All Forum Posts by: Darel Ison

Attention SoCal Real Estate Investors and Wanna Be Real Estate Investors! Learn how I invest in Real Estate in other markets across the US. Gain Access to my trusted teams of Property Managers, Realtors, and Contractors in Northeast Ohio and Kansas City. I will walk you through how I do it and how I can help you. We will have plenty of time for questions during and after this interactive discussion. NO GIMMICKS NO GURUS. Just honest information that can help you whether you use my services or not.

Rene,

I have 5 duplexes in the Akron area. I highly recommend Brad Hayes and his Property Management Team for management. I was using a contractor there for my rehabs. He actually has rehabbed 7 of the 10 units, but he has become too volatile and after this current job, I will not be using him anymore. I could not send you his way in good faith...

Brad can set you up with some referrals. His team has done an excellent job of cleaning up my investment there. I have 15 units under management with him to date.

This will not allow me to give you his contact information in the post, but you can google Hayes Property Management. 

Or let's see if this works

bradhayes at hayesrealty.com

Darel

Josh,

On your first message, I used a local contractor. His name is John Sheil. I would not recommend him. It was very painful. I actually live in SoCal, so I managed this all remotely. His work was good for the most part, but he was slow, and lacked the communication skills needed to deal with a remote owner/investor

I have done 3 loans with LendingOne. 2 were on this property. The construction loan, then the refinance. I used them straight up on a tri-plex in Ohio as well. 

30 year fixed in the low 7's. Prepay first 3 years. I could have found lower, but not that could close fast enough

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Kansas City.

Purchase price: $100,000
Cash invested: $105,000

This one was my BRRR from hell! Beware that in KCK, the county zoning and tax assessor do not talk.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I purchased this originally because it was listing on the tax assessor records as a Triplex. It had however been operating as a duplex for the last 8 years. Just as my contractor was about to start getting the 3rd unit up and running a neighbor came by and told us that the building lost it's zoning as a triplex and was a non-conforming duplex now. After some verification with zoning, we found this

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS Deal, Got the sellers to drop from $120k to $100k

How did you finance this deal?

Construction loan with LendingOne, then a refinance with LendingOne

How did you add value to the deal?

Studs down remodel. Transformed two 2/1 units to one 3/2 and one 4/2

What was the outcome?

Great longterm rental property

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Call the county zoning department on all deals

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Kansas City.

Purchase price: $100,000
Cash invested: $105,000

This one was my BRRR from hell! Beware that in KCK, the county zoning and tax assessor do not talk. I purchased this originally because it was listing on the tax assessor records as a Triplex. It had however been operating as a duplex for the last 8 years. Just as my contractor was about to start getting the 3rd unit up and running a neighbor came by and told us that the building lost it's zoning as a triplex and was a non-conforming duplex now. After some verification with zoning, we found this to be true.

This threw a large wrinkle in my plan to rehab this and increase the value. But I did not quit. Instead I pivoted and asked zoning and permits if I made the 2 sides of the duplex larger, by making them both upstairs downstairs units, would that work. They said yes, so we fully permitted all the work and ended up doing a down to the studs remodel.

I ended up putting about 185k total into this, with the lending, and it only appraised for 200k after we were done, but the cashflow is nice and I was basically at break even when I refinanced it. In the end, I took two 2bed/1bath units, and made a 3/2 and a 4/2. Rents went from a total of $1,350 a month to $2,200 a month.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS Deal, Got the sellers to drop from $120k to $100k

How did you finance this deal?

Construction loan with LendingOne, then a refinance with LendingOne

How did you add value to the deal?

Studs down remodel. Transformed two 2/1 units to one 3/2 and one 4/2

What was the outcome?

Great longterm rental property

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Call the county zoning department on all deals

Thanks Nathan, but I found the last company on www.narpm.org. Unfortunately, being a member of a professional organization does not make a company competent or ethical. 

Hello, I am in looking for a Property Manager in KCK. My current one has failed in so many ways, I can not possibly list them all. I am an experienced investor, with 15 doors in Ohio. I started with a Duplex recently in KCK, that we are completely gutting, expanding, and remodeling. It used to me a Triplex that was rezoned, so we are using the old 3rd unit to make the current 2/1's into a 4/2 and a 3/2 + a laundry room with coin operated laundry. I will be in KCK on the morning of the 15th and would love to meet with interested PM's then.

I don't mind sharing here. It is Home River Group. They have made more mistakes than I can count. Now they are falsely billing maintenance on a unit that does not exist, and on one that I have had my own contractors working on a total gut remodel on for a few months. They are charging $80 a cut for the lawn and I received a bill of over $600 for the month for mowing. (Throwing in a few extra cuts for sure) They never use the phone, I cannot get a hold of anyone except by email, even when I request a call back. Anyway, I am shopping for a PM myself now.

I know one not to use. I am also searching for a new PM. The guys I went with cannot seem to get even the simplest task done correctly or on time.

I am a CA investor. I have 15 doors in Akron/Canton, OH. I recently purchased a Duplex in KCK, that used to be a triplex but was rezoned. I am doing a major rehab to convert this from a 2x 2/1's to 1 x 3/2 and 1 x 4/2. Major construction, but I purchased at the right price. My advice in that area on my first deal is this.

1. Stay away from the Kansas Side, Wyandotte County. The building code enforcement is crazy. Cost me an extra $7k in sewer surveys and other code related issues that were not in the budget. 

2. Build your team first. Find a good PM. I am searching, as my current one is not working out. Also, I have not had the best luck with my contractors. There is no sense of urgency by anyone. What should have been a 3 month project will most likely be 6 months.

I plan to change my strategy in KC at this point. I will continue building out my OH portfolio with my great team, and I may turn to a turn key provider that I heard about on a BP podcast for future KC deals.

Good Luck!