All Forum Posts by: John Daley

Welcome, Jordan.  Sounds like you've got a game plan in place and that's huge.  I always tell people its better to take your time and not rush into something, but at the same time many of us who tend to over analyze need to set goals and push ourselves a little bit to take the 'leap'.  All the best to you and happy hunting!

Great start, Chris!  The hard part is finding those deals on a consistent basis.  But I applaud your vision and think you're moving in the right direction.  Welcome to BP.

There are a lot of factors involved in estimating future ARV and, as a Realtor and investor, I've seen that the best teacher is experience. Unfortunately, most small residential investors don't have the chance to get a good amount of first hand experience before they put their own money at risk. But that's just part of the game that full time investors realize and accept. You do your best, make your best guess based on your knowledge and experience, and make the offer. It's just reality that not all deals will turn out exactly as you had hoped...some better, some worse. I also tend to over analyze, but at some point you just have to make your best educated guess, give yourself some cushion, and go for it.

Most any bank will lend to an LLC...but no bank I know of will lend to an LLC without your personal guarantee. At least not for typical residential investing.

I would lean on your network of contacts (wholesalers, real estate agents, etc) and put them to work to find you a deal.  I'm not sure exactly how you're finding the houses you make offers on, but let someone else do the work and bring you something that works where they can also get a piece of the action.  You may not get quite the 'buy' you were looking for, but you also didn't spend 7 months making 50 offers with no result.  I would rather pay someone a fee to bring me a deal than spend dozens or hundreds of hours trying to find one for myself.

Also, your idea of what makes financial sense might be a bit unrealistic for the current market.  So if you want to keep buying and investing (most successful investors I know invest in every market), you have to adjust to the current market.

My units are north of 64th st, closer to 56th and Blue Ridge.  I have not had any negative experiences due to the location and no reason to discourage anyone from buying in these areas.  As for returns, I do not necessarily have a set cash on cash return criteria.  I analyze each deal independently and as long as I can buy it and have instant equity and adequate cash flow, it works for me.  The more units you can have other people pay off for you, the better.

That certainly is a strong, sweeping generality for a title.  Hm.  It's usually better to stay away from those unless you're hoping someone will prove you wrong.  Because usually those kinds of statements are.  Unless you mean that it's dead for you.  Or in a certain area or market or price range.  Even then you better prepare to be surprised because there is probably someone out there doing the exact thing you said couldn't be done.

Buy and hold is very much alive here in KC.  Be patient and network and the deals will appear.

As mentioned, Raytown is a relatively stable and predictable area, as far as property values go.  It varies by area, as does every other suburb, but for it's price point it is generally a good place to find cash flowing rentals without getting into the rough stuff.  I have a couple in that area and would not hesitate to buy more, as long as the numbers work.  So I wouldn't avoid it, but don't count on strong or aggressive appreciation as you analyze the deals.  But there are certainly deals to be had.

Property management is a tricky business and it is difficult to find quality, top notch service in an industry that most investors are trying spend as little as possible to get the job done.  To most investors, property management is just another expense.  That being said, it is difficult to run a business when your client's first concern is their returns and paying you as little as they can to get the job done.

There are good ones out there, but the one I use and would have recommended has just decided that there's not enough money in residential management and is now focusing solely on commercial property management.  So not only can I not recommend them, I now have to take the long and painful journey of finding a good one for myself. 

At this point I am seriously considering starting my own PM company so I can do it right.  It sounds like a lot of work and, while painful and stressful...probably better in the long run for my long term buy and hold investment needs.  Unfortunately, if you are not local to your rentals that's not really an option. 

I apologize for the long post...it doesn't really help you out at all.  Guess I'm just in the same boat and trying to find the best course of action.  Happy hunting.

And remember, in real estate...CASH IS KING!