All Forum Posts by: Francois G.

The MLS is usually your best bet, especially if you're just starting out.

My 2 cents.... just look for deals. Determine whether it's a flipping deal or a buy and hold deal after the deal is found.

@Prakash Saraf

The previous message accidentally sent before I was finished writing it out lol. But you get my drift, search housing statistics for each market you’re interested in to see if flips make sense.

@Prakash Saraf

I want to answer your question but I’m not sure what you’re trying to ask? If you want to flip in various markets, it’s important to find out different things about that market such as a avg DOM, recent new developments,

Flip options in various markets

Hey Guys,

One of my clients is single-family rental investor who is letting Covid completely change his business model. I've told him numerous times he's making a mistake by letting his emotions dictate his business but he disagrees. I'll briefly explain the situation for context:

My client has been an investor for years and has stuck to the same strategy/criteria since Day 1. His portfolio consists of 7 SFH that all positively cash flow and his goal is (or at least was) to get to 15 properties by 2022.

The issue my client is having is 2 of these properties are producing no income for him right now. The tenant in one of the SFH stopped paying rent in Feb (he was starting the eviction process when the lockdown started) so she has been living there for more than 5 months without paying rent and can't get evicted due to the governor's eviction moratorium. The tenant in the other property has also stopped paying rent but she started in June. Same thing, can't get evicted.

Instead of viewing this as a small hiccup that probably won't happen again during his investing career (the eviction moratorium, not the non-paying tenant), he's trying to completely remodeling his whole business plan. He now wants to invest in out-of-state, vacation and MF rentals, to make his primary wealth generator cash flow. This is a far cry from the SFH investor who invests in a 10 mile geographical radius that prioritizes on equity.

As his agent, I told him he was letting his emotions factor into his decision-making and to sleep on it for a few days before we speak on it again. I don't mind if he wanted to add a niche to what he's already doing but he's talking about literally changing his whole business model that has been a huge success to his wealth.

If he was your client, do you let him pursue these other avenues? I've been playing devil's advocate with myself because it's easy for me to tell him not to switch strategies when I'm not the one dealing with these non-paying tenants, but at the same time I genuinely think that advice is in his best interest. How would you explain this to him the 2nd time around without him thinking you're doubting his ability to accomplish it (doing lunch Fri to touch base)? If he decides he's exploring this option no matter what, do I continue being his buyer's agent if I totally disagree with it? He gives me excellent business but what good is the business if I don't think it's in your best interest? A few things I'm juggling in my head that I would love some advice on.

Thank you in advance for your responses!

Not only for this specific deal, but anytime you're buying a home you should always use a real estate agent. As stated, it costs you nothing since the seller pays the commission in the majority of transactions. 

Even when you're buying all cash, your agent (at least a good one) will use this as leverage to negotiate you a much better price than you probably will on your own.

At the end of the day, it's a free service on your end. You should always take advantage of it.

@Joe Villeneuve

Spot on, per usual. Thanks for your input throughout this discussion.

@Steven Ko

What’s there to get? It’s a pretty straight forward debate and I was interested in seeing other people’s reasoning outside of the clients I work with.

Like I’ve said, there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s the contrasting opinions that get you thinking.

@Terry Madden

Good to see another former wrestler in the REI game.

Good luck in your endeavors champ!

Don't lie to the poor man ;)

Last Thursday I just signed a buyer's agreement with a 52 year old 1st time investor. It's a lot more common than you think. You're much more financially stable to make real moves, compared to someone in their 20's who's main issue is financing 95% of the time. Determine what your goals are and stick to it.

Best of luck!