All Forum Posts by: Guy Azta

Hello BP,

I own a small 13 unit building in Cincinnati, OH. About 2 months ago the water usage started going x2.5 to x3 the normal amount. Already had property management and an outside plumber checking the building and were unable to find anything.

Doe anyone here have a plumber you totally recommend for something like this? I'm suspecting some sort of a leak.

Many thanks!

GA

Hi @Pradeep Shrestha thank you. Was unable to locate their contact. Would you mind sharing? Many thanks

@Drew Sygit Thank you very much for your detailed reply! Only goes to show how deep real estate investing can be. 100% in agreement with you. Was really hoping someone would make an actual recommendation but so far nada. I've been investing in real estate for about 10 years and work with probably 8 or so different management companies. At the end, some are better than others, and some are better in some areas than other. This one is tough because it's a 13-unit building and falls somewhere between an easy SFR to a large enough complex that can carry its own on-site manager. You seem like you have the right approach. Have you considered moving to Cincinnati haha ;-) Thanks and be well.

Hello BP users,

I've been away for a long while.

Wondering if anyone may have a recommendation for a solid small apartment building (multifamily) property management company in Cincinnati, OH . This is a 12 unit building

Appreciate any referrals, and any commentary you may have

Many thanks!

GA

It's good to see people like @Mike Jacobson and @Daniel McNulty with actual hands-on experience on DSTs. I surprisingly have not found much info on that here at the BP platform. In my layman's terms thinking, as an run-of-the-mill accredited investor I can either not take advantage of PPM type investments, or invest in PPM type businesses (risky) or invest in real estate PPM type investments (generally speaking less risky in my humble opinion). Whether it be DST or some other syndication, it seems like a good way to stay in real estate but diversify out of active hands-on management (or management of management) and also into much bigger deals that many of us cannot do on our own (and probably shouldn't anyway). I don't think it's a complete replacement to owning some real estate directly or anything else. Not even a replacement to owning a REIT or a REIT ETF.

I saw a few comments on vetting the sponsors and managers and then analyzing the deal. I think the main issue is that many of us simply don't know how to do that well enough. What do I know about a FedEx facility in Georgia or data center in Texas or even a 150 unit complex in Tennessee. Like Mike say, it's best to diversify. Different types, different markets, different sponsors. 

All in all, I'm planning on getting into this at some point. Hope all your DSTs will continue to pay out.

Hello @Steve Morris, while this is not my thread (it's @Michael Beur) I saw you replied after mine. If you don't mind, could you clarify some of your points a bit further?

1. It seems like there are 2 type of DSTs solicitors - the first ones are as you mentioned, various type of brokers / financial advisers, that may have 1 or 2 deals; and then you have companies like Kay Properties, that seems like that's all they do, and have a large roster of them. They may be more known here in CA. Have you heard of them?

2. I'm using Kay as an example. Had a few chats with them and I don't think you can overly rely on their internal staff. Obviously they want you to subscribe.  You have to assess the actual deal and risks yourself and check the sponsor and operators, as you indicated

3. I was totally under the understanding that you buy into the underlying property. The way you wrote it, it may be interpreted as either that you're buying (1) the strength of the lease; or that (2) you're not buying the property, but buying into a master lease. Be great if you could clarify 

4. No question here - ;) that goes for pretty much nearly anyone you give your money to

5. 100% agreed. Granted, not sure how many people here have that $1M sitting and collecting dust, but the same logic would apply even on a $100k amount. 

6. I did read about this. It's similar to PPMs as far as I know. Once you're subscribed, you can only sell to already existing members. It's completely logical too. But again, investing in a large real estate complex is not a very liquid investment (if you meet someone who thinks otherwise, please tell them I have a bridge to sell). Anyone invested in DSTs is an accredited and at least in theory should have money they do not need. The way I see it it's about building an income stream, with some appreciation potential as well down the line, but with a little bit more of an exclusive ownership and participation than a REIT, and of course much more targeted and a lot more ad hoc. Happy to hear your thoughts.

@Michael Beur that's great. Glad to hear most of your DSTs have been paying. The student housing is understandable. Good thing you're diversified into several. Will reach out to you directly. Have a great weekend yourself

@Michael Beur, would be very interested to hear if you ended up going for it and what is your experience like. It's very surprising to me how little discussion there is here about DSTs. And reading a few posts, it seems like most replies tend to be from an external perspective and not from actual experience. The only educational and instructive reply was from @Matyas A. S.. You can buy into DST without doing a 1031 exchange. It is not mandatory. Meaning it could be a standard investment vehicle for anyone who qualifies. That is what I was considering. It seems like most replies point that among some of the cons are the fees, the fact it's an illiquid investment and returns at around 5-6%. I don't see these as actual cons. In my opinion (and for clarity, I do NOT own, nor have I ever owned any DSTs), the fees are what you pay for not actively handling the headaches of real estate management issues yourself, which at some point becomes almost priceless; the illiquidity is inherent to real estate in general, esp in the commercial space, and in reality no one should get into DST with money they would need in the next 5-10 years (ideally never need it and just invest it for the yield); and the returns are sort of on par with various real estate investments, as well as non-RE investments, such as dividend stock/funds, other PPMs and other passive investments. In my humble opinion, DST is what you do when you either want to 1031 into a passive vehicle and get out of active management (whether you use a property manager or not) or when you have excess money and you want to diversify. I'm sure there are better investment vehicles than DST, but from all I've seen it doesn't strike me as a negative whatsoever, and can be a great way for smaller investors to get involved in bigger deals.

Hello @Chris Stratton, would love to know how it went for you and if you ended up going for it. I'm surprised there is so little info and replies regarding this. I assumed there would be a lot more. I'm still relatively young (early 40s) and own 10 properties, some are multifamily, and the thought of buying another one and dealing with the headaches of managing the property management and all other operational grievances that come along with it, really makes me consider getting into some DSTs at some point. I always thought the "worst" part of it were the relatively low returns, and I see why that is not very appealing to newer investors, but I definitely see it as a viable option for investors who already have exposure and are looking for something that is less hands-on. Also, I think you need to have an accredited investor status before you can invest, so that may explain why you don't have as many people talking about it. My assumption is that people who qualify probably have other options, like PPMs with groups they know, syndicators they know, private funds and other vehicles that may be more lucrative. Happy to hear your thoughts.

I hope this goes to the right forum. I own a building in Cincinnati. One of the tenants got moved out a few months ago by his family, but left all his belongings in the unit. That happened in February, so technically pre-virus. The property management administrator at the time dragged her feet with taking care of this / filing eviction. She since left the company. I spoke with the PM company owner, and initially we decided to just wait out the shutdown. They also supposedly offered the former tenant family a little money in exchange for relinquishing the unit, but to no avail. The PM company is not always responsive. Maybe they're busy. I'm assuming it's not easy managing properties right now. So while they have their own eviction attorney, I want to talk to someone independently and get independent advice. I'd like to know if it would be possible to push through right now. Not sure if the eviction moratorium affects abandoned units. If anyone got any recommendation, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!