All Forum Posts by: Ellie Perlman

Welcome @Scott Lewis! Analysis paralysis can be tough. I'd try and team up with a more experience investor, or use a mentor to guide you. Generally speaking, I am working with a property management company with over 40 years of experience and they help me putting a budget/CapEx for every deal, so finding one can greatly increase your confidence that you are doing the right thing.

This is a 1 hour educational session, followed by a mingle.

Whether you are a seasoned passive investor or considering becoming one, this session will bring you a lot of value. The information you will get can save you a lot of money by preventing you from making costly mistakes and will direct you towards the right way of investing in real estate.

This meetup will cover the basics of passive investing and will allow participants to ask questions and get to know other passive investors.

In this meetup, we will cover:
*Real estate investing 101: basic concepts (cape rates, IRR, etc); how to choose the right market, how to choose the right syndicator, etc.
* Different asset classes
* The most solid investment types today

THIS IS AN ACTIONABLE, NO BS SESSION. The main goal is to equip you with the right knowledge of passive investing and to make you a more educated and sophisticated investor. Any sale or solicitation is not allowed.

Space is limited to 15 participants. Please make sure to RSVP!

--Coffee, tea and snacks will be served---

I have CoStar, and they are good when it comes to rent info. Their weakness is in the sale comps info. I live in Cali, and customer service has been great. Another good option is Yardi, which should be cheaper. 

@ Bruce Harding - I agree with what was said here - NOI does not include debt service. Just to give you some context, most A properties (high end, new buildings) are traded for 4-5% cap, B class for 4.7%-5.5%, and C properties for 5.25%-6.25% - all in decent neighborhoods. Have you tried to see what happens to your returns if you improve ops (reduce costs) or increase rents (with and without renovation)? Focusing on price and going in cap rates IS a mistake imo. You should look at the value add potential in the deal and that should determine your real returns.

@ Bruce Harding - you are off to a good start. I'd also add:

- why is the seller selling?

- area demographics (crime rate, median income, etc)

- proximity to jobs

- any deferred maintenance?

- can you increase rents? why? by how much? what would be the cost per unit (for renovation)?

- any recent CapEx injected in the property? ask for a list

- what is the market price per door and cap rate (try to get a report from a credible source like Yardi or coStar, don't rely on the broker)

Good luck!

Ellie 

Hi Ravonne, I am investing in multifamily properties in DFW. Shoot me an email and we can chat. 

I second Ronald's opinion. As an out-of-state investor, you CAN'T manage your property remotely without the help of a team, and in particular a property management team. You pay them 2.5%-10% of the property's income (depends on the location and size of the property - the bigger the size, the lower the fee %), and they take care of everything: from maintenance, repairs, finding tenants and collecting rent. This way, you'll have time to work on your NEXT deal instead of spending it maintaining your property. And this is true even if you invested in a property across the street from you.

Best of luck!

Ellie

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the MF world! It's a great one!

I'm active in Orlando and Tampa, and looking for 100+ Class B/C apartment buildings. Email me or send me a message on BP if you are interested, and we can set up a time to talk. 

Ellie

@Aaron Champion - thank you! I'd advise against this strategy. You're talking about 100% leverage, and this is how investors got into trouble back in '08. Another way to start is to find a deal and get sweat equity for doing all the work, while other investors put the money. This is only my opinion, of course. Some investors with more appetite for risk might consider it. 

I have Costar. Here's my 2 cents:

Pros: very extensive information on the property and comps. Good customer service. 

Cons: It's very expensive (I pay $1400/month for 2 users. 1 user is $1,200 and I think the price significantly increased since I've signed a contracts in Feb); cap rate and sale comps info is missing (I'm active in TX which is a non-disclosure state); once signed, you are locked for a year. Yardi was my 2nd choice - it's less expensive and has info on area rating, which Costar lacks.

Hope that helps!

Ellie