All Forum Posts by: James Rodenberg

@Rachel Morrow mind sending it one more time? :)

Morning everyone!

I haven't posted in a few days so I figured I'd jump in here and get a discussion started. I have a goal to post at least once a week to get to know you guys as well as make sure I'm consistently learning from people who are smarter than me :)

When I started reading and learning about REI I felt pretty strongly about hiring a PM. I don't enjoy the tedious repair work associated with my own home so I felt it didn't make sense for me to drive myself mad with repairs on rentals as well. The legal aspects also scare me a bit, but that's mostly out of ignorance rather than knowledge of what goes into it.

But since I've read a bit more it seems that hiring a PM might not be in my best interest. It seems PMs don't make a ton of money for all that they do and their incentives don't always line up with investor's incentives (i.e. getting paid more for turnover in terms of tenants when I'd prefer no turnover or vacancy).

Sorry for the long intro, but having said that, I have a few questions...

   > What was the main deciding factor for you when deciding to self-manage or hire a PM?   

   > If you self-manage, has that been more difficult than you originally planned? Would you hire a PM if you could go back in time?

   > When self-managing, are there any software or tools that are "must-haves" to make it less stressful for you? 

I know that's a lot of questions, but any insight is super helpful. I'm just trying to hear stories of what factors played a major role in deciding how to handle this. I'm still leaning towards hiring a PM, but I want to be open-minded.

Thanks as always to everyone here for their help. I'm super thankful for a place like the BP forums to ask stupid questions and learn from smarter people!

 Maria,

Thanks for your reply. Congrats on house #5! That's some exciting stuff!

I'd love to connect sometime. I'm still doing all virtual stuff right now (which is not ideal) and making the best of it. Would you be opposed to jumping on a call sometime soon to introduce myself so I can learn about your REI journey and can explain what I'm going for? I like to connect with folks to see if we can help each other. I might not be able to provide a ton of value now but would love to in the near future.

Thanks again for reaching out and look forward to hearing from you.

@Will Fraser

Thanks for the explanation on Helicopter Money. It will be very interesting to see how it pans out in the long run.

Your response on the familiarity of recognizing a deal is amazing! Thanks! It seems I need to narrow my search areas a bit to make sure I can build up the experience so I know when a great deal comes my way. Do you still use a radius around your house? 

I'm thinking (correct me if I'm wrong) it'd be a good idea to identify specific neighborhoods in cities I'm interested in. That way I can start focusing to identify the deals. The tough part is with the lack of supply I might not see many properties depending on the neighborhood since supply is so low. Hoping the supply picks up over the next few months going into the summer.

I'm also going to get a spreadsheet created so I can list out all the homes sold in my target areas. My mom is a real estate agent which also helps with that so I can get her to run some reports on the MLS while I track the off-market deals from wholesalers or FB groups.

Thanks again for the thoughts Will!

Thanks for the info Rick! 

(Side note: I'm trying to tag you in my reply and the formatting isn't cooperating)

I have gathered that it seems you need to be able to recognize a deal almost instantly with your funding pre-approved so you can move QUICKLY! I don't want to use the excuse, "the market is too hot" or "there aren't any deals out there" because I'm sure there are deals if I keep my head down and work to find them.

Also, I sent you a PM so hopefully, we can connect soon to get to know each other.

Thanks!

Will,

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad to hear I'm on to something at least. I noticed you're in OKC, I'm assuming the market is very similar to KC. Also do you mind sharing what you mean by "helicopter money"? I have a guess, but don't like to assume :)

Also, while I have your attention, how long did it take for you to feel comfortable recognizing a deal? I've only analyzed a few so I know it takes time, but I'm worried I'm not analyzing in a tight enough radius (say a neighborhood instead of zip code) to recognize a great deal.

Thanks again!

Hey everyone,

I’m working to analyze deals and get a feel for different pockets of the KC Market. From what I’ve learned from my own analysis and networking it seems that even a good deal, let alone a great one, is tough to come by...which got me thinking...

How “out of hand” or “overpriced” has this market become? It seems the lack of supply and lack of banks being able to foreclose has driven the demand and subsequently pricing higher and higher. 

For example, it seems finding a house in Independence or KCMO under $100k is tough so cash flow seems even tougher to come by with rents being on the lower side.

Maybe I’m off in my analysis or rambling at this point 😆, but any thoughts or insight into how this market compares to a more “normal” or “average” condition?

Sorry for the rambling, but figured I’d try to get a discussion started. Thanks!

Hey Dan,

Newer investor to KC here. Would you be opposed to passing that list of info on? Ok if not, but figured I'd ask. Happy to connect too. 

Thanks!

Hey Brad!

Thanks for replying. I'd be happy to chat. I grew up in Blue Springs so I'm relatively familiar with Independence. I'm also super intrigued by the BRRRR strategy. Let's see if we can help each other. Happy to jump on a call sometime. Let me know if you're interested.

Thanks!

Hey Steven!

Thanks for replying. I'd be happy to chat. What would work best for you? I'm not meeting folks in person right now from an abundance of caution with COVID but would be happy to call and get to know each other.

Let me know. Thanks!