All Forum Posts by: Craig Sloan

@Ryan Bird congrats on what you have accomplished so far. You've been getting some good advice. Be great at your W2 job and use it to fund your REI. See your W2 job as a tool to build your portfolio and get you to financial independence faster. Right now the W2 job is a great asset. It is a slow process and never happens as quickly as you would like, but you will get there. Best of luck.

@Matt Frazier if you are seriously considering it, I would check out the current lease.  Is it long term?  What are it's limitations?  Who pays it and how?  I would also want to know what the maintenance budget is.  There is the potential there for a lot of damage to the property.  I'm not saying I wouldn't do it, but I would do a ton of due diligence.  As you work through the due diligence things will become more clear.  Best of luck. 

@Julie George I would replace the lock for her at your expense and use Kwikset Smartkey locks.  We changed all our units to the Smartkey's years ago and it has made our lives much easier.  The Smartkey locks can be rekeyed in about 30 seconds and you don't have to replace the lock itself.  You can just rekey it.  In my opinion this will save you considerable time and money in the long run.  I have no affiliation with Kwikset, I just appreciate a product that saves me time and money. https://www.kwikset.com/smartk...

@Tricia O'Brien I would agree with the people saying set your standard and stick to it.  The times I have gotten in trouble have been when I have compromised my standards.  I live in Indiana and have been investing here for 16 years.  What market are you in?

I would give them a check for each.  It's much easier to document and would make your book keeping cleaner.  I would also make sure they leave the apartment rent ready before I give them the cash for keys.  My experience has been that the tenant wants/needs the cash and will leave the apartment in good shape if you make that a requirement of getting the cash. It won't quite be rent ready but it will minimize the amount of work and cleaning that you need to do to get the unit ready.  Best of luck. 

I've always been a fan of electric baseboard heat.  They do cost more to run, but if you have the tenant pay for it that's their issue.  The thing that I love about the baseboards is that if one needs to be replaced it costs a fraction of what a it would cost to replace a furnace.  They are also much lower maintenance.  

@Aris Terteryan I would suggest reaching out to Kyle Ganton from Century 21 Bradley.  He is a high quality guy as well as a great realtor.  I know him well.  Feel free to mention my name.  Please let me know if I can be of further service.   

https://homesforsale.century21...

@Josh Arnold the thing that really made the difference for me was to start working the business full time.  My wife stayed home to raise our kids for 9 years.  During that time I endured the struggles you mentioned.  Once the kids were in school and she went back to work it gave me the opportunity to stop working full time.  It was a bit of a financial hit at the time, but has worked out in the long run.  The other advice I would share is to move into MF so you have more units in one location.  That will increase your efficiency.  I'm in the Ft. Wayne area as well.  Would be happy to connect if you would find it helpful.  

@Tyler J. look for successful people who are doing what you want to do.  There are a lot of ways to play the game.  Figure out how you want to play and then look for others doing the same thing.  My experience has been that most people who have had success are happy to share what they have learned.  As you talk to more people, you will find someone you connect with.  Ask them to lunch or coffee on a regular basis.  Find out how you can help them as well.  The best mentoring relationships are win/win.  I'd be happy to connect with you if it would be helpful.  I've been investing for 16 years, mainly in multi-family.  Let me know if I can help.  Best of luck!

@Nadir M. I would pull the listing and re-list once the house is ready.  Develop a process for renting and stick to it.  The first contact I have with people I always ask the following questions:

Do you have income?

Do you have any criminal background?

Have you ever been evicted?

Do you have any pets?

If their answers to those questions are acceptable, we'll move to the next step in the process, which is to verify they answered those questions honestly.  If they did so, I will show it to them.  If they like the unit and want to move in, we do a full background check and income verification.  Others may have a better process but this works for us.  Once you develop a system and automate it as much as possible it will help you be more efficient and minimize time between tenants.  Hope this info is helpful.  Good luck.