All Forum Posts by: Brian Berry

I am looking for suggestions on next steps. 

I have SFH in Chicago that is rented to a Section 8 tenant. Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) has always been very reliable in making payments on the first of the month. In October I switched property management companies. Then in November the PM I signed up with switched to another company, and I opted to move with them since they are the person that I interviewed and selected to work with. In November I didn't receive a rental payment, so I called the PM and was told that because of the change of management companies it takes a month or two for CHA to get the new payment account set up. I spoke with CHA and they corroborated that. CHA did state that when they get the accounting straightened out it will be for all the time I was not paid (which I would expect). In December there was still no payment. In January, again, no payment. I talked with both the PM and CHA in January and they both stated that the account still hasn't been transferred and to wait some more. And now here we are in the middle of February and I still have not received any payments.

On Tuesday I called CHA, and this time got a very rude customer service agent who told me to email for support. So I sent them an email, to which I received an automated reply saying they would respond within two business days. So far I have not heard anything. 

At this point I am missing over $7k in rental payments and I'm ready to pull my hair out.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

No complaints so far. It will take time to see what the end results are. Since I posted, I purchased shares in another property (this one is a STR in Nashville, TN). The first property I invested in yielded a 5% return just on the rental payments (which are distributed quarterly). That property has now increased in value by 40.5% (according to Arrived), and they say my $500 investment in that property is now worth $702.50. But until they sell the home and disperse the funds, it's all just hypothetical. Three of other four homes are making just over 3% on rental payments (3.6% on two of them, 3.2% on the other. The STR will pay out the first rental payment in January, so I have no idea how that one is performing. None of the four newer properties have had valuation updates yet (Arrived has valuations done every 6 months).

Newer homes should have lower CapEx expenses, which helps with with cashflow. And Arrived is purchasing homes that they expect to appreciate, which is where the big ROI should come from.

I have been investing with Arrived Homes since their inception (September, 2021). I just made my fourth investment with them this morning. 

So far I am very happy with them. My first investment was $500 on a home in Charlotte, NC. Arrived distributes the rental income quarterly. So far I have received $25.50 in income for that property. They estimate my share of the property to currently be worth $657.50. 

Pros:
1. Low initial investment amount ($100 is the minimum purchase)
2. High cash-on-cash return
3. Truly passive income - you make your investment and they handle the rest
4. The company only buys nice, newer homes
5. Easy to diversify
6. Good way to test the waters of an area to purchase homes in before committing to buying property there on your own

Cons:
1. New company with no real track record
2. No control over the investment - they decide when to sell the property. They say their plan is to hold the properties for 5-7 years
3. Currently there is no way to cash out of your investment early. So your cash is locked up until they decide to sell the property
4. Inventory seems to sell pretty fast. So if you find a home you want to invest in, you have to jump on it before it's gone

I plan on continuing to invest with them. I'm essentially investing in one house per quarter. I might double that in 2023. 

I (mostly) love my property management company. I've had some frustrations, but that was all part of the learning curve in working with them. My biggest complaint is that I never have evidence that work I've paid for is actually done, let alone that it is done to my satisfaction. 

So my question, for those who use a property management company, is how do you know the work was done, and done well? Do they provide photos? Video? Or do you just take them at their word? 

Thanks!

 We had a survey done a couple of years ago just to make sure we know exactly where the boundaries are. This is a mutual easement. The property line is pretty much dead center down the driveway.

While I am a real estate investor, my question/issue has nothing to do with my investment properties. 

We own a house in Seattle with a shared driveway (warning: never do this!). While not ideal, the shared driveway was perfectly fine for ~17 years of ownership. And then the owner of the house with which we share the driveway died. And his heirs decided to sell the home. They were very nice, and we had great conversations with them about the process. They even gave us an amazing collection of vinyl records from the '50s - '80s. We were very close to them. When they came over and told us that they found a buyer for the house, they were excited that the buyer wrote them a nice letter about how he wanted to buy the house for a home for his kid to raise his family in. That was the best possible outcome, right? 

Background

Wrong. When the new owner appeared (I shall call him Z), we introduced ourselves. We said we were excited that his young family would be moving in, and were looking forward to meeting them. Z said, "we're not sure what we're going to do yet." 

