All Forum Posts by: Christopher Stevens

It's been five months since this thread started. I'd like to point out something: Marco and his team at Norada have been communicating with its investors. If they were scamming people, they'd be ghosts by now.

Let's help them figure things out and see where things land.

Good luck, all. I'm invested, too, but I believe in Marco and the Norada team. If I'm wrong, then so be it, but let's give them some time to get things in order. 

Likewise! Keep me posted on your progress. I love to see what others are doing and what’s working for them. We can all work together. 

Hi Kevin, 

This property has been one of my best so far. It's not cash-flowing the most, but the renter has paid on time, and it's been smooth sailing. Hopefully, it stays that way since I've had a lot of challenges with all my properties in Arkansas. Let's just say I won't be buying in AR again anytime soon, most likely. That's mostly because I don't want to be too heavily concentrated in one area, but partially because it's been rough. One was an eviction, and the other was tenants leaving in the middle of a lease. Plus, there was lots of damage in a short period of time from those instances.

That's okay because I have great support from my property management company, PPMG. Without them, I don't know what I'd do.

Good luck with your portfolio. I'll be completing a book (later this month) titled Turnkey Real Estate Investing. When it's done, if you send me your email, I'll send you a link to where, for a limited time, you can get a digital copy for free. I want to help as many people as possible to get to where I am and beyond.

Thank you for posting. 

Christopher

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $190,000
Cash invested: $69,225

Contributors:
Taz Zettergren, Chris Clothier

This home features 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a driveway, 1,140 sq. ft., and a single-family detached garage, built in 1989.

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

I couldn't let this deal pass me by! This property checked all the boxes. It's my 5th property purchased from the great turnkey company, REI Nation. Now, I'm part of the "WOW!" group. In this group, you get many exclusive benefits, including a discounted management fee rate of 9% on all properties managed by PPMG, plus the $250 application fee for new applications is waived.

This property will be one of my highest cash-flowing properties.

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

I searched here https://www.reination.com/property-listings to find the property. Then, I reached out to the great Taz Zettergren and inquired about the property. Within 20 minutes, Taz sent me the details and photos - this guy is the BEST!!! After a few emails with Taz, at 10:24 am, we locked down the deal with $3,000 in concessions (property management fees) and some other details that helped us both move forward on the deal. We had this deal locked down in less than 24 hours!

How did you finance this deal?

This was easy, too. REI Nation has special lending partners who know how to close these deals fast—we closed in 29 days. Plus, the seller paid down the rate to 5.5%!

How did you add value to the deal?

I wasn't looking hard for deals, but this one popped out. After a few minutes of analysis, I knew I had to find a way to make this deal work quickly. After doing four other deals with REI Nation, I learned a lot and applied what I learned to help close this property quickly. The quicker we close, as long as everything aligns right, the better it is for all involved. Plus, I'm adding value by posting this information to help others.

What was the outcome?

We closed on the deal in 29 days, and I'm excited to have my 5th property with REI Nation - the best turnkey real estate partner in the business!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

My biggest challenge with this deal was finding the money to complete it, but my wife and I made it work.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I highly recommend REI Nation. More specifically, Taz at REI Nation is a great place to start. My book on Turnkey Real Estate Investing - Simple Concepts to Overcome Analysis Paralysis and Acquire Your First Rental Property in 29 Days (this title is a work in progress) should be released before the end of October. I talk a lot about REI Nation and how they've been my fantastic partner over the past year - they are a one-stop-shop and have helped me through some challenging situations.

Hi BiggerPockets readers and professionals, 

Can anyone advise shifting investment properties from my name and my wife's names/SSNs to the LLC I created?

When I started purchasing more investment properties, it was easier to buy them under our names and SSNs. However, I need to find the easiest/fastest way to transfer them to the business so I can separate the investment properties from our personal finances and have the business separate. 

Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

We recently bought four properties in six months. Due to a lack of funds, we won't be purchasing anything else for now. Our current focus is to build reserves, streamline our accounts, and generate more cash flow to buy the next property.

Once we get our books in order, we'll work with our CPA to get tax estimates for 2024. This will help us make informed decisions about whether to withdraw more funds from our IRA or wait until 2025. We want to be strategic about how we access funds and how it impacts our tax situation.

Thank you! 

The current cash flow is only about $200 because I have management fee concessions. Those will get used up in about 18-24 months. Depending on how much rent has gone up (after the concessions), if I don't refinance, the cash flow will be about $50-$100 per month. If I can refi at the same rate or lower, that $50-$100 could be double or more. And if rents continue to increase in the area, the cash flow could be closer to $300 per month if I refi in about 2 years. The appreciation at this location should be high over the next 2 years.

Thanks for asking! I look forward to seeing how this property performs compared to the properties in AR. I suspect the appreciation on the TX property will outperform the AR properties. Only time will tell:-). 

Thanks Chris! Sadly, I might have to wait until early 2025 for #5, as my funds have dwindled from purchasing 1-4. Still, we appreciate you and the entire REI team for your support and excellent service.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $250,000
Cash invested: $83,700

My first TX property! I'm excited to invest in a TX property since the Dallas area is booming, and it's close to AT&T stadium. Plus, it's on a corner and REI Nation did another amazing job with the rehab. Thanks, REI Nation! This is #4! I can't wait get to #5+

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

The price was right, REI Nation offered management fee concessions, REI paid down the rate, and the rehad work was spectacular, as usual.

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

REI Nation! They're simply the BEST!

How did you finance this deal?

Guild Mortgage - 30% down with a 5.75 rate. Fees were reasonable.

How did you add value to the deal?

I put 30% down to reduce risk and create more cash flow.

What was the outcome?

I was able to invest in the Fort Worth/Dallas area! I love this area, and I'm excited to now own a property near AT&T Stadium.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Taxes are high in TX with real estate, so put more money down to create some cash flow. Appreciation should be HUGE for this property over time. Time will tell.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

If you want to get into real estate investing, consider REI Nation. They're amazing to work with, and their property management (PPMG) is exceptional. I look forward to MANY more deals and years with REI Nation/PPMG. Thank you, REI Nation!

So, what do the hours count for when you're managing the property management company? My understanding is there are "Material" and "General" hours. When acquiring a property through a turnkey company, I count those as Material hours since I'm spending dozens of hours acquiring a property that will be rented. Also, if I'm on the board of an HOA, shouldn't ALL the hours spent in meetings and helping to maintain all 34 properties in the complex be considered "Material" hours?

This stuff is SO confusing and seemingly arbitrary, but it's probably clear-cut. It seems (me included) that we want to count hours that shouldn't be counted toward REP hours. I just wish there was a better/easier way to know for sure what counts toward what for REP hours. I've been using REP Tracker, thinking that managing the property management company counts towards Material hours, but that's clearly not the case.

We need an app where one can enter the activity, and the app would show if those hours counted or not. If I had a clear idea of what counted, I'd spend my time creating that app, but I don't even know what qualifies. It's time-consuming enough to track hours, let alone check to see if the tracked hours count or don't count.

Thank you ALL who posted and have continued to discuss this cryptic designation.