All Forum Posts by: Ben Kappel

Oh and hey @Lee Gierszewski whats the chances of another meetup this spring, itd be awesome to meet up. I'm all ready and looking for my next deal but figuring out what to go after is a tricky one. I know ur more of a multi-fam, but what are your thoughts on some of these rentable condos for sale around town. I was thinking about starting to make some offers on some 2 or 3 beds around town to pick up a couple lower cost properties this year instead of one bigger one, like 60-80k range. As long as the HOA is reasonable and it has a good ROI. Any big cons you could think of going that route? The multifamily market doesn't look that great right now in town.

@Jennifer Greuel Hey!  Ive been meaning to ask you how that 4-plex was going. Did everything go good with the closing, and how is it all going now? 

GREAT TOPIC!  I would be bias since I have lived in ND my whole life, but I own rentals here and always wonder why there is not much talk of the state in the forms or marketplace. ND has consistently ranked in the top five states for the past seven years.(ALEC-LAFFER STATE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS INDEX)  There is a great economy here with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, and consistent population growth. There was a huge influx due to an oil boom, where homes tripled in price overnight and in 2014 the highest rents in the country weren't in Manhattan, but rather in Williston, ND.  That oil boom and since settled down and prices leveled out.  

Oil towns like Watford City and Williston could be affected more if the price of oil crashes hard, but also could make serious money if we see $100 oil again. I'm not a risk taker, but I know many that do invest there.

Even though I live in an oil town and work for an oil company, I look for investments in Dickinson, Bismarck, and Fargo, due to the stability and consistent growth, not to mention great cap rates. I do have one rental in Denver but to reinvest again there would require so much more capital with the super high home prices and a low ROI/Cap, doesn't seem worth it to me. That is why I'm surprised there isn't more people from larger cities looking up here for deals.

I would love to hear others opinions on whether or not to invest in the great cold snowy North! 

Pretty sure the correct answer is VEGAS.   And put in on all on black! Best and most secure way to double your money.  jkjk

@James Carlson Hey thanks for checking!  Its great to get an opinion with eyes on it.  I sent off an email to the PM just to verify its still on track with the market, but its back to the bottom of my concern list.   

Appreciate all the help, thanks guys.  

Lots and lots of threads on this topic,  check out the search function.  

So I have a rental property in the Berkeley area of Denver, townhouse in a row of four, 2-bed, 1.5 bath. I have a very reputable management company take care of it, but today I saw an end unit listed for $1800/month while mine is in a lease for $1425.  Exact same layout and size tho this other unit does have a nicer/updated kitchen and bathrooms.   Mine has been leased for 3 years to the same tenant (good tenant) (middle of winter lease so maybe it had to start lower?) and increases at 3% yearly.   Now that the lease is set up in the beginning of summer, do I demand a much higher rent increase to bring it up to market? The management company always seems against this when I bring it up. Does Colorado/Denver have and legal maximum yearly rent increase %?   Does a nicer kitchen and bathrooms deserve that much more in rent where I should update it to get prime rent?  

For sure replace the carpet, cat pee smell is the worst!  I don't allow cats for that reason only.  You sometimes have to remove the carpet, the carpet pad, and sand and seal the flooring underneath to get ride of the smell if its bad enough.  I'm not sure what you had for a lease agreement or a deposit, but if it didn't smell before they moved in, then for sure charge them to replace the carpet. They should be treated like any other tenant, no friend discounts. 

@Dennis M.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA   best response ever!!

@Jennifer Greuel Well congrats on the Minot place!! I looked online there too for a while but its just a little to far for me, especially trying to manage the place myself. It really helps the numbers with getting away from that management fee. And I do kinda agree on biz, I think I looked at well over 20 places, but eventually I found one that is working great now. Good tenants help a ton also. Plus there's really not a lot of SFH for rent in the Bismarck area, I think when i listed mine it was only 1 of maybe 3 or 4 houses, and I allowed dogs so I could get a premium rent for it and it had a lot of interest. I was trying to run numbers on getting a top/bottom duplex there, since it always seems like there's some for sale, but it seems like there's so many available for rent the prices weren't great. For the same investment it looks like I could get more rent for just one home with one tenant than having to deal with a duplex with two tenants.

Anyone have any experience with duplex's??   Are they worth it?