All Forum Posts by: Jonathan H.

Thanks for your thoughts. It's helpful to know that these things can be negotiated. It seemed very odd to me that they would keep part of the security deposits as well, since those are meant to pay for repairs rather than to be profit for the owner/manager.

We are investing in the greater Seattle area and have been interviewing property managers. I've been surprised that many managers say they will collect AND retain all late fees, pet fees, as well as 50-100% of any retained security deposits! All of this on top of charging 8-10% of monthly rent and up to 1 month's rent when a lease is signed.

Are these aggressive fee structures the norm for property managers in your area? Do you have suggestions for what items to negotiate and what is reasonable?

Thanks.

Hi Alex, we are just buying our first multifamily property in Tacoma. Happy to connect and share notes over what we're seeing out there as investors going forward.

Hi all,

We are acquiring a triplex in Washington State which has an extra 20'x12' space. It has historically been used as a storage room for the owner, but we would like to repurpose this room in a way that increases NOI.

Unfortunately, local zoning rules do not allow for this to become a studio/fourth dwelling unit. It also cannot be leased out as a self storage space.

Do you have any other ideas for a value-adding use of this space?

Thanks.

Hello,

We have been looking closely at some 2-4plex properties in Tacoma. Do any of you have recommendations for good property managers there?

Thanks guys for all the warm welcome. The REIA meet-up looks great - I'll definitely try to make it to one soon.

@John Casmon I've been noticing that it's difficult to find deals that will yield a double digit IRR even on paper, unless I am willing to bet on above-average appreciation. Even cap rate math seems challenging (<5%) given how high property taxes are here (and I'm hearing they will continue to increase!). For being levered 4:1, I would argue that a 5-9% IRR isn't terribly attractive relative to other asset classes. This leads me to think that the market is getting a bit speculative, to your point, if financial investors are chasing price appreciation. Is this in-line with what you're seeing in multis?

Investing in commercial buildings via syndicates sounds interesting to me. Do you have any suggestions for where I can learn more, or is this the kind of thing that I get involved in through things like the local meet-ups?

Hello everyone,

My name is Jonathan and I recently moved to Chicago for a new job as an analyst in the investment management industry. I spend all day looking at public investments in the equity and fixed income markets, but am interested in real estate as an investment vehicle for my personal portfolio. I've read several of the BiggerPockets guides and think multi-family properties would suit my goals well. That being said, I am still very new to real estate as an asset class and hope to learn a lot more going forward.

Looking forward to chatting with many of you!