All Forum Posts by: Jason A.

I'm not familiar with retail net, but you will surely attract sellers if you're willing to pay near top dollar. It sounds like you need to target properties which have below market rents. Base your offer on the current (low) rents. Once you have the property under control raise those rents and enjoy the cash flow!

Hi David. I too am intrigued by this options assigns system. I haven't been able to find much good or bad on Josh Cantwell or the MMI system. It's an interesting way to approach options investing, but I do have some concerns after reading Josh Cantwells 'online report' on the program. The obvious question is what liability there may be should the end buyer (leasee) default on the lease/option? Or perhaps severely damage the property? In these cases the original owner would still be held responsible for the note. Even if there is no liability in this scenario, I would hate to be caught up in a battle between the original homeowner and the nonperforming end leasee. It may even be months or years after I have collected my fee and exited the transaction. Any thoughts?

Well Dave, just as in most real estate deals, you make your money when you purchase an apartment complex. I was able to find a complex with below market rents and high vacancy rates. I've gradually made improvements and raised the rents and have been running them at a 96% vacancy rate. I've also cut the tax assessment by 30% by challenging the assessment thus cutting expenses by about $8000 per year. I'm also a hands-on landlord, cutting expenses by doing much of the work myself. The beautiful thing about commercial and multi-family deals is that they are valued by the amount of revenue they generate. I interact with my tenants regularly and all they're needs are met. I truly enjoy what I do and my tenants appreciate having a down to earth landlord.
As far as financing....I was able to get a loan about 6 years ago through pnc putting 10% down at the time. Things have since changed and most require 20% now. Honestly pnc is too big and has been a nightmare to deal with and I will never do business with the again. Perhaps that's just my experience.

I own sfh, duplexes, and a 35-unit complex. While the single families and duplexes have faultered at times, the apartment units have been killing it in my area. It is much easier to maintain the apartment complex. The units are all the same which make them easy to maintain using a cookie cutter approach. The beautiful thing about multi-units is the forced appreciation. I've doubled the value of my complex in about 5 years time by raising rents, cutting expenses, and lowering vacancy rates. All during a weak economy in which my other real estate investments have remained stagnant. I love apartment complexes!

Good Luck Richard. My advice is don't be the next Mo Green!

I find it funny how people run out and buy lottery tickets when the jackpots get huge. Going out and buying a ticket to win a measley $50 million isn't worth the time, but $467 million, what the hell, and lets get a slurpee while we're at the 7/11!

In some areas it is possible to sub-meter. They place a meter on each unit within the main. This makes it possible for tenants to pay their own bills. Also, if you are going to be paying the water, install low-flow aerators on the sinks and low-flow shower-heads on the showers. You could also place a brick in the back of the toilet tanks if they are the old high-volume flush style. This will save about a gallon per flush. Best of luck.

In the above example what is the current leinholders motivation to take less than owed?? The payments are current. If i'm the bank and the payments are current, I'm probably not going to sell for less than owed. And if the payments aren't current then the owners probably aren't going to be able to refi 80% cashout.

I'd go with drywall for sure. Plastering is drywall with plaster coating over it. Why add an extra couple days of work waiting for plaster to cure. And then you are supposed to wait a couple of weeks to paint it. Keep it simple and just use drywall. Patching and painting is simple.

I saw an add for ARPOLA recently and it seems like they offer a decent amount of services for $35/year. Has anyone had any experiences??