All Forum Posts by: Brandon Magierowski

@Art Perkitny in short, we purchased 2 multi family properties in Shreveport three years ago. All the numbers looked great (Cap Rate, Cash Flow, 1% rule, etc...) but what we didn't realize at the time is that the data shows Shreveport as one of the worst investment cities in the Country (declining population growth, stagnant household income and value, and high crime rates). Instead of diving into market research before purchasing, I let my emotions take over -- I wanted to get into real-estate and no better place to do that in your home city with multi-family units (just like the books say). All cash-flow profits have been eliminated by tenant turn-over (make ready costs) and repairs. We plan to sell both properties in 2020, take my loss, and move on to a better deal.

I plan sharing ALL my lessons learned from my first 2 multi-family purchases after I have a successful deal/property 'under my belt'. I want to share with people how I took the lessons learned and applied them to finding a successful deal. The next step for me -- Market Research > Education > Find the right deal.

@Rhett Kelton awesome. Thanks Rhett. I’ll PM you in the near future.

@Rhett Kelton thanks the insight Rhett. How do you see the long-term rental market in Murfreesboro? As I mentioned in the the original post, I have been doing market research for a few weeks and all the numbers look right in Murfreesboro. I am more interested in multi-family (5-20 units) as long term rentals vs short term.

I want to eliminate the bad areas in the City so I can focus on the right neighborhoods as I move forward with my research and property search.

Any insight on specific neighborhoods in Murfreesboro?

@Art Perkitny thank you for the map and info. I am assuming QuantMaps is something you developed and manage yourself? Looks like a great tool for market research. I have flirted with Neighborhood Scout over the past month to pull market reports on Murfreesboro and other Cities/Neighborhoods...is there a difference between QuantMaps and Neighborhood Scout?

I have learned a tough lesson on the importance of market research before investing in a property. I am not a tech guru, BUT I am committed to using the 'data' to make my investing decisions in the future. 

@Julie McCoy thank you for the heads up. I will definitely look into the STR regulations and see how Murfreesboro could be affected.

My partner and I are multi-family investors but live in areas where investing is difficult. We are looking to invest some capital into some smaller, stable, multi-unit apartments (5-20 units) with short term rental potential. After a few weeks of market research, we have narrowed our search to three cities with Murfreesboro, TN as a strong contender. 

Any investors/agents/managers in Murfreesboro, TN familiar with the area and willing to share an area overview?

Based on our research, (since 2000) Murfreesboro has shown great population growth (40%+), median household income growth (25%+), crime is on a downward trend, and job growth is above 2% over the past year. It appears to be affordable, however we are unfamiliar with the area and need help identifying the specific neighborhoods to avoid.

Thank you in advance.

@Thomas S. - some great points in that post. 

Just a disclaimer -- this was an inherited tenant from January 2017 when we purchased the property.

Here is the process I took and the conclusion:

I issued a 'late rent' notice after the 5th of the month (as per the lease agreement) -- when the rent was not paid by the 10th, I issued a 'Final Notice' explaining that rent + late fees are due on or before the 13th or an eviction will be filed. The tenant did contact me to explain she only had $600 of the $775 owed and would not be able to cover the remaining amount. I then posted my question to BP for feedback from the BP community. After reading the feedback and speaking to my mentor I decided to stick with the terms of the lease and be a 'professional landlord' -- I met with the tenant on the 12th and gave the following 2 options:

1) Pay the total rent + late fees by the 13th 

 OR

2) Pay 1/2 month's rent of $350 (no late fees) and be out by the 15th. I would not file and eviction but she would not receive her deposit back because she broke the lease agreement.

The conclusion...the tenant came up with the additional $175 and paid me in full this morning. 

We shall see what next month brings....

Thank you all for the feedback.

Great feedback from everyone...I ended up going the route that Matthew made note of (and my mentor suggested as well). Stick the rules of the lease -- if the tenant can't afford the extra $175 this month, he/she is most likely not going to afford it next month.

 Again, thank you all for the prompt feedback. 

Hi everyone, currently own a 3-plex unit in Shreveport, La -- I am self-managing the property (my first one). My tenant is late on a payment and currently owes $700 rent + late fees for a total of $775. Today is the final day to pay before I file an eviction. The tenant contacted me and said she only has $600 to pay rent this month. 

Do I accept the $600 and carry the $175 balance into next month's rent? Has anyone had experience dealing with this? I do have a $700 deposit held on their account. 

Any advice would be much appreciated...thank you in advance.