flip since you will be renting it. Look at the pictures to evaluate the quality of the materials and workmanship of the comparable sales and align your ARV accordingly. Be prepared to match the finishes you see to obtain similar prices/values. Throw out the high-value outliers. I've called agents before to ask why a property sold so much higher than the other comps and literally been told "we just found the right buyer".

Love your process.  We have an area of town where AC unit theft is common but I don't think anyone is pulling them out in-between occupancy. That's serious work.  Do you have a favorite camera system?

Working in a busy property management company, I'm often asked for advice on camera and alarm systems, and in rougher neighborhoods sometimes it can be a toss-up on whether to keep a property boarded-up between showings.  I'd love to hear what other people are doing and recommend; tips and tricks for guarding a vacant property. 

Great idea.  My process is almost identical. 

I know this because I was an appraiser for 16 years.  

Mahmoud,

You don't want to use SFR properties as comps for multi-family. You need to use other multi-family properties. Preferably with the same number of units, build quality, and salient features (e.g. separately metered).

Edwin, 

I'm not sure I can help because I don't know what 'cashed off' means.  In my market I've seen people develop relationships with other investors who will partner on deals.  I've seen people use "private money" meaning they are borrowing money, usually for 6 months to a year, from an individual and then they get a bank to refinance the property to pay off the 'private money'.  A good hard money lender can help get your momentum going too.