All Forum Posts by: Corby Goade

You don't get rent increses based on your expenses, you get rent increases based on what the market will allow. If you try to push to get rents up simpley because your expenses are up, you'll more than pay the price for that in vacancy. 

You have to know your market and understand the laws and market rents for your unit. Your expenses have zero to do with that. 

Inspectors always make things sound really bad, that's their stock in trade. Sometimes those issues are really bad, but sometimes they're nothing. 

You need to make sure your agent is very savvy. A seller is always going to say they won't or can't make any concessions. Not true in 99% of the cases. If there's a material issue with the property, it's not going away if you cancel your agreement, they'll have to deal with it for the next buyer, too. 

Step one is always ask the seller for the moon and see how they react. Sometimes you'll get a pleasant surprise. I just got one of my clients a $50K concession on a $500K property through some specific negotiation techniques. If you don't ask, you don't get. 

I always smile when people look at an appraisal as if it is gospel. The report literally says it's an opinion of value and people pay OVER (and under) appraisal price all of the time. The ironic thing is, when someone pays over appraisal price, the subject property becomes a new comp and literally creates a brand new value for itself and the other properties nearby. 

I've also had appraisers tell me straight up that they are on a mission to keep values down and make housing more affordable. They're human beings with opinions and biases. 

Sure- get a full time job, buy a small multifamily, live in one of the units and then repeat that process every year for the next 10 years. Retire at 30.

Thank you for your service. Glad to see the VA loan paying you dividends!

Here's the deal- you don't get rich by selling real estate. You get rich by keeping it. 

Maybe it's not THIS property, but cashing out is a great way to throw a bunch of money away by giving it back to the feds. You are close to (or maybe past) your primary residence capital gains exemption, so I'd take that in to consideration too. You could always pull a HELOC on your equity and buy another investment property too- start scaling that way, tax free.

I'd keep this property and casually search for a replacement- when something looks interesting you could always consider a 1031. 

Finally- on the sale side- the mortgage assumption is a nice sales angle, but your buyer pool is really small for that. I wouldn't move forward with that being your only target for a sale. 

Congrats and best of luck!

Honestly- if you aren't getting inquiries, you are priced too high. The general rule of thumb is- no inquiries, you are at least 10% too high. Inquiries and showings but no follow up- +/- 5% too high. 

I haven't seen your listing, but professional photos go a LONG way too. 

Sure- long distance investing can definitely work, but it's vital you have an excellent team built up. That happens in a couple ways- but your best bet is to find an investor friendly agent that will let you tap in to their network. You can find one on BP for sure. 

Word to the wise- find fair contractors and vendors, pay them fairly, pay them fast and treat them well. They are your business partners and can either be a massive resource or blow it for you. 

BRRRR works in every area, just the numbers are bigger. Don't let anyone tell you that X strategy doesn't work in this market or that market, all BS. There are deals everywhere, you just have to understand your market, ROI and strategy.

What kind of deals are you trying to do? Seems you are new to this- you can get just as good protection by working with an agent or broker and will see more deals through developing that relationship. 

Honestly, it's not BS- this is how professional tenants play the game, you need to know the rules. I'm not saying you actually violated any laws or committed any human rights violations, but this is exactly why it's vital to have an objective, documented screening process and publish your criteria on every advertisement for the property that you put out there. 

It's not a matter of IF you did it, but if you can prove that you didn't. The only way to do that is through a process that you follow every single time and document every single applicant, timestamp them and the communication. 

I'm sorry you're going through this, but take it as an opportunity to step back and create some structure around what you are doing OR hire a PM who has those in place and will protect you from frivilous lawsuits. 

Best of luck- let us know how things turn out.