All Forum Posts by: Bob Willis

 Hey @John Underwood why do you think that is, and is there some specific differentiator (type of guest, price paid, etc) you like?

Thanks.

Hey All - I know people use virtual assistants to handle repetitive, ongoing tasks that can be automated. But I am interested in finding one who can do some specific research for me. I want someone to research what kind of grants or low interest loans are available near me for upgrading rental units. Whether this be general unit improvements or perhaps making units more energy efficient. Any thoughts on this type of effort, or have you heard of someone trying to outsource this? By the nature of the task this would be a one-off. Thanks - Bob

 Basements are very common here - what I should have articulated better is, I want to dig and build an entire basement and then place a house I currently own (at a different site here in town) on the new basement.

I am looking to build out a basement approximately 38'x26' - any thoughts as to price range for something like this. Just now exploring options but have not heard anything back regarding numbers. Just trying to set internal expectations for myself. 

Believe it or not we have bought our beds/mattresses for our STRs on Wayfair. We constantly get feedback in our reviews on how comfortable the beds are. There is some assembly required, but it is not much. We save $1000s doing this vs retail stores selling beds/mattresses. 

Could it be the copy of your ad? Share the post and let us see. With Zillow it seems I get a lot of initial inquiries and then it slows down, but traffic is also driven by which part of the month you list. 

Hey Shravan, Great tool. How can I go about using this myself? This is something I absolutely need with my units. Is there some place you can point me to to get started, ie creating a copy for my own use, entering data, etc.

I guess my first question is, what do you want the property manager to do? Find tenants, collect rents, provide maintenance when needed? How far from Madison are you moving? Is there any way you could manage it remotely collecting rents via Zelle or Venmo? I rent a house I own by the room, it is near a major university. I collect rent via Zelle. My lease is pretty much a standard rental agreement with the exception I call out they have a single bedroom in the house and share the remaining common areas with other tenants. $475/room seems pretty cheap, I currently charge $775/room, but that does include utilities. Good luck. 

@Juan David Maldonado I think starting with the Chamber is a good start. The key is building a network, the connections in your network do not need to pay off immediately. The point is getting yourself in front of people who know you are a real estate investor so they will perhaps come to you in the future. Is there a local Economic Development Corporation, perhaps you can introduce yourself there, and see if they have any real estate focused efforts underway. If so, reach out to the individuals involved with that.

I live in a SMALL town (950 people) but my real estate portfolio includes properties here in town, in a town 45 miles away, and down in Phoenix. The point is people here know I invest in real estate.

Last Thursday, 6 days ago I had someone here locally reach out to me about potentially partnering on a deal. A Dollar General is coming to town, and the site for the new location is right on the highway entering town. Currently there are three rental houses sitting there. Those houses are just going to be bull dozed to make way for the new retail outlet. My new partner and I met with the current owner of those three rentals and struck a deal to buy two of them (the third is not worth it) for $4k each (yes I typed that correctly). We are going to have the houses moved to lots available to us here in town (there is no cost for the lots). The quote to move them is $12k each. We plan on putting a basement under each and then renting them out. We do have a STRONG rental market here, there is a small ag-college with a lot of students so renting will be no problem.

Just keep putting the word out that you are an investor, have business cards made, hand them out. Tell everyone you meet what you do, and ask if they know of anyone interested in selling (or buying).

Best of luck.

@Brock Dowis hit it on the head. What is the thing slowing you down? Identify that and solve that problem. I suspect it is tied to having the resources (people) needed to expand. The hardest part of owning/running ANY business are the employees. Keep that in mind and realize it ahead of time, understanding this won't solve the problem but it will help you deal with it.

You have made a great start. BEST OF LUCK MOVING FORWARD!