All Forum Posts by: Darwin Crawford

@Peter Padalino - so I have an 8-unit building in scottsdale that has 1 power meter, and full of hairdressers, blasting AC, using dryers, hot water, etc etc.  

Was able to reduce electric about 60% through energy efficient upgrades, and then put rooftop solar on the place (going in now, permits for commercial are a pain in the @$$....

Will nuke out the power bill, just have a few bucks for connection fees.  

A friend of mine has a 3br/2ba home near Giants stadium with full PV solar on it, and his bills in summer are under $10.  He rents it out at a premium in summer with "all utilities included" and just keeps the cash.  

@Howie Baker - if you are combing a relatively small market space, just make a list of the LLC's, then hop on the Sec of State website and look up the owners. It can take a little finesse, as some people have CPA's or Lawyers as the designated agent, but tax bills, etc, etc, can be little gold nuggets, and most people aren't as smart as they think about hiding themselves with LLC paperwork/corporations.

Once you have the names, a simple skip tracing service such as Enformion or TloXP will get you numbers pretty fast.  Plenty of folks out there who specialize in what you are talking about, putting names and numbers on lists of property.  

Then the fun part begins.....banging the phones.  Smile & Dial!

I guess my first question would be, "are they deals, or just off-market?"  

Typically, coastal california RE that is any kind of a deal goes pretty fast.  That being said, we are starting to see some increased CDOM/DOM for the higher-end development deals here in the affluent areas of town, because the numbers don't work.  

There is a guy on here who posted a very extensive thread about a SoCal development project, he might be a good contact for you.  

But the first thing I'd do is figure out what you have.  Is it a greedy seller who wants top dollar for a pile of poo, or someone who is actually going to work with the guys/gals who are going to execute the project and have their butts/reputations/credit scores on the line?  

No legit buyers want their time wasted, so, in the words of Ronald Regan......trust, yet verify.  

Happy Investing!

@Peter Padalino - couple suggestions, as I've been in your shoes.  

1) Go crazy on energy efficient items - all LED bulbs, NEST or EcoBee thermostat, etc, etc.  

2) Get someone to quote solar power for the roof if you have APS - I went solar and LOVE IT for rentals.  Let those tenants do what they want, they can't outsmart sunshine in AZ.  Full disclosure, I sell solar as well for a day job.  Just being honest, but the numbers do not lie.  I just did a system for an AirBnb guy in north phoenix.  

3) Check out a solar water heater for the pool - the old ones kinda suck, but there are newer designs that will pump out a lot of heat even in winter, and will shave your gas bill down a lot.  

Team BP - bringing this one back to life.  

I've started the permitting process on my PV system, and it's proving to be a very eye-opening experience, as I probably should have guessed earlier.  

The beginning was a phone call to the city to speak with a planning representative.  Long story short, I came away with a list of administrative BS that I am currently slogging through.  

The only upshot of the project so far is that the engineer I've contracted to do 1-line and 3-line drawings (look 'em up, not easy to do!) is willing to trade for some extra solar panels - he and his wife sponsor an orphanage in Haiti and they need power.  Who says the world isn't a good place still?  

Anyhow, this is still in its early stages, and I'll keep this thread updated, as well at the YouTube channel with the project.  

However, I've had enough time to rest after the renovation that this is getting done, come hell or high water.  The power company can just accept that.  

@Robert Lubell - sounds like you guys have it going on!  Good work.  

It has been my (albeit limited) experience that tenants want and will pay for simplicity.  Lets face it, if they are that sophisticated, eventually they won't be tenants any longer.  

With this property in particular, I tried at one point to get them on board, and got a large collective "meh" from all but one, who is a very nice hippy from Colorado.  

So no, for most tenants, they just don't care. So I just out-maneuver/think them, and keep the ROI, and raise rents according to pre-set schedules on the lease. I don't pass savings along to them, because they don't want to participate in helping out, I can't force them to do it, and frankly, if I can get returns from mechanical investments that don't give me drama, I'm happy.

The master-metered product is good, but also bad, because the market partially dictates what you can do.  If everyone else in the neighborhood does gross leasing, and you try to implement RUBS or some other type of system....good luck renting anything.  In this case, it has been best to just say: office space, all utilities included, $xxx per month.  

The flip side of the coin is that this is only my limited experience.  Larger operators with different tax brackets, etc might think differently.  

