All Forum Posts by: Charlie Massey

When I was getting together all my information for 2021 tax return, I am realizing I might need some help with bookkeeping. I have a rental property, doing a flip right now, and am also a broker, so I have other deals going on also. I am having trouble justifying hiring someone full time, but I think I can use the help so I can focus on actual business. This year is going to be a big one, and so I am afraid I will miss out on some deductions and depreciation if I don't keep better track of everything. 

Any tips on when to hire help? or better ways of bookkeeping? Thanks!

In my experience, a good lender is worth paying a little more. If you find a mortgage broker that you feel like is working in your best interest, than by all means work with them. A small local lender is who i prefer to work with. They will know you by name and are always ready to help me with my next project or investment. In the end its all up to you what and who you prefer. 

Quote from @Jay Y.:

Hello all,

So I found out my property manager is charging my tenants a $200 lease renewal fee for renewing a year long lease.  They are charging me $150 which I'm fine with but it did kind of catch me off guard that they would charged the tenant that!  I'm just curious, did I miss this becoming industry standard or is my property manager basically gouging tenants???

Thanks so much!

I've seen a lot of larger national companies doing this and other ridiculous fees also. I personally charge a little higher/normal monthly fee, but don't gouge the tenants like this. It makes tenants not want to rent from managers that have fees like this in place, and they do remember what companys have these fees!

Investment Info:

Other other investment in Hoschton.

Purchase price: $178,000
Cash invested: $45,000
Sale price: $750,000

We bought 5 acres on the outskirts of a small city downtown area. We worked with the sewer department in an agreement that they would bring the main line to our property. We got this rezoned for 30 townhome lots. Our plan was to build this out, but the property owner behind us wanted to tie in and make a larger development. They paid us 'per lot' on the land, and made it a quick turnaround for us.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We have the capacity to build something like this, and it is a growing area.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I actually found this on the MLS. It popped up and we put an offer in on the first day. The listing agent came back to us and said they like our offer because there were no contingencies; however, the seller wanted us to raise the PP by $5k. We left our offer at the same price, and could have forfeited this huge deal by only $5k. Luckily, he still took our offer.

Congrats on getting licensed, I am glad I went that route as well. It is an easy way to learn a whole lot. One thing I've learned about working with investors, as an investor myself, is to always put yourself in their shoes. I know you will want to close a deal, but as an investor if the numbers don't work, they just plain don't work. 

I have a 14 unit apartment building that is off market. It is of course fully occupied because rents are almost half of what they should be. 3 sisters own the property now, but their dad owned the property for 30+ years and passed away a couple of years ago. One of the sisters has been managing it, but are getting older themselves. They want to sell to someone that has compassion for the tenants and will take care of the property. They don't want to owner finance much of the purchase price and on top of that want a lot more than it is worth right now. There is no way it would appraise at what they are wanting right now and I don't want to put down 20% plus whatever the difference in appraisal is.

My thoughts are that I put a 1 year option on the property at a purchase price that they like. My team would take over the management and put money into the property knowing I would lose this if I don't exercise my option. I could easily make this property worth a lot more then the purchase price within a year by raising the rents and improving the property. Within 1 year, I should have no problem getting the place appraised and might not even have to put much down. That is the plan at least.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I haven't gotten with the owners on this yet, but I think they would consider this. I know there is a good bit of risk in doing this, but any thoughts or help is appreciated!

@Adriana Welborn Yes, this house was in a rural area and it was hard to find comps. We estimated between 175-185k, but we actually appraised at 192k. We left some equity in it, but pulled out most of our money. We're cash flowing about $275/mo

So I have a 14 unit that is off market and I have been talking with the owners for months now. Their father owned this property for 30+ years and passed away a couple of years ago. One of the sisters has been managing it, but are getting older themselves. They want to sell to someone that has compassion for the tenants and will take care of the property. They don't want to owner finance much of the purchase price and on top of that want a lot more than it is worth right now. There is no way it would appraise at what they are wanting right now and I don't want to put down 20% plus whatever the difference in appraisal is. 

My thoughts are that I put a 1 year option on the property at a purchase price that they like. My team would take over the management and put money into the property knowing I would lose this if I don't exercise my option. I could easily make this property worth a lot more then the purchase price within a year by raising the rents and improving the property. Within 1 year, I should have no problem getting the place appraised and might not even have to put much down. That is the plan at least. 

Does anyone have any thoughts? I haven't gotten with the owners on this yet, but I think they would consider this. I know there is a good bit of risk in doing this, but any thoughts or help is appreciated!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $117,000
Cash invested: $22,000

cash purchase, renovate, rent, and refinanced this. We got about 90% of our money back and still cash flow.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

over asking price, same day it hit the market.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There are always more things you will want to do when renovating a house, but have to stay on budget.

I would agree, the cashout refi is definitely a better option. That way you don't have to worry about paying back the heloc quickly or pay that higher interest. 

super easy to do also, just shop around at your local banks.