All Forum Posts by: John Kunick

Hi Tyler, I've been fortunate to build a nice portfolio of SFH's in Tulsa area. So, I can only provide direct input on this market. But I have colleagues that own in OKC and, from when we compare notes, there are a lot of similarities (stable markets, modest appreciation, really nice cash flow, rents are rising, etc..). If you want to PM me, I will be happy to relay my experiences with both building and then running a large portfolio of SFH's in Tulsa and can let you know that you can expect. I will say that many of my out-of-state friends can't believe how much more affordable and lucrative Tulsa is compared to other states.

Guy, an interesting read, but I totally disagree that the solution is more government regulation or  oversight of rental properties - unless they are part of section 8 and are therefore offering a service in exchange for income.

IMO, the answer to your question of "When would you know....." is more based on personal integrity and ethics than a hard or fast "model".  Many years ago, we had a real estate investor in Tulsa, who was so motivated by greed that he did some very unethical investing.  Like Mr. Gatley, he ended up losing everything in bankruptcy.  The stories his tenants told, while not as bad as this article states, were still pretty sad.  

As I was interested in starting my SFH business, I actually interviewed this guy (a couple of years before his empire crumbled) to find out how he was able to build what seemed like a nice empire. He told me how he was doing it. My question back to him was "how do you sleep at night and also deal with your conscience"?

Fortunately, I have built a nice collection of SFH in Tulsa, but I learned what not to do primarily by doing the opposite of what this guy did. While I'm not trying to come off as a hero, I do think that rental properties is not just about the physical assets you own, but more about the service you offer to your tenants. Unfortunately, there are tenants that will try to take advantage of that approach.

One last thing to offer, I have personally found the media tends to demonize landlords and make it seem like all tenants are victims.  The Tulsa World recently did an expose on the high level of evictions  in Tulsa County which very much had that theme of victimhood.  So, I called the author of the article and he definitely had no idea what landlords deal with and admitted he had only done one side of his research when writing his article.  To his credit, he did a follow-up piece talking about the causes of evictions and that included some references to "not paying your rent means the landlord can't afford to let you stay in the house or to keep the house in top notch condition".

Would enjoy reading anybody else's thoughts on this question.  Thanks for asking it!

Hi Matt, I don't have any experience with the Bixby app, but do manage all of my SFH (got a bunch). I've got ~8 years experience doing it and have found things that work well and some that don't. I do have a handyman that helps me do repairs and he actually takes calls directly from the tenants to cut out the middle man (me). For me, I prefer to do my own management as no one has my best interest at heart like I do. That is not to discredit property managers as they offer a valuable service in cases where you either can't or don't want to manage yourself. There are definitely pros and cons, but for me the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

Levi, thanks.  I have reached out to Hunter Warfield and will see how they respond.  We are okay if we don't collect much, but our bigger goal is to have a negative rating of the tenant to try to avoid future negative situations for other landlords.

What good would sending mail to him be if it is simply forwarded?  How would I be able to get a small claims court to declare a judgment or get a collection agency to collect?

So, I've been fortunate over the years and have never had a tenant vanish.  But, this past week, I encountered my first.  Sad thing is there was no warning.  This tenant had paid like clock-work for over a year.  Then, he lost his job and got a month behind in rent.  He was communicating with me and then went radio silent.  Apparently, he moved out of state and did not leave a forwarding address.  So, any suggestions on potentially using a collection agency?  I would go to small claims court except, from what I understand, I have to have a forwarding address?  I would like to figure out a way to have this hit his credit report so other landlords don't have to encounter this with him in future.  Would appreciate any advice or ideas!

 Hi Cynthia, first of all, I agree with most of what you have read on this thread.  Full disclosure: Tracy Streich and I are tennis friends, but have no business dealings, and he knows what he's talking about since he has a broader portfolio than I do.  

But, I do have an extensive portfolio in South Tulsa and have done extremely well with them.  I did venture to North Tulsa last year and did well, but not well enough to off-set the extra hassles that come with that level of house/tenant.  That is a personal preference, IMO, but I know I can make more than enough in South Tulsa with minimal headaches.  Therefore, I am in process of converting my North Tulsa properties to other less headache investments.

Overall, Tulsa still offers tremendous opportunities, but don't expect significant appreciation of sales price.  For that reason, my strategy has been buy and hold for long-term superior cash flow.  On the opposite side, don't expect to see significant depreciation.  These markets just don't have the price volatility that you see in more coastal markets.

So, yes, Tulsa is a GREAT (not just good) rental market.  But, it all depends on what your objectives are and what you are willing to put up with.  Like I tell everyone who asks me for advice:  know your objectives and know your tolerance for hassles.

Best of luck!

 No, what I mean is there any way for investors to profit from helping bail out students or from picking up the pieces?  For example, investors could easily make money by buying up distressed housing after the stupidity of early 2000's.....  I don't see any opportunities, but just wondering if others might?

 Good points, which support the buy and hold strategy (that's all i do).  But, do you see any chance of avoiding the specific student loan collapse?  If it does collapse, do you see any specific "non-real estate" opportunities for investors?

Aaron, yes there are FHA loans without significant equity. But, as you mentioned, they are not the majority of loans. Compare that to 2000's, when people were getting not only zero down loans, but actually 110% loans. It was like a feeding frenzy with both government and mortgage lenders (as well as credit rating agencies) putting lots of fuel on the fire. Have you seen the movie "Big Short"?