All Forum Posts by: Steve Simpson

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the responses. I love BiggerPockets!

My company only manages residential properties and we focus mainly on (relatively) nice single family homes with average rents hovering around $2,400/month; which is relatively high end for Orlando. We don't do condos. I would like to transition into mid-to-upper level multi-family stuff but for now I am focusing on what I know - higher-end single family houses. I have 5 properties under management which all came from referrals and am just now starting to actively market. I have a lot of company infrastructure already established in the form of software (Buildium;QuickBooks), a long list of contractors for R&M, my real estate license and access to the MLS, a collection of legal forms, and lots and lots of checklists; I more or less have 85% of the business 'formed out' so a reasonably intelligent and knowledgeable person would know what to do to lease/move-in/move-out/etc just from looking at my forms. Also, I am a CPA (so the books are covered) and my father is a retired real estate attorney (so my legal issues are easily resolved/answered). The only thing really missing is more clients. I suppose the only other thing is that I make good money as a CPA so I'm not willing to manage properties that rent below a certain mark; I've set $1,500/month as my threshold.

Franklin, your story is a very inspiring one to hear. That kind of growth is incredible! I tried AdWords for a bit but with basically no success at all. I think I burned through the 'free' $100 that Google gave me in about a week and had no calls from it. I would be open to giving it another try. Any tips or tutorials I could read?

Regarding the mailers, I have my doubts as well, but I want to give them a try just to see how it goes. I'm very mathematically analytical and have already made some simple spreadsheets to track my cost per lead/client that I plan on using over a 3-6 month period. If it's a complete failure then I will probably retire direct mail marketing for good in around 6 months.

A friend of mine is big on internet marketing and we are currently working on my web presence. He think if I stick to it with blogging, posting on forums, tweeting, and providing value in the form of website content that I could see the first to third spot on Google organically in 6-9 months. He's a pretty optimistic guy but he's had success in internet marketing before so it's definitely worth trying.

I agree with you that most property managers are worthless and the fact that I am competent, responsible and intelligent already puts me in the 90th percentile. I know I have a good product. I just need more clients! But I guess that's business, isn't it?

Hey guys,

I own a small (for now) property management company and am starting to actively search for new clients. I'm currently in the process of automating my direct mail campaigns with a VA, a local minimum-wage worker and VistaPrint.

One of my target marketing groups is Realtors who work for smaller brokerages or brokerages that do not have a property management branch. I pay referral fees, so my initial plan is to mail introductory letters to said Realtors describing the perks of my business and the fact that I pay referral fees. The letters will be typed, but individually addressed and envelopes will have mailing addresses hand-written. Included in the mailer will be a business card with my picture on it to help put a name to a face. I then plan on calling these Realtors within 2 weeks to a month to verbally introduce myself, thank them for remembering me when someone asks them for a property management recommendation, and address any questions they may have. I'm planning on sending them a notepad with my logo on it 4-6 months after initial contact as a reminder also.

I am also getting involved with my local Board of Realtors, but many smaller agents who are not full time do not participate much which is why I am trying to target them this way. I don't expect immediate business from this marketing but I am hoping contact with these people from time to time will help grease the pipes for clients to come my way down the road.

What are your guys thoughts on this plan?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

I agree with Josh and Steve.

I use Buildium software which comes with cloud based tenant screening software and a rental application feature. I can't tell you how many people I will e-mail links to the online application to and never hear from them again.

What I have started doing is printing out applications and leaving them at the property along with an assortment of pens. If the prospect seems interested I have them fill out an application right then and there and take their payment using Square. I then input the information from the paper application into the online one for record keeping. It's definitely more time consuming but I actually get applications and (more importantly?) application fees to merit my time.

Will, did you go to Georgia Tech?

I currently co-own/manage some properties near the large university in my city (UCF in Orlando, FL). Through some marketing efforts I've picked up a handful of rentals in a very nice part of town ($500k+ houses) that should rent from anywhere between $4,000-6,000 per month.
I have no experience in finding tenants at this rental range and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and what strategies they would use for marketing. Currently I am planning on doing the following:
1. 'Nice' for-rent sign in the yard (I use a cheap one for my college rentals)
2. Post on MLS (never do this for my college rentals)
3. Call local large employers who may have a need for high-end corporate housing and inform them of the properties I'm offering. I was thinking about a few hospitals in the area and the major employers (Disney, Lockheed-Martin, etc.)
4. Making a video/slideshow of the property to post to my website/CL
5. If I don't get any bites in a few weeks I will likely reach out to RE agents in that area and offer to split the leasing fee.

Anyone have any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

One of my mentors always told me to make 3 offers:
1. All cash; usually around 60% of ARV
2. Some cash up front, owner carries the note; usually around 75-85% of ARV
3. No cash, owner carries the note; usually between 85-105% of ARV

I agree with Mitch that you need to know the seller's situation before making the offers, but by coming in with 3 offers as opposed to 1 you have 2 additional offers to fall back on in case they don't like the offer that you think makes the most sense for them.

One of my investors has a lot of cash but does not want to have it all tied up in his properties. He currently owns 2 rentals which he financed 70% at good rates (around 7.5% I believe). He bought both of those off the MLS using traditional financing. I am trying to explain to him the value of buying our next property with cash to get a better deal and then pulling the equity out with a HELOC or other form of debt. I have never done this before but it seems easy enough.

So, is the easiest/best way to do this with a HELOC or would it make more sense to buy it cash and then 'sell' it to ourselves with traditional financing? I'm sure it's a situational question, so let me say that we plan on either holding it as a mid-term rental or selling it with a lease/purchase in hopes of closing between 3-5 years.

While I agree that you're probably ok as long as you disclose and your sellers are ok with it, you are DEFINITELY an agent of these people and thus are legally (and morally) obligated to act in their best interest.

If they are motivated enough to need to sell ASAP they likely will not care that you have a buyers list lined up for them.

I'll give you a bump. This is a good topic I think.

There are lots of experts on this board. Someone out there has to have some good answers to these questions...

I compiled a mailing list solely on a geographic area I am familiar with and equity. I simply used the map feature on the tax record website and went house by house in the neighborhoods I wouuld prefer to invest in looking for houses that were last purchased in 1995 or before.

My original plan was to use handwritten yellow letters asking advertising my flexibility in purchasing their house; I am looking to seller finance or use some sort of option to help homeowners get close to 'market value' for their homes if they are willing to compromise on the terms. However, I do not have the time or strength to hand-write all 250 letters of the length I am looking for and was planning on hiring students to do it for me.

My problem is, I am a little uncertain as to the quality of my list and don't want to spend money paying the little boogers if the list is too crappy to begin with.

I am sure I am over-thinking this a little bit, but I don't want to send it out just to accomplish a goal I set for myself and don't want to waste funds in vain.

I welcome any opinions or thoughts on my list or the goals of my letter.

Thanks!

I have been told by a few older investors in my area that there is a method to the discount rates HUD will accept on the houses they are selling based mostly on the time the house has been on the market. For instance, after 30 days HUD will accept 90% of the list price; after 60 days they'll accept 15%; etc.. These older gentleman claim they know the 'secret' behind this method but refuse to tell anyone since it would create un-needed competition in their wholesaling business.

I'm sure SOMEONE on here has to have atleast heard of this and might be willing to give away the secret :D . I am about to start a google search but I figured I'd tap the well of information on this site first.

Merry Christmas!