All Forum Posts by: Gary Domermuuth

@Calvin Lin super helpful thank you for sharing this!

I want to thank everyone for the input on this.  I think at the end of the day I made a rookie mistake and put myself in a position to be everyone's therapist, a mistake I will quickly remedy.  All of the insights are phenomenal and I will be implementing them not only in this situation but futures ones that are sure to come.

Hello BP,

My wife and I recently purchased a duplex in a great neighborhood in Albany.  When we bought the property we inherited a tenant in her 80's and she has lived there for over 40 years.  The property had been in her family for decades and she has an emotional attachment to it.  

When we bought the property the upstairs unit was vacant and we easily rented it to grad students.  By all accounts the students are respectful but have been known to have fun but nothing out of control.  When they moved in they had been getting along with my elder tenant, they had been baking her cookies and bringing her flowers.  About 3 weeks ago I found out that the elder tenant had been calling them names because of the clothes they wear and had crossed other lines the details of which I don't want to get into but lets just say it wasn't something to be taken lightly.  

When I spoke with my elder tenant she initially denied it but then changed her story.  She was upset and apologized to the girls, however, now it seems she has an ax to grind and literally calls the police for every little thing they do!!!  We like our upstairs tenants and want them to renew but I doubt that is going to happen as they are miserable.  Even if they don't renew I fear that no matter who we rent to the elder tenant will have a problem with them.  The elder tenant is something of a local legend because she has lived on that street forever and of course she has talked to everyone on the street claiming she is being mistreated so if we decide not to renew her lease we would be demonized but I also know that at her age she would have a hard time finding another place to go and in spite of everything I wouldn't want to leave her without a place to live but at the same time I am an investor not a saint.  What should I do? 

Hi All,

Thanks for the welcomes!  I will reach out to you guys individual in my colleague request to discuss.

Hi Alex,

I am a CPA from Boston.  Have you considered a role with one of the big 4 accounting firms.  All 4 have rather robust real estate accounting practices, be prepared to work a ton of hours though, its not a life I particularly enjoyed but certainly was a life I learned a great deal from.  I don't know much about the business environment where you are but if there are not a substantial amount of real estate companies that way that is certainly an option to get the type of experience you are looking for.  Also reach out to CPAs where you are, you can get a lay of the land that way as well.  That said, pass the exam before you consider joining any of the big 4 because you will not have any time to study.  

Joe what is your target tenant?  For example, where my wife and I own our rental there are a lot of pharmacy and medical students, so one strategy we had considered was having the unit information posted on the relevant campuses.  Ultimately, we wound up renting quickly through craiglist but I know a lot of landlords who had success doing more targeted marketing to prospective tenants that way.  You might have more success if you determine who that is and then refine your marketing tactics accordingly.

Personally, I wouldn't allow cats or dogs they can destroy rentals, differentiate yourself by trying to provide your tenants with a good experience, without being a push over.   

With regard to lowering the rent, that might make sense if you get desperate but there is always the possibility of spending more time sifting through tenant applications as all of the tenants who cant afford market value rents will come swarming.  

Otherwise, update your craiglist post as often as you can and make as many different postings as possible.  You can do this by slightly modifying the title of your post.

Thanks to all so far for the welcomes.  I look forward to connecting with you all of you!  Jeff, I am up for sharing of both stories and goals any time!

Hello Bigger Pocket community,

I am new to bigger pockets and am really just starting my career full time in real estate investing.  For the past six years I have worked as a CPA .  Prior to becoming a CPA, I worked for my dad in construction.  At the age of 12 years old my dad started bringing me to work every day I was not in school until the age of 24 years old, this was the best piece of parenting I could ever think of because by doing this my dad taught me what it meant to work hard and it gave me an invaluable skill set.

I have always known real estate investing is what I have wanted to do but I was stuck in analysis paralysis.  I kept planning and putting timelines on when I would start, those timelines would always pass because I didn't have time or because I was complacent at work where I was earning a strong but steady salary.  That all changed last week when I was in the webinar "How to find incredible real estate deals in a competitive market" which was being taught by Brandon Turner.  At one point Brandon was speaking to the fact that only 20% of the audience would act upon what he was teaching while the remaining 80% would do nothing.  I realized quickly that I was a member of the 80% and that had to change.  This past Monday I quit my full time job and will be doing freelance accounting work while I finish what's left of my home renovation and look for my first deal which is a good segue to what my goals are.

My ultimate goal is to flip single family properties all over the Northeast.  I currently live in Boston and would like to do my first couple of transactions while I am living in Natick.  I would like to do 3-4 flips over the next 8 months.  Within in the next 2 years I would like to expand my rental unit portfolio (currently own a 2 unit multifamily in Albany NY) and start investing all over the country, the goal being to have over 100 units across the country in 3 years.  

Thank you to everyone for reading and I look forward to connecting with as many of you as I can.