All Forum Posts by: Jacob Diaz

Thanks Nate and Brian!

Hello all,

I recently acquired a duplex in South Oakland that was being used by the previous owner as a student rental. I'm looking for a company that can manage it as a student rental and got in contact with Mace Property Management per the advice of my realtor and other threads I've seen on this forum.

However, Mace declined, saying that they're trying to steer away from student rentals. And they said they didn't know of other companies specializing in that either. I'm wondering if anyone has a management company they could recommend for student rentals in Pittsburgh, especially for South Oakland.

Thanks in advance!

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $365,000
Cash invested: $12,000

Duplex with 5br-2ba and 2br-1ba units. Currently rented to students in the nearby universities. Purchased with $15k seller's assist. Currently occupied with the tenants from the previous owner, who cumulatively pay $2825 a month. Market rent reports tell me that I can get about $3800 between both units. With a monthly PITI of $2029, and a conservative expenses estimate of $1000 a month, I expect to be netting at least $800 in cash flow a month. I expect to have to make various improvements to the property such as grounding some outlets, replacing the old plumbing stack, etc.
Furthermore, there are two unused rooms in the back that down the road I'd like to consider the possibility of getting fixed up to also rent out to students, or turn into an Airbnb

Me too please!

@Jonathan Pavkov Yes

Hello,

I'm looking into a cash-out refinance for a property that I own (held in an LLC). I found an appealing conventional loan. However, to get the most of it, it would require that I take the property out of the LLC. In particular, I would get 10% more LTV (70 rather than 60%) if I took it out of the LLC.

I would be able to transfer it back into the LLC at closing with no repercussions on the financing (or so the loan officer is telling me).

But I'm wondering if there are any cons to doing this? E.g. I read somewhere that this could possibly count as the sale of the property and prompt sales tax (e.g. as described in this article here). Besides that, I'm wondering if there are any pitfalls I should look out for. 

For more context this property is in Columbus, OH (in case the repercussions are more state-specific).  

Thank you in advance!

Hello all,

I'm looking to acquire my first commercial deal (specifically multifamily) and I've heard from others that a great way to find them is to do direct marketing to owners. That way you can avoid competition and price inflation from deals that go through brokers.

I recently bought a Property Radar subscription and have been learning my way around the platform and building a couple lists of properties. So far my criteria look something like:

• Multifamily properties 5-20 units
• Purchased > 6 years ago
• Certain estimated equity (e.g. 70%)
• Owner out of county

But I'm always looking to improve my processes, so I would love to connect with others in the commercial space that are using this strategy. I'm curious to hear how it's worked for others, and to trade ideas on how to make the most of it.

Thanks in advance

Those are some great pointers @Zac Mckenzie and @Mitch Deminski (looks like I also owe you a beer now haha). It's tempting to go the passive route, but I'll definitely try to take on a more active role, and see how I can go beyond the minimum to make my units stand out/work better in the long run.

Wow, thank you everyone for all the replies! This was super helpful, and I feel a lot more confident in my decision now.

Hello all,

So I'm about to rehab a duplex that I recently bought and am considering my options. I'm an out-of-state investor and so managing the rehab and contractors myself would be a little tricky.

Instead, I'm thinking about delegating the rehab to my property management company (ERA Real Property solutions). They already have an entire process worked out which involves getting pictures, scope of work, and multiple bids from different contractors and picking the one that looks cheapest/best.

I was recommended to them by several other investors. And so far I'm pretty content with their property management services. And I figure with all their experience and network of contractors they could be a good option for the rehab. Though on the other hand, they use a 10% markup system so I can't help but wonder how much they'll actually be motivated to do a cost-effective rehab.

Does anyone here have any experience with ERA realty and their rehab work? And if so, would you recommend for/against them?

And does anyone recommend for/against having a PM company handle your rehab in general?

Thanks in advance!

Jacob