All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Bethel

Hi all, I have a commercial space for lease and I am going to be getting a for lease sign made.  I am curious what sort of things the BP community would put on the signage.  I assume things like square footage and my phone number are obviously required.  I am just looking for other ideas and suggestions from you all who are more creative and experienced than I at this.  

@Benjamin Timmins@John Arendsen@Ryan McGowan@Robert T.  Thanks guys for the input.  All of you have given me somethings to think about.  

Hi all.  I currently have a contract and am in due diligence on a foreclosed commercial property that was a popular deli/sandwich restaurant.  It still has almost all of the equipment as it looks like the owner cleaned up and closed the doors.  I do not have a desire to be an operator of a restaurant and my plan is to lease the space.  To do a cosmetic rehab it will cost around $30k.  But in order to get it back to restaurant ready it will require several other fixes and upgrades to meet health inspection requirements. I do not know yet exactly how much this would cost but my thoughts are $10-$25k.  

My question for everyone is do I repair and update and lease as a restaurant?  Or do I sell the used equipment, rehab and target a broader type of tenant?  The building is capable of being split into 2-3 units and would obviously cost above $30k to rehab because of the framing, wiring, plumbing etc of the separate units.  

The reason I am having some trouble with this decision is the dynamics of the market the property is located in.  It is a very small town. Most of the residents are low-middle class(20k-45k income) or they are 2nd home owners and retirees.  It is a tough market for a restaurant as well as most types of non professional business.  Another concern is that the property is set up as a deli style establishment so other restaurant concepts may not work without changing the layout.  For example, a Japanese steakhouse most likely would require some different features and/or layout.

Maybe I am jumping the gun and overthinking all of this but any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

@Ping W.  I agree with @Nicole A. above.  I would not count on the perfect tenant(the couple) showing up.  You said they would be looking at other houses all day.  From my experiences tenants like that are not necessarily looking for the right terms on the lease but the right house for them. I have lost several prospective tenants not because I have a bad ugly rental but because my rental did not match their needs and wants.  

I could be totally off base here but if a family of 8 wants to rent your house I would assume it has a pretty good amount of space.  In my mind I am picturing like a 4 bedroom or more?  I don't see a family of 2 having the same criteria of the family of 8.  

Therefore, I would not place my bets on the couple being interested in your house.  If you feel the family of 8 meets your criteria go for it.  Maybe both families are the wrong fit.  For me personally, I would rather have no tenant than a bad tenant.  

Awesome Sauce @Josh Emory.  Keep up the good work!  I love success stories as well @Kyle Godbout.

@Cristian Yepez I agree with @Kyle Penland you should use this time to make and save money as well as learn as much as you can about REI. There is tons of info and educational tools on BP. If you are a getting a 4 year degree you have plenty of time to learn, set goals and build an executable plan to where when you graduate you will be ready for day one of success. When it comes to a job during this time you could consider working in some sort of real estate field. Maybe working for a property manager, realtor or agency, construction company, or insurance agency.

If I could go back to starting college over knowing what I know now.  This is what I would do.     

@Cort Green I currently have no experience with multifamily properties so I do not feel it is appropriate for me to give advice on that.  I do think that every individual is different so I think you and your wife are the only two who can make the decision and ultimate judgement on whether the 14 unit is a good place to start.  When it comes to starting big I think that is a good thing.  To me its like setting goals.  If your goals are small you will have small rewards.  If your goals are big you will have big rewards.  Just my 2 cents though.  

@Jack Tucker I am not criticizing @Pancham G. or your success story. From what I have read you both have done a wonderful job exposing an unfair advantage in the Athens area.  Athens is a great small city with a lot of atmosphere and school spirit to say the least. I am sure there are tons of reasons other than football to make a rental marketable in the area.  As you pointed out.  

The previous joke I made was not to offend anyone.  It was more for an inward laugh.  As I know from the area I live in which is majority UGA, UT or UNC fans.  But the UGA fans every year get overly excited about their team.  IMO the SEC is tops in the country.  But a win is a win and a loss is a loss.  Sorry DAWGS!!!  

@Mindy Jensen I would love to see more reads on small town and rural niches/strategies.  It seems that most bloggers are in heavily populated areas where there is more need for housing and the markets tend to be hotter.  What about the small towns with 1-2 stoplights, 1 public school system, 1 grocery store, no wal-mart, etc.  There are opportunities that exist in these towns and it would be nice to here from ladies and gents that focus and succeed in these areas. 

Personally,  I love the posts on analyzing properties and performing due diligence.  Whether it is single family or multifamily.  This is where I tend to lack confidence in my abilities.  

With that being said, I love the BP Blog and have got tons of helpful education from most of the posts I have read there.  Keep doing what you are doing! @Joshua Dorkin@Brandon Turner and the rest of the team....Great Job and Great Website!!!

@Pancham G.Sounds like you should have bought the condo in Tuscaloosa or Knoxville! LOL As the Bulldogs season seems to be falling out beneath them. In all seriousness it sounds like you have a great model for success as I know UGA fans are pretty diehard. My brother is one and I know a family who owns season tickets that fly up from the Bahamas. So there is definitely a market for your home game weekend condo rental.  Congrats on your Success!