All Forum Posts by: Gwyeth Smith

I started with the David Lindahl books and still find them to be amongst the best

• Multifamily Millions
• Emerging Markets

For a more in depth "how to" book on MF Syndication, Joe Fairless's, Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book was extremely valuable.  

I would start with Multifamily Millions by David Lindahl.  That one really opened my eyes to multi-family.  Truth be told, I enjoyed his second book more (Emerging Markets), but it's hard to beat MF Millions as an introduction

@Nathan Coldsmith, does the property cash flow as is based on your projected financing or do you need to bill back the electric to achieve positive cash flow? My take on this property is as follows: If you are buying it as a performing asset; i.e. fully occupied, make sure your offer price is reflective of how it's performing (NOI). You want to purchase off of actual numbers.

If you're purchasing this as a non-performing asset (i.e. high vacancy), then you want to really project out what it looks like as a performing asset, how long it will take you to get it there, and at what cost. You want to figure out your buying criteria on both fronts. Examples could be buying at 8% CoC and achieving $2K/mo cash flow year two (just an example....you should figure out your goals here).

Since all tenants are on month-month leases it might make sense to purchase as performing, off actual numbers.  You can then put the existing tenants through your screening process.  Those that fit you can renew on your lease and those that don't you can give notice on non-renewal.  Doing it this way also opens up more financing options to you.  You can go the community bank route and if you are able to negotiate any seller financing, that could go towards the down payment.  Just make sure the lender is good with your structure.  You could also see how the property is currently financed and go to that lender to see if they can work with you since the asset is already on their books.

Good luck.  Let us know how it plays out!

@Trey Knight you've started a great discussion here. My biggest hurdle in my own business is time. I have a wife, 4 kids, a full time W2, and am growing a REI business. Here are some things I do/sacrifice to maintain momentum:

• Miracle Morning. It’s been mentioned in this thread already and for good reason. I get up at 4:30am each day (I’m usually in bed by 10ishpm) and accomplish reading, meditating, exercising, writing and one BP post! None of those takes more than 10 minutes as I need to be in the shower by 5:30am to get ready for W2. My exercise suffers some. It’s basically push-ups, planks, and mountain climbers.
• Writing down the most important thing I want to accomplish that day. This might be something small, but is something I then put in my calendar and review at the end of the day to make sure I stay on track.
• Taking 30 minutes on Sunday evening to write down what I want to accomplish the upcoming week and reviewing that each morning.
• Utilizing travel time efficiently. In the mornings I’m listening to books or podcasts on my commute to work. In the evenings I try to schedule phone calls for my drive home.
• Making sure I’m loving the process!  We need to find fulfillment in what we are doing now. Sometimes I have to step back and make sure I’m living in the moment and enjoying the journey itself!

Best of luck to you. 

@Bruce D. Bolton, I think you are right in that this might be an opportunity.  Poor management is definitely a value-add play and a chicken scratch spreadsheet of financials is evidence of that.  With that said, a lot of the feedback already given on this thread is true.  You just have to be sure of your numbers, projections, and business plan if you plan to proceed.  As others said; figure out your risk tolerance, what you want for returns, and then evaluate without emotion.  If it meets criteria; take the next step.

@Stephen D., I highly recommend Landlording on Autopilot by Mike Butler. It's not necessarily about overseeing 3rd party managers, it more about self managing, but some of the concepts would apply to your situation. This was one of the first REI books I read and I really got a lot of value from it.

@Kyle Mitchell I have encountered similar issues.  Many times it comes down to the seller co-mingling properties/business in one bank account.  I'm actually trying to filter out the "irrelevants" on some financials a seller has recently provided me.  I'd say follow your gut on this.  If you feel the seller is trying to hide something from you, either account for that in your offer or walk.  If it stems from mis-management it might be an opportunity.  Ask the seller how he suggests you verify financials without statements (i.e. does he have operating statements from management co?)

I have a 13 unit (all 2BRs) with one coin-op washer/dryer.  At $2/wash and $1.75/dry we are collecting approximately $195/mo.  There are other strategies regarding laundry in smaller buildings you might consider, i.e. just providing a W/D hook-up, renting them machines, or even providing machines if it warrants a good enough rental premium.  I once had a property where the residents brought their own machines and then asked if they could leave them when they moved out.  

@Daniel Wolcott, if you're looking to go out-of-state, I'd suggest compiling a list of about 5 cities.  One can be close-by to your current market, one you shouldhave a certain familiarity with (i.e. friend or family member lives there), another maybe you lived in at a previous time, and another that you have no affiliation with but piques your interest.  Start evaluating the common metrics (population growth, job growth, unemployment rate, etc etc etc).  Once there you can see if any of those 5 make sense to you and then dive deeper to see if they hit the return metrics you stated.  

If you still want to target CO Springs, maybe start looking at ways to force appreciation as a way to hit your metrics (i.e. under-rented properties, mis-managed, other revenue streams than just rent, etc.).

@Noah Krietsch, that is a well thought out point. I am partially biased as I am a member of the community you referenced. Personally, I do include a CoC figure to my brokers. I don't believe they actually send me deals based specifically on that criteria. I think it serves it's purpose by showing there is specific criteria I look for. You have to underwrite by your own standards and if in doing so it does not meet a pre-stated criteria, i.e. CoC, it is a good opportunity to share your model with the broker and perhaps put you in a good position to be thought of the next time a good deal comes around.