All Forum Posts by: Carl Evanko

If I were in your shoes, I would determine what the cash flow is when all units are rented. I would check craigslist for similar units to make sure rent rates in your units are competitive. If your units need rehab to get those rate then you may be asking too much. I would inquire how your pm company is going about getting new tenants. If they arent advertising in multiple areas/ways they are doing you a disservice. If I had a property that wasnt rented, I would be on top of my PM company every 2 weeks  to see where it had been listed/ how often if its craigslist and investigate to see if the information they give is accurate. If it is and the unit still isnt being rented, lower the price or figure out a way to spruce the place up for as little as possible. I would only sell the place if your existing tenants weren't paying for the mortgage and provide enough to cover for PM and other expenses. Maybe look for a new PM through craigslist local.

Hello everyone, I was curious how you guys go about assessing the ARV of your properties? Comps are obviously a great tool but how many streets can I go in an area to determine if it's still a good comp to compare it to. Also what if a lot of the comps don't have as nice of a renovation? I am a contractor and I know its not a good idea to over-improve a house if the neighborhood doesn't support it but I feel like I can always improve it a bit more without spending the typical investor price to do so. I see some basic data on Zillow for an average price per SF and median home Zestimate even by bedroom in the area. My initial thought process is to try to find comps in my area that have recently sold and look at their price per square foot price. While I somewhat like this as a number, that number seems to go down with more SF in the properties themselves. Are there any sites similar to rentometer that offers this type of data? Thanks for any help you can provide.

@Daniel Hyman I would imagine that it "should" be labeled as 1 less bedroom if there isn't a window in the bedroom after the door entrance. A closet isn't typically required to be considered a bedroom though.

I would use Vynl Plank Interlocking as well over laminate. Laminate is a suitable surface but often looks faker than Vinyl in comparison to real wood. Both are very cost-effective but don't go with the cheapest just to save a buck. If you find a 25 year or 50 yr vinyl for a good price I would go with that. Make sure it's interlocking...very key. 

If the room is a bedroom, then it needs an egress window for fire code I believe. So if you're trying to create 2 bedrooms, then each room needs its own to be an official bedroom.

@Dominique Pradel-Lewis Thanks for the information. Sounds like you found yourself a good deal. I would have not even considered the property with it being listed for 225k. I am of the mindset that if a property around here is listed close to what other properties in the area are selling for, 20% below won't get me the property. That's good to know and allows me to rethink property pricing in this area or at least be willing to bid on the property knowing that I have a chance. I am from the South Hills and am familiar with Dormont. It's definitely a decent little area and great for rental properties. If you can find anything in Mt Lebanon for the right price, you should definitely jump on it. That's a great school district with great rental areas as well but property prices can go up quick. Thanks so much for the reply! If you have any questions about the area, feel free to PM me. 

I am looking into buying either a multi-family or SFR as my first investment. I am trying to learn as much as possible with methods to start/finance etc. In my search to find good multi-family deals, I keep discovering that what is available on MLS in my area isn't the greatest when all factors are concerned. Wholesaling has come up multiple times in reading/ listening to podcasts, and I am starting to learn more/go down the wholesaling rabbit hole. Wholesaling, in general, is a very interesting idea/concept. So I am thinking about seeking wholesalers or target marketing to those multi-family property owners. Can anyone with experience in this avenue of Property Investment shed some insight? If I am interested in buying any property from a wholesaler, how does financing work in that kind of arrangement? Would it be more advantageous to market directly to Property Owners and then choose to rehab/rent or wholesale the property myself? If I direct market to owners, again how does financing work if I intend to rehab/hold or flip the property?

Also, are there multi-family specific realtors I should look to find in my local area, or will any top realtor be ok to deal with when searching for multi-family properties?

Hi Dominique,

Great to hear you have started your investment journey. I am in the Pittsburgh area looking to start mine as well. I happened to be scouring BP for "Pittsburgh" just to see what specific investment strategies/stories I could research. That's how I found your post. Anyways, could you tell us a little more about the property? What are the current and potential rents for each unit? Did you use the tools on this site to calculate the potential cash flow? What is the total cash flow on the property if you don't mind me asking? I am looking to purchase either a multi or SFR using the BRRRR method as my first investment. I am hoping to use as much local and BP info as I can to negotiate the best possible deal I can. Any advice you would like to share in dealing with propoerty in the pittsburgh area? Thanks for any information you can share.

Thanks for all the replies. 

Arlan, I definitely understand the risk and can understand this stance. Obviously, there can be issues when family is involved for multiple reasons. I have family in Chicago that owns a large amount of multi-unit properties together. I don't know what issues they face internally but they seem to co-own that together successfully. This may not be the direction I end up taking but one I would like to explore for the possible house hack benefit. I wouldn't choose this option if I felt I couldn't rely on my family to perform their role in the business. Obviously, things can still go wrong but hopefully not if this is the route I go.

Jerry, If I would have to be a co-borrower and that would require both parties to occupy the space, that eliminates that option. Can I get around that by creating a venture partnership or would I still be required to occupy the space as the owner/co-owner of the partnership?

Danny, Thanks for the advice. I will definitely look at it that way when considering any property. Ideally, if I do go this route, my family member wouldn't be a permanent tenant.

Hello everyone, My name is Carl Evanko and I am new to the site and new to investing. I am looking to possibly start my investing journey with a family member (Brother or Sister in Law) as a partner. We are interested in buying a multi-unit property as our first investment. Ideally, the property would be a 3-4 unit building. I am able to provide the necessary down payment and they would (Hopefully) be eligible for an FHA loan. I am unsure of how to structure the partnership that's fair for both of us. Since they would be living in one of the units, should they be paying an additional 25-33% for occupying that unit? Since they would be living in one of the units, they would be willing to manage the property for at least that time frame. I would also like to factor in that as part of the calculation. The other thing I am unsure of is, would I try to be on the mortgage (Is that allowed) or if a true venture partnership is necessary.

For those that are curious as to why I don't just try to do this on my own, I am married with 2 kids. I run a small kitchen remodeling/custom cabinet business from my single-family residence which is ideal for my business deliveries. I also love the idea of getting my brother or sister in law involved to help them out in the process.  

How would you go about structuring the partnership and what factors should I be thinking about that maybe I am not. Thanks for any assistance you can provide.