All Forum Posts by: Jason Andler

@Dwight Cook

I heard this strategy on a podcast and have not had to use it yet but it sounds genius.

Show up with a binder that contains the price you paid and comps to comparable rents in the area. The price you paid is to get a large number in thier head so they are thinking you are going to come in with very high, above market rates. Also, Include what amenities you offer vs the comps and include any of the small repairs you are making. Ask them if they have any issues with the property that need fixed. After you give them some time to digest the information ask them what THEY THINK will be a fair price. They will likely say something a little less than the average of the comps you shown them. If the comps average out at $750 and are all over $700 they might tell you a fair price is $700 or $725. If it's at or above your $700 mark tell them you agree that $700 is fair and will charge them that. If they come in lower then you might need to restate why you think $700 is fair. If that doesn't work you can reccomend that they start looking for another place that better suits thier needs.

If you do this I'd be interested to hear how it works for you.

 Hi, I know this is an old post but I have recently started looking at this area for a short term rental. I was wondering if this was still going well for you?

Is there a realtor you could recommend in the area?

Do you know what the relationship is between the local government and the short term rental owners?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I agree never let your cost exceed your income. Also I always use conservative numbers to evaluate my properties so I know I wont end up in a situation where my costs to exceed my income. The more properties I look at, the better my numbers get. Here are a few things to look at. 

1. Will you be paying utilities after you move out? If not, don't include them.

2. Vacancy at 10%. This means your anticipating your property to be vacant more than 1 month out of the year. I use 5% for my calculations. If you raise the rent in small chunks tenants typically want to stay.

3. Will you be self managing? If so that 10% can go to 0. I recommend doing this with your first property if nothing else just for the lessons learned. I self manage 4 units and once I am able to fill a vacancy I only hear from each tenant a couple times/year at most. 

4. Can you put more money down and do a conventional loan to get a better interest rate, lower mortgage insurance and closing costs?

Any chance your tenant is on a month to month lease? Rather than eviction you may be able to choose to not renew the lease so you don't have to go through a costly eviction process. Even if they refuse to pay rent for the 30 days before they move out it may still be cheaper for you in the long run. 

I have luckily never had to deal with either of these yet but have heard of others trying this method before filing for eviction. I am interested to know how this works out for you. Best of luck.

@matthew\\\

Both would be direct to seller. One I met through the title company I closed with earlier this week and the other I started talking to as I am looking for contractors.

I think it is in the 200k range now

Both would be direct to seller. One I met through the title company I closed with earlier this week and the other I started talking to as I am looking for contractors. 

I often hear about how great off market deals can be, but never found any until recently. The past 2 days I have come across two different off market deals. Now I have a few leads and am nervous - why are they off market? My local market has extremely low inventory and single and multi family houses are selling very quickly. I have made a few deals but everything has been listed on the MLS. What should I be looking out for with off market deals? Are there some 'red flags' that I need to pay closer attention to than a deal listed on the MLS?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $146,000
Cash invested: $36,500

5 Bed/3 bath side by side duplex in Uniontown OH.

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

This was my first deal after moving out of my parents house. I wanted to continue living rent free but I wanted my own house.

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

Through a realtor

How did you finance this deal?

30yr fixed mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

renovated 2 bathrooms while living in half