All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

It doesn't have to be condos or apartments necessarily. Smaller homes are not for everyone, but they almost always work for two very important parts of the homebuyer demographic: retirees and first time homebuyers. A lot of jurisdictions dislike density, particularly if parking is an issue and mass transit is not readily accessible. Both of these are legitimate concerns. I like what I'll call the "west coast model" since it's mostly happening out here (though I'd love to be wrong about this!) which is allowing homeowners to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on their property. That unit can either be the one the homeowner chooses to live in or it can be one they rent out for revenue or to offset a portion of their housing expenses. I see SO many properties in the upper midwest that have ample yards or even existing structures like carriage houses and detached garages yet prohibit ADUs. Allowing someone to do this on their property can significantly increase housing density and affordable units without increasing the jurisdiction's footprint. Some areas of the west coast are allowing multiple units to be built out on a single parcel and in these higher COL areas, it's a boon for the homeowners, renters, builders and even for the local governments that are collecting the building fees. I'd like to see more of this happening everywhere. My sons are of homebuying age but the barriers to entry are so much higher than they ever were before. Having the ability to offset their mortgage with an ADU would be a game changer.

Hi, Jorge - My MTRs are in California, too, and we have exceptionally high bills in the summer time especially for AC usage. You're definitely in a unique situation, but there are some SOPs that apply here. #1, know your guest avatar. If you're certain the type of renter you're going to get are traveling medical professionals, you know they're on short term contracts (typically 13 weeks). That alone makes it difficult to get the tenant to put utilities in their name. If you're dealing with relocations, you shouldn't have any problem getting the tenant to put the utilities in their name as these are typically longer contracts. If the former is your guest avatar, you really need to look at what others are doing in your area because if they include utilities with no cap and you don't, it will make your property much less desirable. However, if you seem similar listings in your area and they're requiring tenants put utilities in their name, then you should feel more comfortable doing so. You can also split the difference by looking at the historic energy usage for the property and setting that as a utility 'cap.' That amount is baked into the rent you charge. Anything above that is billed to the customer separately by you. Sometimes it can be difficult to collect and some landlords will keep any unpaid utilities out of the security deposit, though CA is one of the trickier states to do this in. I find that putting a utility cap in the lease agreement they sign and calling their attention to it really helps make them more aware that they'll have to pay for excess usage so, fortunately, I haven't had to actually bill anyone yet, but the language is there if I needed to. 

There are a lot of books on note investing, which is essentially what you're talking about. Here's one from Bigger Pockets publishing https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Note-Investing-Passively/...

 The markets I'm focused on for my next MTR are my local market here in NC as well as Colorado Springs. For flipping, I'm concentrating on SC and IN. For my MTRs, I ONLY use Furnished Finder and, more recently, MiniStays. Like many MTR hosts, I feel like it's a big risk to list my properties on Airbnb for longer stays. Their guest-forward policies are too risky for me. I want to be in control of what happens with my property and my cancellation policy so I won't use Airbnb or VRBO for midterms. Fortunately, I stay completely occupied through FF so I've not had a need to branch out further. If I did need to, Zillow would be my next go-to as I'm seeing more and more people use it.

If you're left with $107k across all 3 units after ALL expenses are deducted (some people don't include PITI when they discuss NOI) then I'd say it's darn good. But if your PITI is $105k, then not so much. I'd happily accept the former, though the 16% YOY property tax increase would be a non-starter for me.

I'd sell if I were you. 1) I don't like HOAs and certainly not for STR or MTR 2) the numbers don't make sense for you to invest in a big kitchen/bath renovation 3) it doesn't look like it's appreciating very well. You don't necessarily need to invest in WA in order to be closer to home. WA is not a landlord friendly state, but if you are going to invest in WA, the eastern side has some hot spots like the tri-cities area that may yield good cash flow and appreciation and still be close enough for you to go there when you need to.

This is a great and timely question. My husband and I started out flipping houses in 2016 but quickly pivoted to BRRRR as we realized we want to keep those properties rather than sell. At the time it was fairly easy to find properties that needed enough rehab that you could really force up the ARV. Now the issue in my markets at least is that it's harder to find distressed properties and the ones you do fine are going for too much to make the BRRRR strategy work. You can certainly leave money in your BRRRR - it doesn't have to be the "perfect" BRRRR that so often is talked about where you pull all of your investment out and then some and therefore have infinite returns. My metrics around this have changed. Now my expectation is that I won't leave more than 12-15% of my investment in the property after the refi. I just look at it like a 12-15% down payment, which I can stomach. And it still has to meet my cash flow expectations.

For those of us who know Sacramento, there's actually quite a lot of information to go on in here. Midtown refers to a specific area and it's quite desirable. 1/1 MTRs would do well here IMO. What I'm not sure about is STR restrictions in this area but that's easy enough to find out. A lot of young professionals like this area so furnishings should be modern and "upper-middle end", if that makes sense. In other words, FB marketplace cast offs won't be the best fit unless you're lucky enough to come by some Pottery Barn or West Elm or brands like that. @Mike Gi be sure to check Airbnb longer stays and Furnished Finder to see what your competition's pricing and decor are like and make your properties pet friendly if you can as this is always a way to out compete the competition. Good luck! 

It varies a lot by market, guest type and even the neighborhood and type of home within a particular market. There's no single type of midterm rental property, nor is there a single type of midterm renter. That's a fairly large single family home. The types of renters that would most likely be looking for a 4/2 are usually families with an insurance claim who need temporary housing, families relocating to the area that need temporary housing until they find something to buy or build and construction companies with the need for housing for their workers. For the first 2, location and amenities are key. There are some rougher parts of Euclid which are not going to appeal to either of these types of renters. You might have some luck with construction companies if there's a lot of building going on in your area. Otherwise, rent-by-room is probably your best bet. It's not an uncommon strategy. I try to have my renters meet each other or at least have a phone conversation to make sure they're compatible, but even then, you just never know if they will be. Personally, I don't mix men and women tenants but I know some people do. To me, it's just inviting potential conflict that I don't want.

We just had a roundtable discussion on this very topic in THE MTR Connect today. It was inspiring to hear what others have planned for their business and personal lives. For me, my focus is going to be to go back to my roots and flip a couple of properties to generate cash flow. I had moved away from flipping for several years, but my life circumstances have changed and, fortunately, real estate provides endless opportunities to pivot when needed. I'm also working on upgrades for THE MTR Connect - better scheduling, automations, guest speakers, social media - all to help promote the collaborative and supportive space my colleague @Jamie Banks and I have created. And last but not least, I want to launch at least one more MTR in 2025.