All Forum Posts by: Bruce Lee

Also:  consider browsing to https://www.biggerpockets.com/files and search for "lease agreement" or "rental agreement".   

Don't forget to also search for "addendum" for those 'other' areas of special concern:  appliances, animals (pets), smoking, utilities, etc. 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! This is a great place to read, and learn about becoming a Real Estate Investor (REI). Here we try to 'pay it forward', and help other investors who are just starting out by paying back the knowledge we've gleaned from reading in these pages to other investors. Most of the answers to the basic questions you're asking have already been answered here numerous times.

There are plenty of free guides here on Bigger Pockets - starting with "The Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Investing" https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/329/download.

And MORE in the Bigger Pockets 'Guides' section https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

I always recommend new investors start by reading long-form books on REI. Books like "Landlording on Autopilot" by Mike Butler, or "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller. The deep-dive content one can gain from reading long-form books is unique, whether those books are in physical, or electronic format.

I'm not surprised this generic question hasn't gained more traction. Most of the questions here are from folks who've already taken their first steps by reading, and determining what type of real estate investor they want to be. They've set guidelines for their comfort levels on things like: Location, Property type - SFH, Multi-family, Apartment complex, commercial, other - etc. Most folks ask specific clarifying questions from the experts at BP. People busy searching for details on specific problems that are currently bugging them (i.e. tenant issues, financing issues, etc), and are NOT thinking back to when they were themselves day-one investors. Best of luck on here. You've come to the right place.

Finding a Rental Lease Agreement form should be easy.  Go to your local library, and check out the landlording books and MANY lease examples in books.  (ex: "Landlording: A Handymanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves").

Some have a CD-ROM in the back with forms you can use (i.e. "Property Management Kit for Dummies"). 

Look on-line, and find one.  A quick search found:  https://rentalleaseagreements.com/wp-content/uploa...

All the best!

 Possibly.  Indianapolis is a street-by-street city.  Investors are wanting to invest in class B or class C-on-the-fringes of B and upcoming, and that's really a street-by-street thing in Indy.  It's possible to find a Realtor & PM in Indy to help assess the neighborhoods, but for my comfort level (as a fellow Seattle area investor) it was important for *me* to have boots-on-the-ground, and see for myself before I was comfortable investing in Indy. 

I'm surprised InfoSys or Salesforce haven't been mentioned - two IT related companies that have made big investments in Indianapolis.  

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2018/...

Salesforce went as far as to rebrand Bank One / Chase Tower, and move lots of their operations here. Chase's Indiana operations center is still housed in Salesforce Tower.  I don't know how many folks follow the growth of Salesforce over the past 20 years, but they're THE big player in the CRM industry. 

I'm really not trying to feed the trolls, but had to speak up.  As "The Crossroads of America", Indianapolis is doing just fine.  And if as expected the hyperloop comes to Chicago, Indianapolis could find itself a "bedroom community" for Chicago. 

The big issue I see is the explosion of out-of-state investors who are trolling the Indy market, trying to jump in. They're driving the prices up in many of the B neighborhoods. As a result, the smart REI investors are looking for B-minus or C-on-the-borders-of-B areas.

Fountain Square is the neighborhood where a lot of REI's [including ME] are trying to find properties - thanks in large part to HGTV's "Good Bones". It's the kind of neighborhood we all dream about: high 'walk score', safe feel, coffee shops, theaters, low crime, high rents, and LOTS of renovations happening on older homes all summer long. I've been trying to find a good buy in Fountain Square since February, but the one's I like are all overpriced, or are snapped up more quickly than I can arrange financing.

I'm also interested in Irvington, Emerson Heights, Little Flower (thanks to the 10th Street redevelopment org), and parts of Crown Hill.  

But it's a street-by-street thing.  Your best best is to look at BOTH the sale price, and the rental estimates on houses surrounding your target properties.  And make sure the houses fit your 'criteria'  (me:  3br/1+bath, supporting $1K+ monthly rent, bought @ 20% below market).

(retracted - I read OP's most recent update, and what I had to say no longer seems relevant)

Hi @Lalit R.  Will PM

I liked the comprehensive review of on-line Property Management services (showing the fees) offered on AccidentalRental.com - specifically the chart comparing features of:  Cozy, Rentulations, Tenant Cloud, and turbotenant.  There's also a good comprehensive review of Cozy there.

Online Rental Collection Comparison Chart:
http://accidentalrental.com/online-rent-collection...

Cozy Comprehensive Review:
http://accidentalrental.com/cozy-property-manageme...

Hi Paul - welcome to Indy!

Are you strictly interested in Multifamily properties? If so, what size developments are you looking for 1-to-4, or something larger? Are you primarily interested in turnkey, or would you be interested in some combination of TK and renovation-required / value added REI? Are you a buy-and-hold investor looking for cash flow, someone interested in flipping, or some combination?

The full spectrum of homes are available in Indy - SFH and multi's - available on the MLS, Zillow and other commonly available resources. There are groups providing TK properties, and land banks looking for partners in neighborhood redevelopment [as seen in Detroit (from last season's "This Old House" project)]. But as with all cities, there are neighborhoods on the up-swing, those already rebounded, and those on their way down. It's clear you're trying to build a team, and this is a great place to do that, but as always look for those willing to share with no strings vs. those with a vested interest in generating more bu$ine$$ for the sake of the $$'s.

Good luck, and all the best!