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: Catalin B.

Catalin B. has started 13 posts and replied 20 times.

Everybody knows that finding the deals is key in the real estate business. 
I have done direct mail, cold calling, RVM, SMS and Voice Broadcast campaigns for a while, on my quest to find good deals...a steep learning curve on what and how to do it. 

Please note that I have ran these campaigns for myself and never have planned to wholesale.

Direct Mail Campaign...very expensive ($0.70/record and up) with a very low response rate...under 1% (depending on area)...still legit 

Cold Calling Campaign, cost not so bad if using foreign VA's to do it ($0.10/record)...higher response rate than Direct Mail...this was no robocalling...all calls were done manually

RVM Campaign, pretty cheap, $0.02/record...highest response rate, lots of angry people...OK to run except Florida  (please correct me if I'm wrong)

SMS Campaign, $0.04$/record...response rates higher than Cold Calling Campaign but lower than RVM Campaign...highly regulated and tough to run

Voice Broadcast, very cheap to run if you have your own calling center, but ineffective...basically almost zero returns...just frustrated people

Before running Cold Calling, RVM, SMS and Voice Broadcast campaigns, you need to skip trace the data (lists)...costs varies, and could be anywhere from $0.03/record to $0.30/record (charges are typically per returned records)

However, what I have found is that the returns are somewhere between 43% to 67% from the original submitted list (names and addresses only).

From the returned skipped traced results, maybe only 50%-60% will be good valid numbers and from these, only 30%-40% might be cell numbers, rest of them will be landlines (60%-70%)...cannot use landline data for RVM and SMS campaigns...

Of course this depends from where data is pulled by the skip tracing provider...Please note that skip tracing should be more accurate than phone number appends...a phone append is kind of quick and basic data mining that might take a few seconds, vs. skip-tracing which is supposed to dig deeper, return more results and it might take longer (more expensive too).

I ran these campaigns to see which one is more effective than the other and it is tough to say...while the campaigns using the skipped traced phone numbers are way cheaper, you basically touch only 25% from the entire list...on the other hand the direct mail campaign might touch a very high percentage from your list, but re-targeting will be really expensive (considering 4-5 touches) when compared with phone numbers usage campaigns.

Vast majority of my findings were very low end properties, in a bad shape, in D and F neighborhoods, that no Bank will refinance...if that's your niche, then these marketing channels described above might work fine for you.

I am looking for feedback, suggestions, advice, from other real estate investors, wholesalers, brokers, agents, etc. on BiggerPockets, regarding the marketing channels usage and results.

Post: BRRRR-ing in Cleveland market?

Catalin B.Posted
  • Bellevue WA
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 4

Wondering if anyone is doing BRRRR strategy in the Cleveland market...I have found attractive off the market properties with potential good rentals in decent neighborhoods ($900/mo and up), but after crunching the numbers, the net cash flow after refi, dwindles considerably due to the very high taxes in the Cuyahoga County townships...it seems that $250/$300 net cash flow per door is far fetched in these markets.

I am trying to find deals using various marketing channels, including cold calling, RVM and text messaging 

I have skip traced a very targeted list with 1,555 data points and I got back the following:

1,372 landline phone numbers (88% return rate)

327 cell phone numbers (22% return rate)

Out of 1,372 returned landline phone numbers, only 376 (27%) don’t have a DNC flag

Out of 327 returned cell phone numbers, only 122 (27%) don’t have a DNC flag

If I am correct, then my workable data set for NOT with a DNC FLAG for both landline phone numbers and cell phone numbers, is extremely low.

No DNC Flag returns:

27.4% of landline phone numbers

8.8% of cell phone numbers

That doesn’t count the numbers that might be not valid.

Is this typical that you guys are normally seeing?

Also, I am looking for advice regarding legal boundaries when employing these marketing channels...probably some are on a gray area (i.e. RVM's) and others are debatable like text messaging (P2P/ten digit texting vs. A2P/ATDS broadcast).

Thanks everybody for the input

so a Quit Claim Deed transaction type should be fine as long as the title search comes clean and the a title insurance can be issued? 

I found a property that is under contract...seller has 12k in county unpaid taxes...after factoring in the unpaid taxes, the numbers are solid.

-seller wants to sell with quit claim deed...warranty deed not possible since owner has unpaid back taxes?

