All Forum Posts by: Jeremiah B.

I haven't - largely for the reasons listed above. But now we are significantly below market rental rates - over 30% on one - and that's a lot of money left on the table. I can't help but think I went wrong somewhere...

In the future, I plan to review rent ever 2-3 years with LT tenants, and bump up rent small amounts keeping them ~15% below market.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

This is bad advice for a pro, but was HUGE for me as a rookie. My initial reaction was to over-manage and try and save on every single repair/upgrade/etc. Simply put - it wasn't worth it.

You will have expenses. You will make mistakes. You will learn, and you will improve. Just keep the rent fair, the place in good working condition. Be respectful. Be fair. Be firm. And for the love of all that is holy - do it! But don't sweat the small stuff.

I had a similar experience recently - though I was fortunate enough to be in-town.

The PM is a nice guy who was adequately responsive; and we tried to be nice and patient, and made the mistake of staying with him longer than we should (vacant for 4 months). However, the questionable management that we saw when the place was vacant continued and they made several mistakes - including one major mistake on the lease. All told, we figure that the poor management cost us ~4K.

We fired him last week.

IMO - you MUST trust your PM to do right by you. If you don't - it's probably time to move on.

I've never purchased in cash, but my perception from the sidelines is that you could get a SFR for around 3-5% less if you pay cash. Is that accurate?

I know that I'm about 12 months late to this discussion, but can one pay cash for a buy-and-hold, and then refi immediately after closing? What would the disadvantages of that be?

Good topic - and I'm surprised at the responses. I expected this to be a list of 50K cars.

I work in corporate america and do REI on the side with 2.5 rentals - though most of our net worth is tied up in more traditional investments such as a 401K/IRA/etc.

I drive a 2008 Chevy Malibu (paid 16,500) and my wife drives a 2011 CRV (paid 23,000). The plan is to keep these for 7-10 years, though I'll admit that I'm already looking over the fence for my new car. I will also admit that i feel guilty about that after reading this thread.

Anna Z.

I'm a small fish in a big sea, and I am yet to purchase a turnkey (but I hope to purchase my first in about 6-12 months), but I believe that turnkey is *not* a good first investment.

I only own a few, but I have learned a ton from owning and setting up rentals. I learned about PMs which is a huge point (fee structure, services and who provides them, ad strategy and resources, etc.) - and made some mistakes. I learned about market rent and rehabs - and made some mistakes. I learned about repairs and vacancies - and made some mistakes. I learned about price vs value vs worth and continue to make mistake mistakes. And I'm sure that I'll run into significant tenant problems here before too long...

Anyhow, after owning a rental for 5 years, I just now feel ready to do the due diligence to purchase a turnkey property. If I had tried to do so 5 years ago, I would have been in over my head, and likely fallen for one of the many shoddy companies.

With all of that said, I had the luxury of setting up the rentals in my home market. I see that you're in SF so maybe that's not a viable option for you.

*shrugs*

Nick Breslin

Welcome to BP.

I'm a small-time, part-time investor in Portland as well, focusing on single family houses (closing on #3 this month!), though I have no plans to make it my FT gig anytime soon.

First - Jeff S. is right; Portland is tough-going and would be difficult to be a successful FT investor. IMO, I think the issues are:
1-lack of a wholesale pipeline. As far as I can tell, there is simply not much of a wholesale market.
2- Lack of distressed inventory. Sure, there are SS and REOs, but even though tend to be a in decent shape. You can get a SS below market, but only by a few %.
3- Too small of a difference between pre- and post-repair value. This is the big one for me...

That's not to say that it couldn't be done, just that there are probably easier markets out there.

With all of that said, if you want to go this route, I'd be happy to grab coffee with you to chat (I work in NW gear Good Samaritan Medical Center). I don't have the expertise to mentor you or provide any mind-blowing insights, but would be happy to talk some thing through with you.

Jeremiah

I'd say that REI is a hobby for me - though to Jon's point, stocks were a hobby for me a while ago. I work FT, make decent money, and have Real Estate as the 'fun' part of my retirement plan :)

Tips are easy: First - find people you trust! I don't mean that they are nice or that you would let them watch your kids - find experts who are also professionals. I have a real estate agent, PM, and mortgage guy who I trust - and that makes the process... enjoyable.

Second - don't over-invest. This is not your job, so you don't need to take risks like it is.

And third - know thyself. What is your plan? What do you want in a rental? What do you believe? etc.

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