Anyway, hope this helps someone, and in the meantime, I'm back to sourcing parts.  

@Robert Lubell - thank you, and no, I haven't forgotten you.  

Team BP - Theoretically, you might still be reading this.  Then again, maybe not.  

Anyhow, my next step is to complete and install a PV solar system on this place to give me if not free, then very cheap power.  I got inspired the other day by this guy: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/02/07/diy-sola...

The nitty gritty of this is that PV solar is a very large, complex world, with a ton of obtuse language and lots of opportunities to spend money that you don't need to.  For the most part, your average investor needs absolutely none of what I'm about to tell you, so keep reading at your own risk.  Also - this really only makes sense on a master-metered building, or one that you might want to rent out with "utilities included".  

However, if you're some niche-owning weirdo like me, and think the idea of being in the utility business is a good one, here is what I've found:  

the first step is what you feel comfortable doing.  Does the thought of opening an electrical panel seem scary?  if so, good.  go back to work and save up enough money to pay a pro.  your health insurance will thank you.  Seriously, this $h*t is dangerous, so if you cannot read wiring, etc, it is a really really good idea to talk to a good reputable contractor in the business, and maybe even hire them.  

I'm fortunate enough to know enough to get this done, and have some really great resources I can pull from locally, and the math works in my favor.  

System Capacity - go to http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php and see what's what.  Your system should be sized as follows:  as much as you can comfortably afford without going broke, and don't count on making $ back from the power company.  

For me, I elected to design this system so that it produces a surplus for at least 7 months out of the year.  The math for that can be found on your power bill and then google.  Use the average monthly kWh (kilowatt-hour) consumption and then just average it.  Mine will be a little higher because I am putting a charger at this location for my electric car.  Free sun power for driving?  Heck yea man sign me up!

Rooting around here again on the good ol' List of Craig, I managed to locate a state of the art Inverter (the heart of the system) for 10 cents on the dollar from new, along with a pile of other widgets called Optimizers.  $4k retail?  Malarky!  Try $450 cash loaded in my truck.  God Bless America and all that jazz.  Poor dude had no idea what was in his garage...

Panels - I'm trying to buy american where I can afford it, so there are a few options.  Shop your local dealers around, shop online, and don't be afraid to use your hands.  I'm split-testing some decommissioned panels from a CA power plant ($65 each for 315W) that need chips repaired in the glass, versus some new demo units for $170/each for 300W.  Both designed and assembled stateside.  Going used on these is A-OK, most have 25 year output guarantees, and there is a TON of "sunk energy" in each one involved in manufacturing and shipping.  Lets not waste that, shall we? 

If you can save on the big-ticket stuff (panels, inverter, etc) then you can go ahead and get the hugely labor-saving brackets, mounting wires, and diagram done professionally, and still come out WAY ahead on this project.  I'm still gathering parts, but the tab is about 25%-30% of the quote I got from a local installer for parts alone.   

The whole point on this project is to take an expense (in this case an average of about $200/month in power) and turn it into a revenue source from my tenants.  

Will keep posting updates as I move this along, but so far, its looking pretty promising!

Happy Investing

 - Darwin

Gang BP - been a bit, but I finally have a side-by-side comparison of energy use.  For the month of March 2017 (old building, old AC units, old windows), total use was 1482 kWh for building.  

For the month of March 2018, with roof, windows, AC upgrades and tankless water/solar heat - Total use.....drumroll.....

580kWh. 

Full disclosure, there are about a million things that go into power consumption, weather patterns, etc.  However, the overall trend, while not as good as I'd hoped, is still nearly 2/3 REDUCTION in power use.  As icing on the cake, the power levels are now low enough that a PV solar system would be around $11k, versus the $30K needed to power that old, inefficient pig of a building completely.  

Onward and Upwards, but I think this might be the start of a business model here in my (very niche) home market.  

Happy Investing,

 - Darwin

Here is how to handle this: 

1) Apply lawyer-assisted size 13 legal boot to posterior of said dog and owner.  Rapidly, and repeatedly until they are gone.  

2) Repeat aforementioned action with your grossly incompetent and lazy PM.  

3) Purchase a marker, and write this on your bathroom mirror so you see it every morning: "NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR MONEY LIKE YOU DO"

4) Learn from this experience, and stay in the game.  Setbacks are what make the weak quit.  

@Eileen Murray thank you!  I’m hoping it made your journey a little easier.