All Forum Posts by: Greg Zelner

Hi guys, maybe I can get some feedback here from the conservative landlords and/ or investor. I’ve been running Airbnb’s for several years now using sub-renting. (I rent out long-term and ask for permission to Airbnb, in exchange for paying for all routine maintenance and upkeep of the property as well as abiding to specific requests of the landlord. (For example A/C goes out and it’s $3k, I offer to pay half. If it’s something wear and tear related, I pay for the full amount.) I also, agree to screen guests according to their restrictions. For example, if they require no smoking, only 2 guests/ night, or a minimum age of 25, I follow that.

I’m always looking to expand and typically speak to landlords directly or a realtor and am upfront about how I earn a living, but I do regularly get met with a lot of push back and only get an occasional yes.

What I mentioned above is typically very close to how I present my case and even though we have not had any bad experiences due to the nature of the business which we’ve been successfully running for 3 years now, we still get turned away and I can’t understand why as we follow all county and city ordinances as well as the agreement with the landlord to a T. We also increase revenue by covering the maintenance expenses and paying a higher rent. General Liability is covered by the website policy and we also purchase our own if requested.

So, is there any real reason why a landlord with an investment property would be against it?

I'm sure some of the investors on here will have a different approach. I use the 1% rule for buy and hold. Meaning I expect to earn at least 1% of the purchase price in monthly rent for the place. If you can find a property which brings in 2% per month you're doing great, but you have to try pretty hard to find that.

Like someone else said earlier, be careful of underestimating rehab costs. We did this on our first house and almost lost our shirts on it. If you know how to do the work, you might be able to save yourself half price on roofs, plumbing, electrical, etc... with owner-builder permits. (I'm not sure what the regulations are in your county so you may need to check that out first). I work in the construction industry and it's still easy to underestimate the total cost of rehab properties.

If you're ever unsure on what a property is worth just take your (purchase price- total cost of rehab work) x 1% and see if you are guaranteed to collect at least that in monthly rent. If you can't do that, then you're paying to much and the risk is not worth it.

Also don't forget to consider the time value of money. If you're going to have 6 months of vacancy during the rehab process you should consider either paying considerably less or finding a better deal somewhere else. (What I'd probably do is calculate carrying costs over that time period and lower my offer by that amount).

I'm a newbie too getting ready to purchase my 2nd revenue producing property in my first year. So if anyone else has recommendation of a better way to estimate these costs I'm happy to hear it.

Hi my name is Greg Zelner and I'm an experienced home re-modeler and property owner in Cocoa Beach, FL. I just recently started getting into real estate investing and am looking to network with wholesalers, real estate law experts, investors, and other gurus.

So far most of the property deals I've been finding are foreclosures because these are the lowest priced ones on the MLS and also because those are typically the rehab type properties which are realtor listed. However, I would like to expand into auction houses and other forms of property searching.

I'm currently interested in working with someone who will help me find and appraise deals as well as work around liens, violations, and financing which are typical of foreclosed properties.

I'm interested in networking with just about anyone in the industry who can help me gain more insight on the business and wants to establish a long term working relationship. I'm a business admin. college graduate, with 5 years of residential construction and real estate knowledge. I look forward to working with you!