Skip to content
×
PRO
Pro Members Get Full Access!
Get off the sidelines and take action in real estate investing with BiggerPockets Pro. Our comprehensive suite of tools and resources minimize mistakes, support informed decisions, and propel you to success.
Advanced networking features
Market and Deal Finder tools
Property analysis calculators
Landlord Command Center
$0
TODAY
$69.00/month when billed monthly.
$32.50/month when billed annually.
7 day free trial. Cancel anytime
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here
Pick markets, find deals, analyze and manage properties. Try BiggerPockets PRO.
x
All Forum Categories
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

All Forum Posts by: Brandon Sturgill

Brandon Sturgill has started 274 posts and replied 2933 times.

Post: Looking for a local lender for OOS investing

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Mel Adams have you landed on a market yet?...will this be a conforming conventional loan?...commercial?...renovation style? What are you buying?...these answers will help with some guidance to a lender...

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

Originally posted by @Zach Lemaster:

@Brandon Sturgill

I've decided not to comment on some of the negative posts you have made since there really isn't a point.  I did see that some of them have been removed which we appreciate.  I will comment on this now to add some insight for you and the community as a whole.  I don't know what prompted you to post multiple times negatively about our company as I've never spoken to you, and you have not invested with us.  I do understand that we are competitors in the industry, but this does seem like a personal attack as you did not bring up any other TK company other than my own on your posts.  We are not active in the Columbus market so you don't need to be concerned with us as a competitor against you.  In fact, we are always looking for top brokers in markets to refer clients to that we do not have inventory in.

I would first like to point out that my company has been in the industry for many years, and has a very positive reputation.  Which is difficult to do in the turnkey space.  If people were not having a good experience investing with us they would be quick to talk about it in these forums, and it would be quite public.  We are not seeing that.  By doing a quick search in the forums one can easily see that we have hundreds of positive reviews that we've worked very hard to achieve.  We always do right by our clients, and that is evident.  I have over 120 positive reviews on my BP account that I am very proud of.  I've worked extremely hard to earn their trust over years of working with them.  Real estate has many obstacles to overcome, and ensuring our clients have a team to support them as they scale their portfolio is of the utmost importance to me!  

To be specific on this particular property you posted, this was sold over a year ago.  I'm not sure where you are finding this listing.  A high scale rehab was done on this property.  The property appraised for the asking price showing that there were viable comps to support the value of $120,000.  Zillow has this property estimated at $139,800 right now.  This property has performed quite well for the investor that purchased it, and the investor has since come back to buy many other rentals with us successfully scaling his rental portfolio.  I do agree with you that this is not B property, and would fall better into a C class.  Your feedback is noted about that, and I will revisit our algorithm on how that was determined.

In general it should be noted that the majority of what we sell is actually brand new construction in A class locations.  This is quite different from the typical TK model of rehabbing C class assets.  To be very specific, we build heavily in SW FL where investors can purchase a brand new 4/2 in an outstanding area with high rental demand for $275k.  Most appraisals we see are in the $310k to $340k range providing the investor with significant equity!  Two weeks ago we saw our highest appraisal for one of these at $375k.  The address for this was 3118 NW 18th Terrace, Cape Coral, FL 33993.  This was even on pre-construction appraisal.  We initially projected rents to be in the $1,850 range, and are now seeing actual rents on completed projects come in around $2,100 to $2,200 outperforming our initial projections!  All of these investors are in an excellent position with cash flow & equity while having the benefits of a newly built home in an upscale area.  My point in providing these details is to show the types of opportunities we typically offer to our clients.  We also try to have a diversity of different investments available to clients based on their own investment criteria & goals.  

Since this thread is about the difference in TK vs syndication (and not meant to focus on RTR) it is important to note that we also offer syndications so we knowledge in both these spaces.  There are most definitely pros and cons of each strategy.  I will be happy to dive into that, but I need to at least set the record straight with the RTR discussion first since this seems to be the direction the post went.

In closing, I encourage everyone to do their own due diligence on any person or company you may consider working with.  The BP forums are a great place to start, and to network with like minded individuals.

@Brandon Sturgill, I'm happy to have a conversation with you if you would like to clear the air on any topics.  As I hope you can see we are well known in the forums and general public with a very positive reputation that we all have worked extremely hard to maintain.  We respect you as a professional in the industry, and we all like to work towards the common goal of helping others to reach their investing goals.  All tides rise together through this community as we educate each other & assist one another on becoming better investors.  We wish everyone the absolute best of success investing & taking action!

