All Forum Posts by: Paige Kelsey

@Jami Van Den Bogaert Yup, I feel you for sure. We went to Singapore and my phone was on during the night. I do a couple of things that makes it super easy though. I do all reservations that I load onto my google calendar so as soon as we get a booking my cleaning crew and our boots on the ground person knows about it immediately. You dont need fancy software when you can make it up in google calendar and it all works great! I also have a boots on the ground person instead of a management company. Bottom line the taking of the bookings can all be done via your phone and takes seconds literally. Once I get a booking I give them my boots on the ground contact info to the guest and I am basically out of the loop from there on out. The reasons for that are simple, it really gives guests a more  right there contact to ie refill propane tanks or respond about an early check in or a late check out. As for the boots on the ground I get a local super host off of airbnb and pay them 100$ a property to be a boots on the ground for me. Basically this is a little extra cash for them without much work. I chose hosts as they would know what is expected and obviously would know how to treat guests since they themselves had been super hosts. We are now on year 2 of this and it is AMAZING. She will walk through houses and change light bulbs check for things to be restocked etc- then, I just buy everything off of Amazon and ship it direct which has included side table lamps, mattresses and even a box spring. PS Colorado is amazing for many reasons but one of the biggest is the low property tax. Super easy to carry a home when your property tax for one property is 400$ a year and for another it is 700$ a year.      

@Chris Lopez Thanks for doing this but I find it interesting that you picked those properties lol. I honestly have lived and worked in Colorado Springs for years and really was more a fan of the West, Downtown and near the Broadmoor. Those were none of the areas that you chose but honestly it is where I would continue to look if I were investing. There are other things going on in these towns I would be wary of. Pueblo for example. I know I can still pick up a house for in the $60k range that will rent for 800 ish. THAT IS WAAYY BETTER THAN A 6-8 CAP but there are risks! Pueblo has big problems still with gangs and drugs. The schools are not great at best and there are issues with the water. I have stayed out of Pueblo for a reason. Do I wish it would go up like Denver and C. Springs, ABSOLUTELY I do! However, what businesses are coming in there? I once wrote a post about Pueblo, the Detroit of Colorado and I meant that. Bottom line is that while I like the idea you were headed toward these are each pretty sizable cities with very different populations and growth trajectories.

@Emily Griffith soo a couple of things. I believe vacation rentals have gotten pretty regulated in Denver so i would urge you to check that out.Second would be that just because it is a nice house does not make it a greatvacation rental. Is it within ealking distance to shops and bars and fun things to do? Is it unique? Lastly...just take the art out and dont worry about it.or ... put it in a closet that locks while you rent it. I find that folks are super respectful but if you or your family are aleays sorried about it... is it worth it to leave it? Outfitting a vacation rental is is NO joke and it does take time to find a cleaner and get reviews up and running. SOO sorry Emily,I am not trying to discourage you just hoping to give you somethings to think about before moving forward. Allthe best! Paige

These are 2 four plexes that are a block away from Ft. Vancouver and less than a half a mile to I5. Great news- you could buy one or both but either way it would be a residential vs a commercial loan. LOWER Interest, less down. The units are dated but should at least be renting for 50-150 more per unit. Asking on these is right near 100k per unit. It is a 7 cap NOW  with huge upside when the market has it at a 5.35 cap rate and 170k per unit. Even dated units are going for 130k per unit. Lets GO!!-        

@Dave Meyer I have seven vacation rentals in the Springs and  was also quoted something like that at first.  I went with Evolve and to be honest they did a great job for a while that is. Soo good news bad news. Good news, they will list on Homeaway and Airbnb AND will pay the fee for listing on HA.VRBO which is like 500$. They will also have a professional photographer come out and do photos. I already had this done before but they did it again.  They charge 10% but then you will need a boots on the ground person in case... whatever happens happens right? So, not sure where you are but you know, toilets, guest can't access , restocking etc. They did a pretty great job of keeping me booked for the high season but could in no way hold the amount of bookings I was doing off season. Also, they do NOT read the reviews and you will not get alerted to them unless they are bad. An example is a 4 star review that had a line in it that said that they were concerned about the carpet tack strip coming up. It went unchecked and of course the next guest had kids who then got a scrape from the tack strip. The difference in the amount of bookings was  I was holding 20 days in the Fall and Winter- they did 8 maybe 10. My solution is, well, I took them all back and am now self managing from Vancouver, Washington. As long as you have a team and systems built, you are FINE!! It maybe takes me 15 minutes a day to managed them, The fact is that I know the area super well  and I think people really appreciate an owner manager sometimes. Also, just a side bar but I can just feel it coming now.... "I can't scale if I self manage." I hear you but..... it literally is 15 minutes and only because I have 7. Honestly for me it was a no brainer way to save ourselves 20-25k a year.       

Hey All,

Not that this is an airbnb but just curious if anyone knew what the zoning was for the tiny home hotel. For sure they did not do the whole sprinkler thing as was talked about before this. http://tinyhousehotel.com/. It was just a parking lot sooo  if that is the  case, I wonder can you do a similar thing but for longer term tenants kinda like Seattle did for to provide low income housing?     Thoughts?

