All Forum Posts by: Dave G.

@Crysta Webb 

Unless there is some regional preference or some other qualitative factors driving you to consider Detroit, I would start over with the initial filters being what states are most economically friendly. This means good net population inflow, low taxes, pro-business/job-growth and a relatively inert regulatory environment. Michigan does not pass this first filter for me, and I would look elsewhere.

I would recommend “Emerging Real Estate Markets: How to Find and Profit from Up-And-Coming Areas” by David Lindahl as an excellent read to assist with your location evaluation. It is not a new book, but the principles and rationale are quite sound. There are probably many other books, but this is one that I read long ago and always go back to it.

Good luck,

Dave

@Misti DelMar Good news - a good realtor is worth their weight in gold and can help you with all of this. That's where I would start. Bad news - good realtors are extremely hard to find as the 80/20 rule does not apply. IMO it's more like 97/3 that only a tiny percentage of realtors are truly experienced and successful, especially in today's market. And by experienced, I don't mean 2 or 3 years, I mean 10-20 years or more experience. When I was a new 23 year old realtor long ago, I actually sold some properties. Looking back, I can't believe anyone trusted me then to help them as I would definitely not hire my 23 year-old self now to do this. 

Anyway, you'll need to shop around and interview realtors to find one worthy of hire. You could add your location to your BP profile and cast a net on BP for ones local to your market. Or join a local REIA (actually do this anyway for other benefits). If you are in Arizona, I can offer my recommendation.

Good luck to you. 

Dave

@Will LHeureux I have always slightly discounted my rent raises on lease renewal to not provoke a turnover on a good tenant. But that was back when things weren't stupid like now. I'm talking like if the market rent went up $50 or $100 dollars/month, I would only do $25 or $50/month to try to keep the good tenant. However, things are stupid now and you have to protect yourself. I would do a full or near-full increase and just do my best to explain to the tenant that they will have to go thru all the expense and hassle of moving to only pay the same market somewhere else, so why move...?

Cheers, Dave 

@Abdul Azeez if it is in the MLS you can locate the listing on Realtor.com and scroll down to History. It will show changes in property sale status - listing date, price, price changes, listing status, etc.

@Hayden Wright

1. How long did it take you to acquire your first property after beginning your education phase?  - ~6 months as I went the path of getting a RE license first to learn the transaction process and laws. This still didn't prevent me from screwing up big-time on #1 (no BP back then, pre-internet 1990), but that's another story.

2. What gave you the confidence to pull the trigger? - Cockiness, ignorance and having no self-awareness of either.

3. How would you recommend newbies shorten the time between education and deal #1? - What's the big rush? I mean, you have to pull the trigger at some point knowing it will probably not be a homerun. But why is this asked by so many newbies? Take your time, figure out when you think you know enough then pounce when you find something. Most newbies are young, all the more reason not to compress the preparation/learning phase as you have your whole life ahead of you. (I know, easy for me to say as I'm looking in the rearview mirror)

@Robin Pentecost a bank REO property will be listed for whatever the asset manager deems he can sell it for. How much money was on the loan that defaulted is irrelevant to potential buyers. What the bank ultimately sells it for may be relevant to the person that defaulted if it was less than what was owed. In AZ and maybe some other states the bank could come after them for a deficiency judgement for the difference. All that being said, it is market supply & demand. If someone wants to list their house for 2X of comps, they're free to do that. Just won't sell for that. Not sure if any of that is helpful, but there you go.

@Abdul Azeez I agree with @Shaneka Prather that you ought to be considering counsel for help. Or you need to get smarter real fast as it appears that you are not very familiar with TN law and don't know the rules to hold your current garbage PM and tenants to. 

In Arizona, we have (Arizona Revised Statutes) A.R.S Title 33 which is the "Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act." This statutory law provides minimum definition (albeit it is 47 pages long) of the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in AZ. It provides the basic legal agreement structure upon which leases expand from. Our leases cannot conflict or redefine any of the provisions in the Act. Our AZ landlord entry requirements (48 hours) are defined in this document. I would recommend you find out if there is a similar statutory document in TN to start reading. 

@Anand S. Sold 2 of our 7 properties in Phoenix late last year. I am largely on the fence about selling, but the tipping factor was retiring in 2021 and wanting more liquidity.

@Saul Lechuga I agree with @Michael Dumler comments. To add to them, you should look at how to grow your sphere too. The successful RE agents in my area are involved in the community in many ways to increase they're network. For example, one guy I've worked with many times was a volunteer high-school lacrosse coach for years and he got a lot of business out of that seasonal, couple-hours-a-day investment. Plus he enjoyed it. 

Good luck to you.

This is exactly the way to explain it to the tenant. They will go thru the hassle and expense of moving only to pay the same. Agree it has to be run as a business. In pre-Covid days, when rents were increasing at normal market levels, I would tell my PMs to only raise the rent enough to not lose good tenants. But that was back when the YoY rent increase might only be $50 or $100 and I would tell my PM to only raise the rent by $25-$50 to keep the tenant. $250 under market is a different story.  

Regarding Rentometer vs Zillow, my PMs manage hundreds of units and know the market inside and out. They tell me what the rent of a unit should be...or be escalated to with a new/renewing lease. But you as an investor have the job of paying attention to the market as well. I don't put much value in the website data ranges. They are a quick look. I pay attention to the market and establish my own data and info that way.