 Well said, Zach

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@James Wise good points...thanks for the perspective. Everything about this business is a learning curve, and going back through the years of my posts you will certainly find attacks on Cleveland...in hindsight I regret taking the low road there...after a year away from BP I have a renewed perspective on this stuff and to be honest, I have grown to be a true fan of Ohio real estate in general...it's about bringing everyone up a level and promoting our state in general, not outright local market promotion at the expense of another market or market professional....hopefully the younger Columbus guys will take this same approach as they learn.

btw- fresh off a Cuyahoga Valley trip and back to Ohio City for the 5th time, lol. Great trip. 

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Jay Hinrichs Good points, per usual.

I operate from transparency as rule 1...full disclosure and then we can talk caveat emptor...after the facts are on the table. There is no cure for stupidity...unfortunately...and ROI on paper brings out the stupid. This is an industry built on misrepresentation and that's what I'm fighting on a daily basis.

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

Isn't this a public opinion forum?

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Jay Hinrichs thanks for the perspective, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. 

This is a prime RTR example in my city...this is the most homicidal neighborhood in Columbus...to give you an idea, gun violence is so bad here the police created technology to "hear" bullets so they could respond quicker...I know the maintenance man at a nearby hospital that informed me they have so many roof leaks they can't keep pace...all from falling bullets....I have seen gang members chasing other gang members with shotguns nearby...I don't drive in this neighborhood because everyone is drunk at 10a and nobody has car insurance...

After sitting on the market for 242 days an expiring at $49k list price, RTR "flipped" this proper for $120k resale and represented the location as B+...most of their Cleveland inventory is like this... this isn't just RTR...this is the bulk of the TK industry...

Here are your current closed comps

This is 165 S Oakley...$105k...full reno and move in ready 

I'm not calling out RTR arbitrarily...I have nothing personal against them...these are just facts that I know about Ohio. 

Chris has a textbook operation...some of the best systems in the industry...not promoting his company...just a comparison of 2 firms I know that operate in the TK space...

Post: Investor Friendly Banks in Columbus Ohio

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Mike Pauze if you are looking for a renovation style loan, search here for Alex Bekeza...he works with investors and is active on BP

It's important to define the loan product up front...some conventional lenders may not have the product you are after.

Post: Duplex out of state

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Howard Thomas 1429 Ellsworth? or 775 S Harris, maybe?...

Anyway, due diligence is a checklist process...and the first 3-days in contract are fast paced to keep you protected....the initial goal is to preserve your capital...that means a contract clause requesting an agent walk through with copies of all leases, rent roll, and income and expense reports within 48-hours is standard. Your agent schedules the inspection for 4-7 days, but the initial walk-thru is to verify condition and keep you from paying $500 for an inspection if there is a fatal flaw with the property...all identified by an experienced agent with construction experience.

You should be doing a de-brief after the walk-thru and building a preliminary scope of work to estimate your renovation or repair costs. 

If you think it's a solid opportunity, move forward with a full property inspection, and again, de-brief with your agent and firm up all associated repair costs before the inspection contingency expires...exit the deal if you need to, or stay the course.

This is a joint effort lead entirely by your agent...very structured.

Post: Turnkey vs Syndication

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Lydia Bar welcome to BP...definitely some good questions...syndication and turn key investing are really far apart on the RE investing spectrum. Despite the popularity of turn key, the underlying motives for most (not all) turnkey providers can get ugly...there is a prime example in Rent to Retirement...buying cheap poor condition properties in suspect locations, doing minor repairs, misrepresenting the neighborhood quality, and turning into a maintenance nightmare where you'll be nickel-and-dimed right out of the industry. That said, there are some solid TK companies like Memphis Invest. Overall, TK tends to be a play for sideline affluent investors looking to diversify and park capital...perhaps even an intentional loss to offset high wages.

Columbus is an partially transitional, partially stable market with big growth and rapid price appreciation...think Denver 15-years ago. Cleveland has opportunity and tends to be a higher risk, high ROI market due to that assumption of risk...we're pulling for Cleveland, but they have been hemorrhaging population for decades.

On the point of syndication...real estate is "real"...we're ultimately housing providers that are actively involved with our properties...this is a people business...it's gratifying to see your tenants do well as they help to pay off your mortgage and keep the property condition up...if you want to move to syndication, you should look to stocks or other investments as well...syndication is not investing in real estate...it's investing in the company acquiring and managing the real estate...odds are you never personally see the property or know your tenants...feels deflated to me personally.

Best of luck going forward.

Post: San Diego Real Estate: Too Much For a Newbie?

Brandon Sturgill
Property Manager
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Columbus, OH
  • Posts 3,042
  • Votes 1,770

@Alex Cutler why is cash flow important...I guess the point is if you do not need it to meet your standard of living, defer it for an equity play...buy smart, buy slow and steady and build a portfolio you can bank on in the future.