All Forum Posts by: Erika Lee

@Austin Wise

Time, scaling up, living beneath your means, and having a solid W-2 job are the ways I did it.

@Tammy Mason

If they require you to list with them upon sale, how they handle emergencies, if they get a “cut” from the contractors they use for repairs, the biggest challenges they have as a PM, basically any questions that can get them to start chatting about themselves is better than simple answers.

@Laticia Braxton

Thank you so much! I got their home addresses and mailed them each a check and thank you note. I can’t write it off, but they won’t pay taxes on it either. I’m happy with the end result of everything.

Thank you all for the inputs!

If so, I’d like to DM you and pick your brain on a location. I’m close to offering a large sum on commercial property but would like an insider’s view.

@Matthew Rogers

I’ve owned two properties in Minot and sold for nice profits. I still have a 18 plex in Carrington that I’m putting up for sale soon.

OP here. Thanks all. Closing went through so I’m officially not at his mercy anymore, which is what the last 5 years felt like. I made a good sum into my 1031 account so I’m sending a healthy amount to the two ladies that were great until the end.

My question was never whether to send him a bonus, that was out of the question, it was more if a large bonus was typical in these situations. I received some private feedback that it is IF the management company helps the sale along, I.e. makes it easy and keeps vacancies down, rents up, etc.

Anyway, thanks for the inputs! I'm soon done with multifamilies (just 18 left if anyone is looking!) and on to NNN.

I am selling over 100 MF units today to a private equity firm. I’m selling in large part because the management expenses got out of control. I really liked the ladies that worked on my properties and did the books, but their dad, the owner, is a jerk. I finally got fed up with him and decided to sell. I purposely didn’t use him to sell even though he always assumed I would. We were well down the road of due diligence when he found out and he tried to stop the sale by denying my broker access to the units. First he said I had to get the keys in person and they couldn’t be released to any one else (I couldn’t travel due to COVID and he knew that), then he later said due to COVID he couldn’t allow access. I eventually won that argument by finding legal reasons, but he refused to allow the lady who runs the office on-site (one of the few who is not his relative) accompany my broker in the walkthrough with the buyer even though I pay her FT hourly, medical, 401k match, etc. and the contract says she is my employee.

I say all this to point out that he didn’t make this sale easy. Yesterday his daughter emailed and asked for a sales/closing bonus for the staff. I had planned to give a nice bonus to the two ladies who worked their tail off at my place. But not to the owner and his daughters. The last owner sold about half the number of units as me, used the owners company to sell (so they made the commission) and gave $3000 in bonuses. Based on that I think they are assuming $7-8k in bonuses. Is this typical?