All Forum Posts by: Jin Zhang

Daniel, 

Probably going to have to get a bit creative or find off market deals. Our market is tough to buy standard rentals and cash flow. I'm from western WA but currently live outside of Portland. REI became way more accessible and fun for me when I started investing out of state.

I have multiple rentals for what I could've bought one place for. We're turning our primary into a rental in the next year or two to take advantage of the sweet appreciation. But I'll continue to primarily invest remotely. 

Quote from @Jin Zhang:

Quote from @James Carlson:

@Brandon Elliott-Pandey

That's a great story. We have MTRs in Denver and Colorado Springs. We like the model so much, my wife/business partner wrote a few books about them. (The latest is aptly named Erin's Guide to Midterm Rentals.) I've always been interested in getting synced with insurance companies for the above reason. That's a great connection.

We had a similar experience with our 4br/2ba SFH in Colorado Springs. We bought to live in just before Covid. We moved out two years later and got college kids in from nearby Colorado College. We initially paid their utilities, but they paid medium-term rental rates but stayed for 9 months. We repeated that with another set of college kids the following year.

Then this year, we were able to bump up our rents and have a family staying in there. This time they pay utilities and the furnished MTR rates. It's just over $1,000 in cash flow after all expenses. Now ... we bought our house in 2019 when prices were lower and -- most importantly -- rates were crazy low, so this is more difficult to replicate, but the numbers still work, if not as well.

Thanks for sharing.

 Hi James, Thank you for sharing your experience here! How do you normally find renters from insurance companies? Could you share more about it? Thanks!

 One such company is ALE Solutions.  Here's their page to register your property:
https://www.alesolutions.com/r...

Quote from @Jin Zhang:

Quote from @Allen Duan:

There are many stories in this section of the forums. We're currently at 20 doors we manage as MTRs in Los Angeles. It's a different perspective since I'm not the owner of the properties, but the demand and rental rates are great. To give you an idea, I'm confident in recommending any 2 bedroom or smaller units should be set up as a MTR instead of a LTR almost anywhere in LA. Happy to share more if you have specific questions =)

 Hi Allen, Thank you for sharing your experience here! I am curious who are your renters? 

In order of most common to least common: travel nurses, families having their homes repaired or renovated, people visiting their family for an extended stay, groups traveling for work together (often for construction jobs), people moving to LA for the first time and still searching for where they want to live.

Quote from @Michael Foss:

Good afternoon! I was hoping to get some advice on Single Family Rental investing in the greater Tampa area.  I am seeking homes in the $250-350K range and would love some advice on neighborhoods and expected yields when investing in this market.  Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance! -Michael 

As LTRs and unfurnished, you can expect around a "0.7-1.0% rule".  A couple factors that will really impact your bottom line will be 1) flood insurance 2) home insurance and 3) HOAs.  Vacancy rates are going to be best in Pinellas and Hillsborough but much of manatee and Pasco counties are still really good.  

I would be happy to help further if you want to dm me some more specific questions and I can give you more specific direction based on your goals and current situation.  

@ray above is an excellent lender too that I'd recommend to anyone to get some rate quotes.

@Brandon Elliott-Pandey

That's a great story. We have MTRs in Denver and Colorado Springs. We like the model so much, my wife/business partner wrote a few books about them. (The latest is aptly named Erin's Guide to Midterm Rentals.) I've always been interested in getting synced with insurance companies for the above reason. That's a great connection.

We had a similar experience with our 4br/2ba SFH in Colorado Springs. We bought to live in just before Covid. We moved out two years later and got college kids in from nearby Colorado College. We initially paid their utilities, but they paid medium-term rental rates but stayed for 9 months. We repeated that with another set of college kids the following year.

Then this year, we were able to bump up our rents and have a family staying in there. This time they pay utilities and the furnished MTR rates. It's just over $1,000 in cash flow after all expenses. Now ... we bought our house in 2019 when prices were lower and -- most importantly -- rates were crazy low, so this is more difficult to replicate, but the numbers still work, if not as well.

Thanks for sharing.

There are many stories in this section of the forums. We're currently at 20 doors we manage as MTRs in Los Angeles. It's a different perspective since I'm not the owner of the properties, but the demand and rental rates are great. To give you an idea, I'm confident in recommending any 2 bedroom or smaller units should be set up as a MTR instead of a LTR almost anywhere in LA. Happy to share more if you have specific questions =)

@Dennis Morris I have managed my own Travel Nurse SFH and have helped clients purchase multi families specifically for the purpose of renting to Travel Nurses. My clients who recently closed on the duplex are getting very good returns, and better than LTR. Knowing the right area of our market to buy in is crucial because we can be a block by block area. Typically we are looking in sold "A and B" neighborhoods within 10-15 minutes from our hospital corridor, or have easy highway access. Your COC goals are doable. Just remember that there will be upfront expenses with furnishing the property as well. Not just your down payment. I recommend smaller 1-2 bed units which are cheaper to furnish, and fit the TN lifestyle. They don't generally need larger apartments unless they are traveling with their family.

Quote from @Chris Kreslins:

Hello, I'm new to investing, and with the current prices against current rents, I'm finding it difficult to get properties to cash flow. As far as I know, I am pretty thorough with the calculators. Is it just me?  Or is it the current state of the market? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Chris.
You're not alone- I'm seeing quite a few posts reflecting concern about cash flow, now that we are not in the crazy climb market we were experiencing up to 6 months ago.

I have the opposite perspective. Right now is the best opportunity to buy cash flow (STR's and LTR's) properties, that I have seen since 2009. Amazing inventory hitting the market, great buying prices and terms. My clients (and my own purchases) that have more recently closed escrow are getting strong bookings/occupancy and are pacing for cash on cash returns around 20%-38%. As long as you have it dialed in and use a proven system it's not hard to get great returns.

No strings, if I can point you in the right direction, let me know.