All Forum Posts by: Jobie DeVinney-Walsh

While doing research on where to find prospects to buy my properties, I ran across this app: Propstream - web site 

https://trial.propstreampro.com/reg. Haven't had time to play with it yet but there is a YouTube on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJfu6eqdATY&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1d_j8vm6_RJZFOt0dG1F6MlK3YMmgn5rq2937_pw7h0gJ3qt0AVBWXSIs.

This may be only listing of property investors, but I thought I would pass it along.

The realtor set the price using comparisons of similar properties in the area. Their told me they couldn't sell properties that had tenants. 

Thanks

My Entrepreneurship professors stressed “Have an exit plan.” That really stuck with me…and I did. But I failed to “work it.”

My husband and I had three rental units in Charleston, WV. Our exit plan – when we were ready to kick back and relax, we would sell them. Sounds reasonable and simple– right? Wrong.

A year ago we put the properties in the hands of a realtor. We thought they would handle everything and the properties would soon be sold.

My husband passed away in May. That’s when I discovered the flaws in our plan.

Contracting with a realtor was our first mistake: no matter how good the realtor is, they are in the business if selling homes to be primary residence, not as investment properties. And that group tend not to be interested in property that has been rented.

So, since I am a marketer (retired) I have decided that I would handle marketing the properties on my own. That’s when I found my next, and biggest mistake.

I’m 4 hours away from the property. So, if I successful and get interested buyers, who’s going to show the property, if needed? Who’s going to handle the closing, etc? Who’s a good attorney in the area to do that? I don’t have a clue.

I’ve spent the last few years just surfing the Forums on Bigger Pockets, when I had time. If I had that spent time using this platform to make connections and being more engaged, I probably would have people I could ask for advice.

Lesson to pass along – no matter how old or young you are, plan an exit strategy that includes building a network of knowledgeable folks. Because, trust me, when you are dealing with a loss – whether it is a spouse or partner or your health – you definitely need people who will take your hand and help you through it.

I need to sell my 2 rental properties in Charleston.

My husband recently passed away and I am overwhelmed dealing with our business, our home and settling out his affairs. If I can get these two house sold, it will be one thing not weighing on me.

The houses have been in the hands of realtors in Charleston for three years (at different times), with not a nibble. So I'm taking on the task to see what I can do. Here's my plan (retired marketing professor method) and I would love your feedback.

1. I plan to hire a firm to do a direct marketing campaign to real estate investors - a series of 6 postcard mailings.

2. I will post on various REI Facebook Groups in the area and national groups.

3. I'll create a videos about the properties noting the pros and cons of each one and post it on our company web site.

4. And of course I'll use Bigger Pockets.

Have I missed anything? Is anything not worth the trouble? Suggestions and ideas welcome.

We own three rental houses in Charleston, which we are getting ready to sell. As a professor of marketing (retired) I started by doing some research to determine the "attractiveness" of the market, What I found is that Charleston has a higher than average Rental to Owner percent (around 46% of all residences are rented). The slight upward trend of residential sales (pre-Covid) were homes in the $250,000 and up. This tells me that there is a population in Charleston whose income doesn't support saving for a down payment to buy a home so the rental market is projected to stay high for an extended period of time. 

Our tenants have, in most part, stayed in the houses for 5 to 7 years and have no interest in moving. Since it is costly to replace a tenant, that's a plus.

Hope this wasn't to "lecturie".

Lots of information here, guys, Thanks.

In all fairness, I want to be clear - 

1.) the Property Manager went to visit the property when the 2nd month rent came due and wasn't paid; 

2.) since our tenant had a terminal diagnosis, we asked the PM to give them some flexibility. However, her parents, who lived with her were instructed, in writing, that they MUST let us know that there were issues. If they did that, we waved the late fee. On a couple of occasions, I believe they did that.

3.) The tenant lived in that house 3 years. They lived in another house we owned for a year, but when her condition deteriorated and she needed her parents to move in to help, we offered another house we owned that had a finished basement with two bedrooms, full bath, kitchenette. 

4.) A year ago (Oct of 2018) we found the house in deplorable condition. The PM told us that was grounds for eviction. However, we didn't feel right to put a dying woman, her children and care-giver parents out on the street. That's why we offered to pay for a monthly cleaning service. At our request, the PM agreed to keep an eye on the situation. 

Our PM doesn't do any repairs. They let us know when a repair is needed and we tell them to send one of their people up or we find someone. Unfortunately, we get complaints from tenants that they wait months before the PM responds to a call about a problem. Consequently the tenants call us first. We have our own team of contractors we call when necessary.

If a PMs sole job is to collect rent, then a pre-paid self addressed envelop is a whole lot cheaper than the almost $100 per house we currently pay. (Apologies to all PMs who do a good job watching the properties in their care.)

We fully intend to fire this PM. I'm turning to you to help me determine if we contract with another firm and what to look for. I doubt that we will pursue legal relief since it can be argued that our compassionate treatment may be a contributing factor.  

One final point: One of our houses is surrounded by trees. We asked the PM to send someone up there a couple of times to clean the gutters. They claimed they were doing that. It cost us about $2000 to replace an outside wall that collapsed due to water overflowing the gutters and draining down the wall for months - even years. We should have learned then that we couldn't depend on them.

(Besides giving me your great advice, I truly appreciate that this forum gives me space to vent!)

Since we live 4 hours away from our properties, we have a property management firm.

A year ago we personally inspected the properties prior to putting them on the market for sale. We found the condition of one house alarming. Every room was extremely cluttered with trash and were filthy. We asked the management firm to address this situation and to make regular visits to ensure the house was clean. We even offered to pay for a monthly cleaning service.

The tenants moved out this summer without notice. (Due to a medical situation we were aware of, although it wasn’t right, it is understandable.) They left furniture, clothes, trash- everything – which we paid to have hauled away. We also hired an exterminator since every room was infested with cockroaches and other bugs. Our painter found that there was food left in the refrigerator...and the tenant moved out 3 months ago.

Are we out of line to be upset with the management firm for not inspecting on the property, allowing it to get in such a state? Is it normal for the management firm to do a periodic walk through of the property to check the condition of the house and the mechanical systems so problems can be address before they get too bad?

Dylan,

If you are still looking, I have three houses for sale in Charleston. Two of the three have tenants. The other just became empty and has been cleaned and prepped for rental. Let me know.

May, I love the way you think. As a retired marketing executive and professor of marketing, I've always advocated thinking outside the box. 

I'll talk to my realtor, who would have to implement it, since we don't live in the area.