All Forum Posts by: Bryan N.

I’ll go against the grain on this one....

I like to move people in with low credit scores but they have 3X income. I rarely raise their rents. Do I “maximize my profits” by not raising rents? Maybe. But they stay for years and I rarely have turnover. There is potential cost savings there.

More importantly... my time is not consumed by managing the number of units I have and is spent fishing, analyzing other investment opportunities or doing whatever else I want to do.

@Amanda Scully

I have 5 properties for now.  Separate checking and savings for each.  It’s not hard to organize.  A basic spreadsheet is all my accountant needs.   Honestly, I don’t worry about setting money aside for all that stuff.  Every month I transfer the profits to an Ally account and it stays there.  I pull money out when I need it for myself, taxes, repairs or whatever.  

It’s weird.  

#1 seems logical.  I haven’t checked that.  

Windows closed.  Sorry I should have included that.  It’s been puzzling me for a while.  

A - is a very clean house.  Great tenants.  Older unit.  Filter gets almost black it’s so dirty. 

B - dirty people who don’t clean.  Unit is brand new.  Filter gets nasty.  

C - sloppy people with a shedding dog.  Brand new unit.  Filter gets thick with white/grayish whatever. 

D - sloppy people.  Older unit.  Filter looks brand new.  I even asked them if they run it because it looked so new. 

It’s just weird.  I can go a year without changing mine and it’s barely dirty.  

I replace them myself.  Every time they say “I just changed that not too long ago”. It’s always a lie.  Plus.... you can use that opportunity to “check for leaks” and ensure the place isn’t getting trashed.   

Has anyone figured out why after 3-4 months tenant a, b and c has HVAC filters that look 100 years old and completely clogged but tenant d’s filter looks brand new?  All have pets and no smell of smoke in the house. All have different levels of cleanliness.  Some units old and some are new. 

That's vacancy time is what bothers me. 

I put money in there.  I don't like the lack of liquidity.  Plus, it's business is built around reputation.  Once it sours your stuck due to the lack of liquidity.  If I could do it over again I would have invested elsewhere.  Keep in mind in the background of their model is banks.  If the banks don't like what they see..... 

So, I've been a landlord for a few years now.  I think I want to venture into commercial real estate for retail or office locations.   What are the big differences between residential and commercial?

For example:

I self manage

Wrote my own lease

I advertise, show and lease sign

I don't need an agent or PM

I've been doing some reading on commercial properties but I don't seem to find a lot of info on being self sufficient in the areas above.  That information is readily available for residential Landlording.  

Any help with the info above?

When it comes to analyzing a deal I believe it's basically the same as a residential but maybe some other variables?