All Forum Posts by: Ben Halabi

Hello to the BiggerPockets community! I am a new member to the BP forums, and would like to introduce myself. My name is Hersh and I am currently looking into multi-family in the Indianapolis, IN area. I currently am in graduate school at Purdue University and am an active duty Cryptologic Warfare Officer.

I have been learning and had underwritten multiple deals to learn about commercial multi-family properties, and have had the opportunity to network with some syndication teams. I have learned a great deal about property and asset management, underwriting, and the general operations involved with syndications. In addition, I actively have been reading about real estate and listening to podcasts such as BiggerPockets, Rod Khleif, Michael Blank...

Due to the proximity to Purdue and an emerging, fast-growing market, Indianapolis seems to be a great market to invest in multifamily. I have reviewed population data and demographics, tax rates, average rental income, suburban neighborhoods, and other criteria in order to decide the market.

I am excited to work with other investors to either syndicate a multi-family deal in the greater Indianapolis deal, or find an owner-financed deal. I would love to connect and talk with anyone interested in establishing a potential relationship to acquire a deal.

Thank you for your time and support, and I look forward to learning and hearing from this great community. I am excited to become more active and share my real estate journey with you all as well.

Welcome to the team Hersh. You’ve come to the right place for real estate investing, there are many investors and brokers here with a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer about the business. You can avoid massive headaches and costly mistakes through some of the advice and experience on here, there’s plenty of pitfalls we made that you can avoid by reading and asking questions.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Stephen Rager:

Does anyone have links to articles about interviewing property managers? Or is there a list of 10 questions for them? I'll be somewhat hands off with my properties. Setting the foundation for the parts of our business we want to systemize.

Hello Stephen, Finding the right property management company the most important piece of the puzzle. I recommend asking the PM you are going with a couple of questions before making the decision, I recommend asking your next manager a couple of questions:

Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?

What does your screening process look like?

Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?

What are your management fees?

What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?

If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?

How do you determine the rent amount?

How do you market vacant units?

What kind of software do you use?

Good luck!!

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Tigran Kalaydzhyan:

Just decided to buy my first (residential) rental real estate in Abilene, TX. Could anyone recommend a trusted property management firm there? All referrals are highly appreciated!

Hello Tigran, Finding the right property management is 50% of the job when investing. I recommend asking the PM you are going with a couple of questions before making the decision, I recommend asking your next manager a couple of questions:

Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?

What does your screening process look like?

Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?

What are your management fees?

What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?

If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?

How do you determine the rent amount?

How do you market vacant units?

What kind of software do you use?

Good luck!!

3 Votes

Originally posted by @Zac Maurais:

Looking to see what management companies have the best reviews in the Austin area.

Hello Zac, Finding the right property management is 50% of the job when investing. I recommend asking the PM you are going with a couple of questions before making the decision, I recommend asking your next manager a couple of questions:

Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?

What does your screening process look like?

Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?

What are your management fees?

What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?

If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?

How do you determine the rent amount?

How do you market vacant units?

What kind of software do you use?

Good luck!!

2 Votes

Austin, Texas

Originally posted by @Nathan Nance:

I would love to get advice on markets like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Tulsa. I am looking to invest in SFR and would need property management too. Any thoughts or leads?

Hello Nathan, Cleveland is one of the best turnkey market and the most popular for investors because of high rental demand and low cost of entry, property prices are pretty inexpensive here. The first thing you will want to do is check out this Cleveland Price & Neighborhood Map which will help you have a better understanding of the neighborhoods and general market in Cleveland. Good luck!

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Ryan Karr:

I'm a new investor looking to get into the Cleveland Ohio market. I been trying to get my A team going, but been having a hard time finding the right people. I been talking to a few property Management companies, but it seems they are to busy to answering my question. I'm not sure if that's a good habit to have as a property Management company. Any investor have any property Management companies they recommend?

Hello Ryan, I wanted to share with you a couple of questions that will help you pick a good property management company.

Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?

What does your screening process look like?

Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?

What are your management fees?

What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?

If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?

How do you determine the rent amount?

How do you market vacant units?

What kind of software do you use?

Good luck to you!!

