All Forum Posts by: Jenni Utz

Hi I would recommend UTZ Handyman & Remodeling. 

I would recommend Gene D'Amico Pest Services. He owns his own company and does an amazing job.

@Charles Situ a few things stand out to me about this. 1-If the listing agent helped you get a good deal on the property you just bought, I would be weary. They are supposed to be representing the seller and should never have given you information to make a "good deal" on the property. The fact that it was a double sided commission should have absolutely nothing to do with how they structure the deal. Commission is between agents, and should not be a factor in the contract. 

2. I understand that your PM may be busy. Especially if they are good at their job and also handle Real Estate transactions. If he truly is a gem and will help you build your portfolio, I would have an honest conversation with him. Maybe offer to pay him for his time to run the analysis of the properties- if the deal doesn't go through. If the deal does go through his time should be compensated in his commission. 

3. I have seen other Realtors show properties to people with little understanding of the rental market, and told the buyer what they think they could get for rent on the property. Once I got involved on the property management side and run my analysis, those numbers were off. Stick with a Realtor who does great Real Estate work, AND also solid knowledge on the rental market. 

I know a developer who wanted to buy a golf course from the City and they weren't selling. However, the City has had major water issues, and haven't allowed new development in quite some time because of the water issues. This developer was sitting on some land that had water access and he negotiated a trade for his water rights, in order to get the golf course land he wanted. 

I would suggest a light grayish/tan paint color for the house. Agreeable Gray is trending in the property management world. If you want the color to turn out in the proper shade, go to a reputable place and spend the extra money (somewhere like Sherwin Williams). Also, we usually get apartment grade carpet since it is cheaper, but upgrade the padding, so it still feels soft. I would paint all of the trim a bright white. What color is your counter top, and is that getting replaced? If your counter top will have some color in it, (grays, black specks, marble pattern, etc) I would go with white cabinets. If you have a little bit of money to play with, adding a back splash isn't that expensive and can really dress up the kitchen. 

What are your passions? Do you want to BRRR, fix and flip, invest in a syndication, etc?

@Darcy Reynolds, great question! Looking back, I would say the biggest advice I would give myself is to take the leap. I bought my first house when I was 25 and turned it into a rental by 27. I then bought another property and shortly thereafter a small apartment building, etc. The one thing I got hung up on was feeling like I didn't know enough, and feeling like I needed to learn just a little more before jumping in. In some regards this is true, however, I have always learned better by action. With that said, I would find someone who has done what you are looking to do, and act as your mentor through the first few transactions. I would also make sure you have enough money in reserves in case something goes wrong. 

A key factor into success in any area of your life is this: look around and see who are the 5 people you hang out with the most. Are they in positions you aspire to be in, can you learn from them, or are they holding you back? 

Finally, as a young female in a mostly male dominated industry, I was intimidated and felt like I didn't belong. Once I learned that I did belong, and built my confidence, nothing could stop me! I am now negotiating non-traditional deals, asking for sellers to hold the mortgage, starting into investment syndication, etc. The sky is the limit, when you believe in yourself.

Hi @Leatha this is a great question. And one that should be answered in a couple parts. Last year many were predicting some level of real estate shift. If you look at history trends we are overdo for a dip. In a buyers market you normally see more than 7 months of real estate inventory. For a Sellers Market you see less than 5 months of inventory. A neutral market is around 5-7 months of inventory. Currently, (at least in Maryland) our inventory is 1.9 months. This is an astounding number. There are more people looking to buy than there are houses for sale. If you look at these numbers alone, we are definitely in a sellers market. Houses are going for higher than list price and selling in record time. 

However, to add in the factor of Covid, AND the fact that we are overdo for a housing dip, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next several months. This is the time that the lump payments will be due on mortgages that were paused during Covid. That means people will need to come up with the FULL amount due from the past 3-4 months of payments (unless they worked out a payment plan with their lender). If people haven't properly saved, this could cause a large number of properties to go into delinquency and possibly foreclosure. 

The one thing I know for sure, is that when the housing market takes a dip, even during the recession of 2008, our property management/investment company did well. And the reason for that is people still need a place to live. So if properties are foreclosed, and those owners need to find somewhere to live, they will be looking at rentals. In my opinion, if you aren't on the high end or low end of the rental spectrum, you will fare well. On the high end, those tenants may choose to downsize, and on the low end, those tenants may move in with family/friends. In the middle is where you will pull the greatest target market for rental prospects. 

If you properly plan for the next dip, you will be ready to invest in additional rental properties, and find amazing deals!

@Paul Welden, I have done several of these loans and each time this was the case. 

@Jeremiah Fennell completely agree!