All Forum Posts by: Cory Binsfield

Why are you focused on flipping? 

Never make a deal work but adding a large down stroke. It should work at 20% down or less. 

Just throwing it out there. Have you looked at buying one of the existing companies or approaching a real estate broker and building your company from within the brokerage? We have a successful brokerage in this town that not only has a ton of agents but also a property management arm. Just some ideas to scale quicker.

What a timely topic since I've been listening to the Minimalist podcast as well. 

I used to pride myself in being able to pack all my belongings in a Jeep Cherokee and move to wherever my gut told me was the best place to be. This mobility mindset must have came from the Army since we had three duffle bags for 3 different environments. Jungle, Desert, Arctic. 

The day I bought a big house in a nice neighborhood was the worst day of my life. Fortunately, my ex got the house and I went back to house hacking with my kids. She got all the "stuff" and I was able to downsize. It was one of the best days of my life; I just didn't realize it at the time. 

My 2017 goal is to embrace minimalism while managing my portfolio of properties. Goodwill, CL and friends are going to have a field day with my stuff. As I hire out more tasks, all the tools I used to have will no longer be a necessity. The ones I need can be stored in various properties. 

From a money and time perspective, cash flowing rentals have been the key to my freedom. I can hire out things I no longer wish to do and never have to request time off to watch my kids sporting events. It makes my main job fun since I really don't need it but like the synergy of rentals and a specialized financial planning practice where I can choose my clients. 

I know a landlord who reminds me of Mr. Money Mustache. He bikes around town with some items in his backpack and owns a beater truck that he uses to run to his lake house. He heads to warmer climates in the winter by renting in various exotic locations. He has nailed minimalism in my opinion. 

The synergy between rentals and minimalism are definitely solid. Especially when you add in the tax benefits and freedom to hire out all the "stuff."

Optimize portfolio

You can't pick your family, but you can pick your tenants. 

Seriously, my Dad said I was making a big mistake investing in real estate when I first started. After getting to 50 units he told me he always wanted to get into real estate and my Mom wouldn't let him. He then said he was so proud of me. 

Be careful of naysayers. 

If you own the property in a LLC or a corporate entity, you have to hire an attorney in the State of Minnesota. Not sure how you took ownership. That being said, call some friends or other property investors you may know and ask if they know a good attorney.

If this is your first eviction, do not do this on your own. You have to follow an exact sequence of legal steps and if you don't, it will take longer. Even if the person does not have a lease, they have all the rights of a 30 day tenancy. 

On the bright side, you will learn a lot and it really isn't a big deal. Just part of the business of landlording. 

A good landlord reference is found on the attorney generals website. Here is the link http://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/Handbooks/LT/de...

Great resource for tenants and landlords a like.  You may wish to join the Minnesota Housing Association as well or for referrals for attorneys. http://www.mmha.com/

During the last financial crisis-the worst since the Depression of the 1930's-I wish I had more cash to pick up deals. That being said, I owned  64 cash flowing units and the only problem I ran into was the banks weren't lending. 

I also loaded up on as many units as I could leading up to the crash since the lending was light and the banks were throwing money at everybody. 

The real question you are asking is "Should I invest in real estate?"  Frankly, if you buy right and cash flow in a marktet where there is steady demand for quality rentals in decent neighborhoods, it is hard to go wrong. 

Keep in mind that banks don't lend during market crashes. If you wait for the next crash, assuming you called the last crash due to your pyschic powers to predict the future, you may have to pay cash for your purchase. 

I run over 100 units and still talk to each person on the phone before a showing.  It screens out the tire kickers. 

Over the years I've been streamlining the "pre-showing" and this is what has worked for me for both college students and young professionals.

1. Get a google voice number for all incoming calls. This helps me from having my cell phone blow up plus google voice sends a transcript of the voicemail via text and email. Having a separate phone number is a life saver and it is free.

2. In the ad, make sure you put your top 3 qualification requirements. I put minimum three times rent for income, decent credit and application fee of 35 for a comprehensive criminal and background check.

3. Post the ad on Zillow and other services that syndicate the ad. These services ask the tenants to list their estimated income, credit, etc. when they request a showing via email.

4. I collect a number of calls then schedule the group showing later. I also let the messages accrue and then return all the calls during lunch or after 5pm. I never schedule a showing unless I can speak with them over the phone since I like to interview them before scheduling the showing.

5. On my website application, it list all the requirements again. This way a person won't waste a $35 application fee. It also helps protect you from discrimination claims since you are screening based upon set guidelines for all classes.

Hope this helps!