-property was purchased in 2016 from HUD...on the County records, the Sales Amount of transaction shows $0...not sure why...who is typically holding the mortgage on a HUD purchase?

-I have a lawyer that is charging a reasonable flat fee for closing the deal...I wonder if a title search on my end ($250 maybe) will save me the flat fee that my lawyer will ask for, in case that the deal will be a no go due to some other findings.

Looking for advice and tips since this is my first transaction of this type.

Post: SFH vs MF investing pros and cons

Catalin B.Posted
  • Bellevue WA
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 4

Investing into SFH or MF (more than five units) is still a heated debated among investors.

Below is a list with pros and cons for both options. I have tried to keep it simple. 

Please note that my assumptions are estimates from my own research…if they are off, maybe more experienced investors will be willing to comment and correct me.

1-Finding the Deal

SFH - might be easier to find, can buy in multiple markets.

MF - very hard to find good deals…investors with deep pockets are looking into MF also

2-Financing the Deal

SFH - to get a good deal one might need cash upfront and cash out refi/leverage later after rehab and renting…conventional financing is possible, but it is limited to ten properties...after ten SFH's, portfolio lenders are needed in order to scale-up...somehow easier to get discounted properties and follow the BRRRR method

MF -possible to finance with the right down payment, good credit score, documented net worth, MF proven high occupancy rate & financial records...because of higher costs, it might be difficult to purchase a MF at a significant discount and rehab it...BRRRR strategy hard to reach

3-Cash Flow

SFH – might be able to cash-flow $200/$300 per door/month in some markets after OPEX/CAPEX and loan servicing

MFH – most likely $100 per door/month after OPEX/CAPEX and loan servicing

4-Scaling

SFH – hard work, many transactions with different rehab issues...a well oiled system and a good team are needed

MF - definitely easier and faster to scale up.

5-CAPEX

SFH – more costly to maintain since there are individual properties.

MF – easier to maintain since all units are together.

Note: MF roof, siding, landscaping jobs might be discounted, but water tank replacements, furnace replacements, painting, flooring, electrical, plumbing, kitchen cabinets, etc., might have similar costs for both SFH and MF

6-OPEX

SFH – lower costs…usually the landlord doesn't pay for utilities

MF – higher costs…landlord pays for some utilities

7-Property Manager

SFH – more expensive since the properties will be scattered around...maybe with a large portfolio, the costs might drop

MF – cheaper, might come with the package

8-Vacancy

SFH - tenants with kids and/or pets might be more attracted to SFH's…decent schools, nice backyard, garage, no noisy neighbors

MF – typical for the market if the rent rates are right

9-Exit

SFH – might be hard to sell as a portfolio…the investor might decide to sell properties individually

MF – easier to package and sell

Didn't consider asset appreciation in this post , however, SFH's will appreciate more than MF's...for me personally, I look at the property appreciation as a nice bonus.

Post: BRRRR scaling and velocity

Catalin B.Posted
  • Bellevue WA
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 4

Thanks for the replies...appreciated

Yes, building equity is the game here...SFH and small MFH are for the small fish...accumulate and scale

...larger multifamily (above 5 units) are tough to find, difficult to sell...it seems that big players are settling for lower CAP rates (even 4% CAP) and the competition to acquire them is fierce.

Post: BRRRR scaling and velocity

Catalin B.Posted
  • Bellevue WA
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 4

Hi, I am new to investing and I have the following question...

I do understand the BRRRR strategy for both SFH and MFH and it seems that many investors prefer BRRRR route vs the buy and flip... However, it seems that the average cash flow for one door could range anywhere from $100/month to $400/month or even $500/month (probably rare)...one needs to scale up to 50-100 doors portfolio in order to have a pretty decent passive income...How did you do it? How hard was is it to scale? How long did it take to reach a pretty good size portfolio?

I am trying to get feedback and advice from experienced investors success stories (or failures...that might help too)

Post: Mid-Modern Denver Flip - Success

Catalin B.Posted
  • Bellevue WA
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 4

Sorry, I am trying to get your numbers to make sense...

2% from loan ($590,000 x 0.75=$442,500*0.02=$8,850)

10% interest/month from $442,500 is $3,687/month ($442,500 x 0.10 = $44,250/12)...or you guys had a $121/day rate (90 days total)

is the $140k cash invested the sum of $32k (purchase price-loan) + $25k repairs + $8.6k points upfront + $10.8k interest?...