All Forum Posts by: Francis A.

It might be a good idea to listen to this Biggerpockets podcast. Las Vegas based property manager. Rentals but I'm sure some of the info is applicable.

You might even want to contact him after you've given it a listen.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/03/20/bp-podcast-062-managing-tenants/

@Jeff Barnes,

Thanks for adding another option into the mix. I certainly have my homework cut out. The last thing I need is for something to gum up the trigger when I need to access funds to make a purchase.

I will definitely read up on your outfit's offerings alongside all the others that I am looking at.

Thanks again for chiming in and I'm sure I'll be "seeing" you around BP.

Francis

@Amanda Hensley. Thanks as always for your generosity! It's much appreciated.

Hi,

So what is the consensus top 5 self directed 401k funds to use.. as per this conversation? I would love to narrow down a list.

Thanks so much!

Francis

@Amanda Hensley. Thanks again for your kind and encouraging words. May the positive Kharma coming to you be fantastic on the "flip" side!

I meant to ask. Do you use a Property manager and if so are they a regional outfit or a local one? I'm assuming by 2700 miles from your rental property, it's situated on the east coast or the midwest? I need to be thinking about property managers as part of my due diligence.

Thanks again!

Francis

@Amanda Hensley, it's so great to hear about your experience!

I brought this question to the open forum because I had been hearing sentiments against investing outside of the city of my residence. This included some of my family members.

Part of my thinking is that if I can consistently rent out a place I bought for $160k for $1000 - $1200, it makes sense to add it to the portfolio assuming that all other factors aren't out of whack!

I read this article by Mark Ferguson on paying of mortgages early etc.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/02/09/paid-off-rental-property/

I'm beginning to see creative ways to solving the problem of ramping up on investment properties.

Thanks again for sharing!!

Thanks! I'm looking south. My family pretty much echoed your sentiments.

@Marcus Johnson, @Jeromie Hamann and @Eric Guitierrez have all sounded the horn with regards to that.

Thank you all!

Marcus,

Your "two cents" are well received indeed! I initially started looking around the U of Minnesota area as a starting point.

As a result of this post and my family in St Paul's observations, I have asked my realtor to include listings from South Minneapolis.

Where you describe as the location for your duplex is exactly what I'm looking for. I really appreciate your input.

Did you inherit your tenants and if not, were you able to rent the apartments fairly easily?

Thanks!

Francis

Fellow members,

Thank you for your generous input! This greatly helps in thinking through the problem of investing (where/when/how etc).

Kudos to Biggerpockets!

I consider this my due diligence stage and so all areas have to at least be investigated and charted on a plus/minus chart.

Regarding moving money out of Los Angeles; my first choice would be to stay right here for my next purchase however the more I work with the numbers, the more it makes sense to at least widen my search and become more knowledgeable about cities in which I have family (eyes on the ground). This doesn’t mean I will pull the trigger in another city. Rather it helps me figure out where I will get the best long term value for my money and what makes sense.

So yes, the number one reason I am looking out of state is because of the math: IE: 2% rule etc. I feel the math with regards to investing here in Los Angeles needs to be looked at through additional lenses because of the prices of properties here versus long term tenant demand etc. I am currently living in one of the units of my current duplex so that’s how I partially solved the issue of approaching my first purchase.

As mentioned earlier, I’ll only consider cities where I have strong ties to, however, this does not mean deals in these cities will make sense. I have also considered (tentatively) pooling money with certain family members and a close friend (who has expressed interest) in order to make the math more digestible. I guess that might be called home made syndication.

Searching for ARM certified property managers is a great idea. Thanks for suggesting that (Paul)!

The quest for info continues!

Thanks so much again for being generous with your knowledge, I hope I can be of help in the future!

Francis

Hi,

I'm a Biggerpockets newbie and a duplex owner in Los Angeles. I have family living in St Paul. I have been looking at duplex properties in Minneapolis for a few weeks now. (At first glance, the math makes more sense there). I came across some single homes on Penn Ave in the 55411 area under 90k.

At first blush, some of them look decent. Inspections will obviously reveal the truth. I am also aware that Minneapolis is expensive with regards to property prices etc but cheaper the LA.

My family who live in the suburbs of St Paul are a tad leery of this area (it isn't exactly the 'burbs) meaning, I have to tread extra carefully and probably have to think about outsourcing property management IF (and only if) a deal is too good to walk away from.

I have started to have exploratory conversations with a realtor who has quite a few listings in this area. Any firm decision is far from made on my end as I'm keeping an open mind and will walk away from the idea of investing in this city if the conditions force me to.

I am going to Minneapolis this summer to spend a week scouring potential properties (with an open mind) and may choose to just stick to the Los Angeles market.

To the savvy investors in this forum:

Has anyone invested in this zip code area and if not does anyone have any knowledge about this area of Minneapolis? All input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Francis