All Forum Posts by: Joseph Delarosa

@Phil Begay

Sounds good.

Thank you

@Phil Begay

Hi Phil

I’m in Roswell, NM and buy property. If I can’t help you out I can find someone who will

Very casual Meet and Greet at Buffalo Wild Wings. 

@Mo Thomas I Use quickbooks online. I send the rent invoice on the last day of the month to the tenants. They then review and pay.  Tenants can pay with credit card if they need to. The good about quickbooks is that it is scale-able. I can tell who pays, when they viewed the invoice and by how many days its past due. Its helps for tenants that pay on the 1st and 15th. There is no confusion.  The funds go directly into my account. Easy and fast system to use system. Plus, my CPA can review my account anytime i have questions or need an update.

I've been using quickbooks online. It seems easy and straight forward. It also shows when your tenant views the invoice. 

If there is an easier way then I'd be open to ideas

Just putting this out to the mean machine. What kinda of computer do you use, and when you decide to upgrade what are you going to buy?

I have this crusty Sony VAIO from 2007 I think. She's running good, but I've never changed her oil, and I think its about time to put her down. I do have a wireless backup system that saves everything. Maybe I should switch to icloud?

What type of system/set up do ya'll use, and when you decide to upgrade what are your first changes?

@Brandon Copeland You're correct I do have and end game, but I'm not crystal clear on how to get there yet. I do appreciate the advice. It seems like I take one step forward then fall, get hit by a bus, and begin at the starting line again. The city planner has changed his answers 3 times now on what they require. I don't think he's being shady, but I actually think he really doesn't know. Since this is my first commercial deal I am way low on 2nd most valuable commodity (Knowledge). I am spending time online and in books trying to figure things out.

That AirBnBs tip is a genius idea. I'm definitely going to try and fit that into the mix after I get this property under my belt.

@Sean Walton You are spot one about the sprinkler system. It does need one and I know those don't come cheap. The 3rd floor addition is a great idea. The part of town this building is one of the better parts of the city. It has 3 bars within walking distances, tons of restaurants, and more. I believe its a great location. I've estimated that i can put (6) 2 bedroom apartments on the 3rd floor alone and charge between 1,300 and 1,500 each. That would leave the 1st completely free, or possibly do 6 more on the first floor, and with a 3rd story addition and 6 more units this building could be a real money maker. 

@Karen Schimpf Thanks for the info on the SBDC or Score. Great tip. I'm currently waiting on a reply. And thank you again for the tip about the SBA loan. It sparked a good tip from Brandon Copeland I"ve also been going back and forth with lenders. I'm still gathering all they requested. Also, I've been working on that permit. Its easier said than done, but slow progress is better than no progress. Thanks for helping with the next few steps forward

So the city planner has went into black-out drive. Meaning he was extremely motivated to help and excited about my plans the out of nowhere can't be reached or found. He did mention something about another "entity". Could or wouldn't say who it was or give anymore info. Regardless I'm still going to press forward with getting my ducks in a row, so when the opportunity presents itself I'll be able to strike.  

I've come across a property that has some amazing potential at a great price. Property is located in the middle of down town. Prime location of this area. It currently is zoned C3 and there are two non-profit business's and one for profit. 

The building itself is 2 story, approx 16,000sq/ft, on a corner lot, 3 entrances, elevator, 2 stair wells, and seems to be in decent shape. Asking $150,000. 

I met with the city developer recently and the first thing he asked me what my plans were for the building. (Lesson learned, never go to a meeting without a few strategies). I told him I had three idea. 

1. Turn it into a high end young professional apartment complex 

2. Lease it to a guy I know who wants to open a multi-beer tap bar. leave one of the current business's in place, and use the upstairs as high end execute offices.

3. To see how the city wanted to see the property developed.

His response. He wants to bring more people to the down town area after 5pm. Didn't say much else. He also would answer the million questions I had for him. We exchanged cards and he asked me to email him for further information when it was available.

I know there are a ton of politics involved, but my plan to move forward is this.

Get my architect, contractor, and broker involved in my initial inspection. Get an estimate for repairs, approximate value, and make a proposal with future plans.

I'm gearing this post towards an open discussion because this is advanced investing for me, and I don't know what I don't know. 

Austin Fruechting good advice. I appreciate that Andrew Johnson I've already closed on the 4 plex, rehabbed the last unit, and placed a tenant. Took about 3 weeks for everything. I paid cash for the SFH. I guess I should say I am going to pay cash because we are scheduled to close at the end of the month. Cash is an issue, but I'm don't know how thin I should spread myself. I'm going to leave 10% of the property in a reserve account for my emergency fund. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not, but that's what I'm going to do. Brian G. Today didn't go quite as planned, but some progress was made. The owner is asking $895k for the apartment complex with 68 units. It's in a decent neighborhood next to a high school and next year a Walmart is going up about a 1/2 mile down the road. Not exactly sure what that'll do to the value, but I think it'll be positive. With the investment I don't think they have kept the books very well. The RE agent said the owner was not able to provide a rent roll, past taxes, or a P&L worksheet. Basic numbers: Income- $34.750 mo (@100%) $ 417,000 annual Annual expense- $84.220 Potential income- $332,780 These are the only numbers that they've put out. They do have them itemized, but I haven't seen actual numbers. I don't even think they are in the same ball park as the real numbers. I don't know if I made a smart move or not, but I decided to knock on a few doors and ask about the area. Come to find out there are only 19 units rented, and 12 units flooded and have not been renovated. The out door pool hasn't been filled in 2 years and they are extremely unhappy with PM. I guess the apartment complex has gone down hill since the husband passed away, so just the wife is running it. I'm extremely skeptical about this property, but I won't discount it just yet.

So am I moving too fast, or is there such thing? I've been sitting on the back burner for about 3 years waiting for my opportunity and studying. I finally pulled the trigger on a 4 plex and today just signed a purchase a on a SFH. IMHO i got a killer deal. It's been less than 3 weeks and i have 5 doors. Tomorrow I am scheduled to tour a 68 unit apartment complex. It seems as though it's a target rich environment. I do my DD on every property I look at, but I don't want to get alligator eyes and bite off more than I can chew. Once I get the numbers on this apartment complex I'm probably going to be humbled once I ask the BP community what they think, but I look forward to it because that is when I learn the most. My question How fast have some of ya'll moved from where you started to where you are now, and how did you do it?