All Forum Posts by: Eric France

Happy Birthday Josh!

New location acknowledged!

Too bad work has me out of town for this one. :(

I'll make March, promise. :)

It's Great to see you on here @Mike D. I too am in Aurora.

The meetup Anson mentioned is a Great way to network with local BP folks. I also host a Cashflow game every month in Aurora. Let me know if you'd like more information about it.

Thanks

Eric

Welcome Andrew! This is an incredible community with a depth of knowledge and experience that cannot be found elsewhere. Stay active and communicate often.

Lindsay Wilcox - I'll add my 2 cents. I've been landlording for almost 10 years and have done the PM all myself. As for the tools, I'll add my votes to what Jon Holdman, Patrick G., & Adrian Tilley have all stated here. Don't buy much until you need it, but make sure you have the basics they've already outlined. Billy's suggestion of YouTubing repairs is one of immense value too. Nothing costs as much as doing the repair wrong and having to pay someone to fix your screw-up!

Additionally, one of the best tools you can have is a quality contractor. These guys are needed for the bigger jobs or the ones you just don't have the experience for. Finding them can be the challenge, but using someone that multiple investors and friends have recommended is typically the best.

I feel inclined to weigh in on Bryan L. suggestion of using a PM. First, since you're just starting out, I think the knowledge you gain by being your own Property Manager will pay you back many times as you grow your investments. Living in and managing the property yourself should be fine as long as you are prepared to drop everything to fix something that has gone wrong with the property. And for the times you can't drop everything, that's where the "contractor" tool I mentioned above comes in. ;)

I feel the biggest problem with using a PM right out of the gate would be in finding a "good property manager." How do you know what a "good property manager" is? How much will it cost you before you find out the one you thought was good, isn't? I feel you need to know how long typical repairs take and how much they costs to manage your property manager when your assets become large enough to warrant one.

However, I do agree with Bryan on distancing yourself from the ownership of the property. While you can't hide your ownership for the existing tenant, you can represent yourself to all future tenants as the on-site property manager. You can also ask the existing tenant to refer to you as the PM, not the owner. Recording the property at the county in a Land Trust will help with blurring the ownership as well. If tenants think you're just a PM instead of the owner, you will likely find out things that you wouldn't if they knew they were talking to the owner. Obviously, you will do what you feel comfortable with, but I highly recommend it.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Dee,

Call me crazy, but for a couple Wholesale deals, these prices seem about $30k & $20k too high respectively. At least the general rule I use (and I think it's fairly popular on this site) is 70% ARV - Repairs. I know the inventory is very low here in Colorado, but these seem too expensive for me to even consider them.

Just trying to help.

Good Luck!

Eric

Thanks Anson. I look forward to meeting you soon.

Eric

Hi All! My name is Eric France and I am an Army Veteran. I am a Software Consultant by day and an Investor at night and on the weekends. I have been landlording for almost 10 years. I currently rent out a condo and an SFR.

At the end of 2009, I figured it was time to kick my investing into high gear, so I signed on with a "guru" or 2 and eventually formed VetInvest to help veterans learn to earn supplemental income through wholesaling. However, my team-building skills (or more likely, my poor application of team-leading skills) caused it and me to run out of steam.

The one consistent activity has been hosting a meetup every month at a local Village Inn to play Cashflow with people new to investing. I've been listening to the iTunes podcasts since they showed up early this year and I am ready to do it better this time. I look forward to learning and working with everyone.