All Forum Posts by: E. C. "Stony" Stonebraker

@Phillip Christie, @Arn Cenedella is exactly correct. You should have an experienced partner, whether your lender asked for a letter or not. A multifamily property (depending on # of units) operates differently than SFR, although many lessons with SFRs are helpful. Good luck!

If tenants aren't charged at all, then there is absolutely no incentive to save.  Better to have some incentive, even if small, IMO.  But I don't know the Bakersfield market.

@Gustavo Gonzalez.  I can't speak for the Bakersfield market you are in, but if comps are charging back, you should, too.  It is a no-brainer way to improve the value of the property.  You can implement it with renewals or new tenants.  Depending on what percentage your comps are charging back, you can gradually charge back over time.  Be sure to check on the limitations on rent vs other income increases on multifamily owners in CA.  

@Hayden Wright  Some good comments and suggestions here from @Charles Seaman, @Michael Le, @Paul H. and @Arn Cenedella.  I'd suggest you also contact some of these commentators to get their private thoughts.  Some of us have experience with several of the mentors/coaches and/or their students and have some feedback that might be helpful to you.  

Another suggestion is, if you decide to use a mentor and after you have narrowed your candidates, try to attend an in-person event where you'll get to know the mentor and their students better.  You can ask others what they think of the mentor's program and ask them why they joined.

I haven't used a mentor myself, but I'm sure I would have benefitted from being in the right program.  You are doing the right DD, Hayden.  Good luck to you!

@Anderson Bigate Nogueira, we use Active Campaign for their CRM and email automations plus Syndication Pro as an investor portal.  They are synced with Zapier.  We looked at other solutions, too, which I'm sure work well depending on what's important to you and how user friendly each is.  Good luck.  It is more than a weekend project!

Amen, @David C.!

@Ruben Goodbear Anders  Good move to visit the area and meet the person.  I agree with @Dallon Schultz, I would never invest with someone I never met nor with whom I didn't have clear and matching goals.

@Caleb Johnson  A lot of people think they want to become an active investor but soon find out that it is a lot of work, a ton of details, and dealing with tenants, toilets and termites.  They realize it is not as glamorous as it initially sounded.  So investing as an LP in a deal becomes a lot more lucrative...and you can depend on professionals who know the market, the comps, the business plan, the finances, and all the other details that can take a person away from a good paying job or spending time away from the family.

There is no one answer, though.  Everyone should do what they think is best for them.

@Ruben Goodbear Anders  I'd recommend several steps.  Have an investigative firm conduct a background credit and criminal check.  They normally like to have the person's name and SSN, but if the partner won't give you their SSN, get their home address or ask the firm what information they need to be sure they find the right person.  If the partner has moved over the years, get the cities where they previously lived.  Then ask for referrals from previous partners or people he/she has worked with.  Conduct an online search of their name and city or name and address or name and school or other combination to be sure you are getting the right person.  If the partner is working, find out their employer and ask the employer to verify their employment there.  Try to catch their boss at work and casually ask about the person.

This business attracts a lot of different people and a few hours of work up front can save days or weeks of problems and thousands of dollars later.

@Bruce Lynn has an excellent point about advice from professionals. It doesn't matter how good an attorney, CPA or financial advisor you have, if they don't invest themselves in commercial (not residential) real estate (CRE), I would be cautious about taking advice from them about investing in a CRE property.