All Forum Posts by: Chris Eaker

HI @Erik Mogan

I was a know-nothin' kid from Atlanta about 17 years ago when I first embarked on my real estate investing journey. We've all started at that point. Go ahead and go to the REI meeting. You would be surprised that many, if not most, of the people at those meetings haven't done their first deal either.

I hope to submit an offer on a property in Lexington soon, and if I get it, I'll let you know so we can grab coffee while I'm there. Good luck!

@Sam Ruble I know a great mortgage broker, does that count? I'll email you his info.

@Gina Broom

Tell them they better bring them back to the house or you will not close. If they don't then you demand a credit worth twice what you will have to spend to get new ones for the time it will take to get them to the house. Whatever you do, don't close without doing anything about it.

@Rob Barry, I'm not looking in Texas because it's too crazy competitive out there. Everybody and their brother are looking in Texas. Plus, I'd rather look in a 4 hour radius of Knoxville where I live. There's plenty of options over here.

Michael Blank and Old Capital are my favorite podcasts. Just download them all. You won't be sorry.

@Rob Barry

Check out some of the multifamily educators out there. I highly recommend Michael Blank (I'm personally one of his students) and Rod Khleif. They both have excellent free resources and podcasts. If you want more, you can sign up with their coaching. Other podcasts you'll want to follow are Jake and Gino's Wheelbarrow Profits Podcast and Old Capital's Podcast. 

As for what I look for, I want properties that provide the high single digits cash-on-cash return once the property is stabilized, and an overall IRR of at least 12%-15%. These are the criteria I have been using to locate deals:

• Multifamily residential property in Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio.
• Suburbs, Secondary & tertiary cities
• Garden style (2 to 3 stories)
• Utilities separately metered or ability to sub-meter or implement RUBS
• 60+ units
• Class C properties in Class C or B markets
• Stabilized properties (>80% occupancy)
• Pitched roof (no flat roofs)
• Some value-add opportunity, such as
  • Improve/modernize units
  • Increase occupancy
  • Increase revenue
  • Reduce expenses

Did you build those rentals yourself or buy them brand new?

Again, not a guarantee it will get changed, but I put a new filter in right before the new tenants move in and write the date on it. Their lease states that they are responsible for changing it monthly and will be charged $15/month that it isn't changed. When I go out for bi-yearly inspections, if the filter has that same date on it, they're charged the $15/mo. That usually gets their attention. 

@Luke H.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Give your tenants a year's supply of the cheapest filters you can find and make them responsible for changing it monthly. Have your AC guy go out in the Spring and clean it out, check the refrigerant levels, blow out the condensate line, make sure everything is in tip top shape. This obviously won't guarantee it won't go out in the middle of August, but it will help alot.

Is that $7500/meter for a completely new meter from the utility company where each tenant would have their own account and be billed directly from the water company? That's not necessary. You can sub-meter the units and then divide up the total bill based on that. That will cost you $250-350/unit depending on how hard it is to get to the water line. In some places you can even sub-meter just the hot water line coming out of the water heater and bill back based on that. Or you could investigate ratio utility billing (RUBS). Whatever the case, I wouldn't be providing the tenants with free water anymore. 

Hi @Jason B.

I have used Gary Erskine with Top Notch Construction and he and his crew did a great job for me. At least when I hired him last year, they had 6 men on the crew and could knock out a ton of work in one day. They charged $900/day labor and you reimburse for materials or pay for them yourself. I'll send you a message with his contact info since it's not allowed on here.