@Ralph Dixon Hi Ralph, I amconfused by your use of the word net and quite frankly would be worried about the deal. YES, thise are the rents if it was fully rented but... it is NOT. It makes me wonder... Do you think you would be more successful in getting tenants than the current owner? Why are they vacant? How long have they been vanant? I do not see cap x in your numbers, or insurance, taxes,management, not to mention you will need debt coverage. You mention Pensulvania but it shows you are not from there,is this long distance for you? How will you find a good property manager? Sorry, i personally struggled with that one and it cost me a ton of money to go back and get that right. Good luck!! Hopefully you have all of this nailed down and maybe just didnt put it in the post.- fingers crossed- all the best- paige right. I know you are likely super eager to get started and i dont want to ruin that for you but i definitely am worried if you do not incluse all of these things

@Benjamin Bungartz - Top questions to ask- 

1) What is your commission- (Many will  tell you 6 or 7 but push that...Ask for a discount if they are a transnational agent vesus a listing broker or if they know you need to 1031 out of this enticing them with a lesser commission on one with the hope of potentially helping you as the buyer broker through the 1031 is enticing.

2) What will you do to actively market my asset? This is my favorite and is where you should be the most careful. Do not be wooed by pretty marketing brochures. Anyone can do that! Loopnet is NOT cheap and neither are those signs but........ if the agent is worth anything at all .... they have a significant list of folks to start calling.  Even if they are new, on Costar, you can see who has purchased similar assets to yours. You want someone who unpromped is going to tell you they are going to get on the phone and start calling. What you need to try to avoid is being advertising for a broker but really DO know that from the second they take that listing for lease or for sale, they are out of pocket for your asset and have lost money unitl it leases or sells. Advertising is not free! but neither is there time! . Even on a lease- if a nail salon was in that location before........ time to call every nail salon in town and try to get them to move. Look for someone who has active relationships with business owners. Are they a member of the Chamber of Commerce- actively canvass neighborhoods etc.? 

3) What do  they want to list it for and how many questions are they asking you? A great agent should be asking more than they are telling you. Commercial assets are businesses and from a call on the phone - there is little to no way they would know about what you are making.  Sure, they will know the size, the taxes but.... not the utilities, the insurance the rent rolls.  If you have a vacant they should want to fill it for you before they  list it for sale as it will increase the cap rates. It is often difficult to  sell off of pro forma. They should know what market rents are for your listing and be able to tell you if you are over or under them for the area. That will make a big difference to you in the long run and ......anyone who is tellng you they have to check is not a person you want. If they have to run to the office to let you know an answer to your question, is that really someone you think will put in the work to get it done. 

4) Finally, think about this..... If the broker you have has 20- 30 listings that you can see think about your asset. If you asset is a small space to be leased, will you be a priority for them.... maybe............. but..........maybe not! Trying to get a big brokerage to call you back on a 1200 ft lease can be super hard. Test them out, call about a listing they have. Do they pick up the phone? Do they call you back? How long did that take?

Hope this helps!

All the best!

Paige

OFF MARKET DEALS!!! 21715/ 21713 Ne 72nd- 5600 sq ft. Class C Light industrial building- on a corner 1.48 acre lot with high traffic counts. The property is fully leased. Cap rate for similar offerings are 5.5% Asking is 725,000 a 6.38% cap. 8600 NE ST Johns- Boat and RV storage 47spaces/ 43 leased mostly to long term tenants - spaces are rented for below market rates/ and a used car lot with a small building on it leased to long term tenants $600,000 asking 7.9 % CAP . Evergreen Blvd retail/office - near the fort- possible owner user- property can easily be rented out as 4 separate office spaces, 1 office space or 2. Small kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a separate entrance options for the different businesses. Owner will finance 2200 sq ft. $600,000 PROFORMA CAP 5.9

@Tj M.

I think the first step is really defining what you mean by deals before you reach out to any brokers or call anyone.  What I mean by this is to figure out exactly what it is that you are looking for. Are you looking for a cap rate of 8 in a market where that is barely holding a 6 cap? Is a deal to you one that you can get some sweat equity into or divide the utilities or hope to better manage than the last guy? Are you in a growing market and maybe are just looking for any deal to get in? Bottom line is that I think that it is important to define what you are looking for, determine your own strengths and have all your ducks in a row thinking before you start throwing out numbers in the millions. The difference in commercial is the loan. Do you have 25 to 30% down or do you have a partner? Sure people talk a ton on how they kinda made it happen when deal presented it self but many markets are super hot and by the time you figure it out, that deal will be taken by someone that already has it figured out.  Figure not just on how to buy a large multifamily but also what is the plan on the exit. Are you going to try to get out when that note balloons out or will you figure into your numbers a plan for a refi. Not saying you don't have a plan but being able to articulate that plan to a lender, a broker or potential partners is super important especially if it is your first mult.

All the best!

Paige