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All Forum Posts by: Eric Larson

Eric Larson has started 5 posts and replied 14 times.

Post: Unsure whether I should sell property or rent it. Suggestions?

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

I would be glad to share my experience with you whenever you are ready. Thanks!

Post: Unsure whether I should sell property or rent it. Suggestions?

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

Angie, Orrville is a unique town. I'm a local agent with 14 years of experience as a Realtor in the Orrville area and I own 14 units in Orrville. I would be honored to see your place and share my experience with you. I think you have a great opportunity to go in any number of directions with your real estate investing journey and this could be a great start. I would also be happy to recommend local tax and legal professionals that will really make your experience as a real estate investor significantly better. Good luck!

Post: Trust a tenant to make repairs?

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

@Alysha Pederson nope nope nope. I've tried this before with someone who was a "professional" and I ended up going back to the space afterwards and rebuilding everything that they touched. Save yourself the time, money, headaches and potential liability. Build a relationship with a handyman that is not your tenant and have a good situation for a long time.

Post: Help! Tenant requested repair during the eviction

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

@Anna Wang unpleasant tenants are part of this game. Unfortunately, we have to deal with them and grow a thick skin. I understand the desire for minimal communication, but this could be a liability problem or, worst case, it could be a fire hazard and a danger to any other tenants as well as the structure. Schedule a time to see the property with an electrician. Be clinical and professional in your behavior. You are just there to investigate and potentially mitigate the situation. The electrician will be a witness if anything gets odd.

Post: Rents Only Cover Mortgage

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

@Stefan Gray it totally depends on what your goals are for this project and how your whole financial picture fits together outside of this project to see if this is a good idea or really not.

Since you are buying for your personal home as well as an investment you are looking at everything with a different perspective than someone would if they were looking at the pure investment potential. A good idea may be to pencil this out as if the other side of the duplex is permanently vacant and see if you can float the duplex on your own. Then bank the rents for the other side and use that capital as the financial backstop for any repairs or improvements in the short term and as the building blocks for the down payment for your next investment.

This could be a good buy, but it totally depends on how you operate it and your timeline. This plan is a slow and steady wins the race plan. Good luck!!

Post: Should I wait to invest due to economy?

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

@Lara Ishtayeh no matter what your decision is, you will convince yourself that you are right. In my eyes, real estate is a long term play, multiple years, and through that window of time there will be recessions and appreciation windows. Likely a couple. Over time, if you bought a good asset and cared for it and managed it well, you should do just fine. Reserves are always necessary, but we can also convince ourselves that we're saving reserves when we're just nervous to jump in the market.

If this is your first deal and it fits your needs, plan, and budget and you would go forward irrespective of the market then go for it. It will pay off in the long run to take that first step.

Post: 7 duplexes, one purchase

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

Thank you Matt. They are in two sets. One set is adjacent to each other on Harmont South of 62. The other set is also adjacent to each other just East of Harmont and immediately South of 62.

Post: 7 duplexes, one purchase

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

Thank you. 

Post: 7 duplexes, one purchase

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $700,000

Set of 7 duplexes in Canton, Ohio. Looking to hold these cash flowing places long term while spinning up rents that are slightly under market as we roll along.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We have looked to aggressively expand our holdings over the last 6 months and have done that by doubling our holdings, even in a price expanding market.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I was looking for an investment target for a friend of mine and networked with another friend and he brought up this opportunity. After evaluating the spaces and the numbers, we thought it would be a good opportunity to grow our holdings and cashflow quickly and for the long term.

How did you finance this deal?

We have private partners with this deal and we financed it through our local lender contact with a blanket mortgage at a very attractive rate.

How did you add value to the deal?

As part of the deal, we got three of the duplexes resided and that was included in the purchase price.

What was the outcome?

So far we are making improvements as needed, but they are functioning and cash flowing well.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was our biggest acquisition, and the third acquisition of multi-family assets within a 6 month period. Since we self manage our properties (so far), this has taken a little bit of time to adjust our systems to efficiently handle the new load. Over that 6 months we have expanded from 14 to 34 units owned and managed by us. We have some work to do yet to get everything as I like it, but we are making good steady progress.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am a local real estate broker as well as investor with 14 years of experience. I have good contacts for most of the supporting professions for our industry and would highly recommend them.

Post: The journey of a thousand steps starts with the first step.

Eric Larson
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Wooster, OH
  • Posts 14
  • Votes 6

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $132,500
Cash invested: $8,000

Nice side by side historic duplex in the hometown of Jiff Peanut Butter and Smuckers products. Good working town and duplex is in reasonable condition. Plan is to improve condition and spin up rents as we hold the units. Current rents are approximately $100-150 under market with inherited tenant. Mostly cosmetic changes are expected going forward.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We have worked hard to expand our holdings over the last 6 months and this is part of the long term strategy to expand our holdings of cash flowing properties over the next several years.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A friend called me because they were tired of holding and managing it. I gave them the option to list and sell it or for me to buy it with seller financing initially then refinance it after a period of time. The advantage for my friend if we bought it would be the effective benefit of a higher return because of the interest payments over time as well as the reduction in capital gains.

How did you finance this deal?

Seller financing with a balloon 5 years after purchase.

How did you add value to the deal?

So far we have improved both units, rented the second unit and increased cashflow significantly.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am an investor friendly agent in the Orrville and Wooster area of Ohio and happy to help you come up with creative solutions for your real estate purchasing and selling needs. I have a good network of investor friendly lenders, legal team, tax prep advisors, and technical professionals.