0 Votes

Cleveland, Ohio

Originally posted by @Breanna Neal:

My name is Breanna Neal (Bre for short) and I am a newbie to the real estate realm. I would love to network with some experienced residential and/commercial investors near Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Buffalo, or Pittsburgh to learn more about the inner workings of how investing works. My husband and I have been analyzing tons of deals to find great single family and small multi-family properties in order to get our foot in the door to investing and are even in the process of buying our first two properties after watching a plethora of BiggerPockets webinars! We are both veterans with bachelors degrees and are in the process of getting our real estate licenses when we found that one of our ultimate goals is to work our way up to large multi-families and eventually buy, renovate, and open our own hospital (big, expensive, difficult goal, I’m aware haha).

Currently, my Air Force contract is ending so we will be relocating to the East Coast (somewhere in between Chicago and Washington D.C. and from Cleveland to Miami, we haven’t decided where yet) but we wouldn’t mind long-distance investing in places such as San Antonio or Phoenix. Since we are from Cleveland, Ohio, we figured we’d start there. I am excited to have found this website and welcome ALL insight, advice, and job/internship opportunities into the real estate world! Thanks for all the help with our transition!

Welcome to the team Neal. You’ve come to the right place for real estate investing, there are many investors and brokers here with a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer about the business. You can avoid massive headaches and costly mistakes through some of the advice and experience on here, there’s plenty of pitfalls we made that you can avoid by reading and asking questions.

Cleveland is one of the best turnkey market and the most popular for investors because of high rental demand and low cost of entry, property prices are pretty inexpensive here. The first thing you will want to do is check out this Cleveland Price & Neighborhood Map which will help you have a better understanding of the neighborhoods and general market in Cleveland. Good luck!

2 Votes

Originally posted by @Josh Blakey:

I am looking at purchasing my first rental property hopefully in the next 30 days. I am considering self managing but I travel frequently with my job. Looking for some direction and advice on if it is worth hiring a property manager for just 1 rental property. I have researched several property management companies in Indy. Any recommendations appreciated.

Finding the right property management is 50% of the job when investing. I recommend asking the PM you are going with a couple of questions before making the decision, I recommend asking your next manager a couple of questions:

Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?

What does your screening process look like?

Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?

What are your management fees?

What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?

If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?

How do you determine the rent amount?

How do you market vacant units?

What kind of software do you use?

Good luck!!

2 Votes

Originally posted by @Larry White Jr:

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $621,000
Cash invested: $100,000

We have acquired 17 homes over the past year paying for them in cash. We recently completed a cash out refinanced and will be buying another round of 15-20 properties!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Targeting markets that have not been exposed to the rapid appreciation and Ibuyer craze while still having employment opportunities for the work force!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Sourced through a number of wholesalers and real estate agents.

How did you finance this deal?

Paid Cash and performed a cash out refi. Moving to a higher price point and using private money.

How did you add value to the deal?

Rehabbed, added tenants, and stabilized the investment.

What was the outcome?

Most of the homes have appreciated close to 30% and we are moving many into section 8 or lease options.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Higher turn over ratio than expected with class D level properties.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I run a branch of hard money with the most competitive terms in the business! 2% origination fee on the purchase and a 5% interest rate on a 30 year buy and hold investor product!

Congrats!!!

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Eric Sanford:

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

My first rental.

This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home provides 1329 sqft of living space and a lot of 8,968 sqft. Entry opens to a spacious great room with wood laminate floor and brick fireplace. The wide open combination kitchen and dining room. A spacious bedroom includes a decorator ledge and the suite bath features a garden tub with separate shower for maximum relaxation. There is plenty of storage with a walk-in closet in the suite bath as well as one in a minor bedroom too.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This is a perfect starter home in a fantastic neighborhood with great schools.

How did you finance this deal?

VA Loan

What was the outcome?

The house was sold for a nice profit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

If you use a property management company, make sure it is a good one. The privacy fence on this house fell down and the tenants large dogs roamed free in the neighbor's yard, terrorizing their child. Both the tennant and the neighbor complained several times to the property management company. I called the company myself and ask that they fix it. 4 months later, it was not fixed. Their excuse was that they thought they had sent me an email asking for my preferred fencing company,

Congrats, and good luck to you in the future!!

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Ben Halabi

Ben Halabi has started 1 posts and replied 118 times.

Post: New Member Intro, hello fellow BP members!

Post: Questions for property managers

Post: Property Management in Abilene, TX

Post: Property Management Austin

Post: Looking for sfr properties remotely

Post: Property Management Cleveland Ohio

Post: Investor Newbie from Cleveland, OH

Post: Property Managers in Indianapolis

Post: 17 Homes in Cleveland with over 20% cap ratios!

Post: My first rental property