All Forum Posts by: Jeff Roth

Hi Matt from upstate New York-

You are interested in real estate investing and considering relocating. 

You are particularly interested in short-term and long-term rentals, promising ROI, and locations with a mix of affordability and growth opportunities.

Being willing to move and live in a part of a 1-4 unit property will help you get better financing, for sure, and require less down. This is a great way to go and you can keep buying properties like that every year or so.

Michigan, with it's Great Lakes, has many markets where short-term rentals do well as well as having many affordable markets for long-term rentals, ROI, and growth potential.

To Your Success!

Hi Lina from Texas-

Congratulations on your interest in investing in mid-term rentals and you are wondering how and where to get started.

I get this question frequently from investors.

Sometimes and investor is looking to keep their property cashflow positive as insurance and taxes have squeezed cashflow by turning units into mid-term or short-term rentals.

First off, ideally, the property will cashflow as a long-term rental should something disrupt the mid-term rental model.

You will also want to have the property be near where there would be a demand for mid-term rentals (hospitals, universities, research centers).

Monthly rents for mid-term rentals are about 20% (+/-) higher than unfurnished similar long-term rentals.

There are property managers that will manage mid-term rentals for you and I always advise my clients to use property managers to keep their investment as passive as possible and for compliance issues related to Fair Housing Laws and local regulations.

To Your Success!

Hi Jasmine-

Congratulations on being ready to turn your primary residence into a rental.

Your question is should you use a property manager or self-manage your property.

If there is enough positive cashflow or you can afford to pay a property manager, I always recommend doing so for the following reasons:

1. You want to make your investment as passive as possible and using a property manager allows you to do that. This is probably the thing that burns out people who self-manage more than anything.

2. You minimize your risk of violating Fair Housing Law or compliance issues using an experienced property manager.

3. An experienced property manager should minimize vacancy, increase income, and have connections with contractors and other professionals to manage your property well to maximize your return on investment.

To Your Success!

Hi Taylor-

You are looking to connect with private individuals who lend money on real estate deals and not looking to work with a broker but private individual lenders.

You asked where to post your deals to attract these private individual lenders.

Three thoughts on that:

1. Share what you are looking for and the deals you are working on with your network in person and on social media regularly.

2. On Facebook, there are real estate investor Pages for investors to talk about and share deals. If there is not one in your area, look for the closest biggest city or consider starting one for your area.

3. There are many local real estate investor groups or associations. Look for one in your area or the closest biggest city. Network in person, see if they have a publication where you can post your deals and what you are looking for, and if there is a larger annual conference for investors locally consider getting a vendor table to talk about your business and what you are looking for. If there is not a local real estate investor group, consider starting one.

To Your Success!

Hi Richard-

Congratulations on deciding to invest in your first investment property!

You have found a market out-of-state and have talked to an investor-friendly Realtor you met on Facebook that seems to check a lot of boxes for you and your goals.

You worry about making a good choice and how to complete your due diligence on this agent and opportunity.

All of my out-of-state buyers buy without ever having seen the property in person but I know they will at some point and want them to have a good experience so I frequently do FaceTime walkthroughs with them before buying and use a very comprehensive property inspector to avoid surprises. Look at this agent's public reviews and those of the team members they recommend. Ask in real estate investor groups on Facebook for this area if anyone has worked with this particular agent or ask them who they would work with and see if this agent's name comes up from the group. Also check the agent's license record in their State for any complaints. Asking for investor and tenant referrals is also reasonable.

To Your Success!

Hi Chris from the U.P. of Michigan.

Congratulations on deciding to get into real estate investing with your first Buy, Rehab, Rent, Re-finance, and Repeat or BRRRR and you are wondering where to start and who you should add to your team first.

It is good you have cash or cash equivalents to buy the property and complete the repairs.

As far as who to have on your team first, I would say an investor friendly Realtor who can help you find deals and introduce you to the rest of the team like a good property inspector to hopefully let you know about potentially expensive repairs early before buying the property so you can buy it well or not buy it at all. Related, you will want a contractor who is used to doing projects like this on schedule and on budget. Make sure you have the right property insurance while the property is being worked on and an investor friendly lender or local credit union can help you refinance or get a HELOC.

To Your Success!

Hi Anthony-

You asked about the best ways to find off-market deals for your in-laws to buy and move into and you are focussed on the Santa Barbara, CA area which I have been to and it is gorgeous.

It kind of reminds me of an Ann Arbor on the ocean. :)

Anyway, I like your strategy of driving and looking for houses in need of repair and sending handwritten letters and contacting rentals for the reasons you gave. Also consider contacting houses that look vacant, simply door knocking in a neighborhood that you are interested in and talking to the homeowners in a genuine way, For Sale By Owners is another potential, using an App like Nextdoor or Facebook pages/groups related to local real estate and just telling the group what you are looking for, contractors also know about houses coming on the market soon and so do property management companies, and finally garage sales are a good way to find off-market properties as people prepare to sell.

To Your Success!

Hi Randall-

Congratulations on buying a rental property well back in 2020.

I am sorry to hear the property is now cashflow negative $200 a month.

Your question is should you sell or continue to keep it with the negative cashflow.

Depends on your personal goals and if being negative $200 a month plus any unexpected repairs or vacancies is affordable to you, but if you can solve the negative cashflow by turning the property into a furnished mid-term rental, for example, your future self may thank you.

To Your Success!

Hi Shawn-

Congratulations on starting out on your real estate investing career.

You have a question about whether it is good to have your real estate license or not as an investor and you are leaning toward multifamily investing.

I personally think having your real estate license is helpful as an investor.

Having your real estate license allows you to work with other investors to help them build their portfolios which helps expand your network while being productive, you can research market value more effectively, find out about deals before they are listed, and of course it allows you to collect the commission on purchasing any listed property.

To Your Success!

Hi Anthony-

You currently live in NJ and are looking for out-of-state locations that are affordable with strong rental potential.

I would look at a market like Lansing, MI. You can get a duplex for around $150,000 or less. It is the State capital so there is always economic development happening which drives job growth and demand for housing. There are section 8 opportunities if you are interested in part of the rent being guaranteed by the government. Finally, the cost of living is relatively low which makes maintenance costs lower for the labor.

To Your Success!