A few weeks later, our street was having our annual block party in which the entire street was blocked off and the potluck was spread on our driveway (as has been the tradition for over a decade). During the event a couple walked down the driveway who were unknown to any of us. When we asked them where they lived, they said they lived several miles away, but they rented the (detached) garage on the property next door (which is illegal in Seattle) to store their classic car. We informed them this was illegal in Seattle (for a non-occupant owner to rent a detached garage as rental space). 

Not too much later, Z rented the house (actually, just the top floor of a house with a (then) unfinished walkout basement) to a very lovely family. We were so happy that a family was living there, and raising their kids in our neighborhood. We became fast friends (I played Santa for their kids, and we still keep in touch even though they have moved across the county). But after they lived there for a year, Z told them they had to move because his kids were moving in. The house then sat vacant for about 9 months. 

Next a very nice couple moved in. They lived in the home for a year. And then Z kicked them out, saying that he was selling the property. Again, the property sat empty for many months. We met one person who said he signed a contract to move in, but that never materialized. I have no idea what happened. 

Last September, a bunch of college kids moved in. We have tried to get to know them, but only one has been receptive. He seems nice, and always says hello when we meet in the shared driveway. They all have been respectful and haven't been bad neighbors in any way. 

Issue

Last week, our Ring camera picked up Z bringing 3 strangers on our property. They went to our very separate portion of property ( there is absolutely no mistaking that you are trespassing when you go down stairs that are clearly solely on our property). And then they went to the bottom of our deck and took photos of our property. This happened to occur on my one day during the week that I am working from my office (a 40 minute drive), so I could not . They took photos of our property. They were discussing the land on our property, and all of their motions and discussion were about our property, nothing indicated any interest in Z's property. 

I emailed Z, asking why he was trespassing (and bringing strangers onto our property, asserting that he should have knocked on our door to ask for access, etc). I also demanded to know who he brought onto our property. His response was that he wasn't trespassing. He didn't respond to my request for information regarding the trespassers that he brought on to our property. I responded with photos of him on our property, and reasserted the request for information as to who he brought on our property. 

Based on what was in the video from the Ring camera, we think Z received an offer on his property, but it is predicated on also including our property (due to the shared driveway, it would be nearly impossible for a developer to use his property without also acquiring ours). 

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

As a new investor, I have been looking for properties that would have a good cashflow. I have been working in one particular market, but found a property on Roofstock that was in a different market, but had very good cashflow ($500+/month for a single family dwelling!). So I made an offer. We went under contract on March 19. To date (as of May 1, 2020), Roofstock has not provided an inspection, as promised. We have already amended the appraisal and inspection contingencies twice. Roofstock claims the mortgage company hasn't scheduled their appraisal to coincide with the inspection. The mortgage company has claimed to have appraisals..twice.  Roofstock has only contacted me far beyond when the issue should be raised. All in all I find Roofstock to bare the brunt of the blame. They have failed to follow up and make sure that the appraisal happened. Roofstock doesn't seem to care. They have failed me at every turn. 

I'm glad to hear you bought in Omaha. I'm looking to buy later this year, and Omaha is on my short list of cities to invest in. 

We've been talking about buying a condo in Hawaii for an STR, which would eventually become our retirement home. When we do it, we expect to be the sole owners so we have greater autonomy in the operations.

I'm no expert, but when buying in Hawaii there are a lot of variables to consider. Is it fee simple, or leasehold? If leasehold, what are the terms and when is the lease up? What legislation is in play that could impact the ability to continue using it as STR? Oahu recently enacted Bill 89 (Ordinance 18-19), which has severely limited STRs. Similar legislation has also occurred on Kauai, which forced a friend of mine to sell his home there as it was too expensive to pay a mortgage on a home he only used a few weeks/year and could no longer rent out. It is certainly a growing possibility that the other islands will follow suit. Another factor to consider is the effect of sea level rise, and whether the subject property would be impacted in the near term. The University of Hawaii has an interactive map on their website that shows how different amounts of sea level change would impact the island.

As far as your timeshare goes, I just see a ton of potential pitfalls. Is this an existing arrangement or would you be buying in on something that is already set up? If it is the latter, what is causing the opening? How financially stable are the other owners? Is there a shared vision for maintaining/upgrading the unit? How does scheduling work as far as when each owner gets the condo? How are disputes handled?

I would try contacting the local law enforcement agency (via the non-emergency number) and discuss your concerns with them. I would think they would be happy to assist in breaking up drug ring.