All Forum Posts by: J. Martin

Thanks for jumping in @Account Closed . I was interested to hear your perspective, having had a good year in 2013. It sounds like allocating time is a common theme among BP members .. along with sometimes being more firm about your opinion with your partner(s)

Maybe another lesson here is to try to have a backup team of people you can trust that you can outsource jobs too when your main people are too busy. Sort of like a back-up / succession plan. I identified the most key people in my real estate business. Right now, they are my handyman and my main investor. So I'm working on finding some others to keep in the loop and do work with to diversify those key people..

@Don Konipol ,

I target 6-9% cash flow ROE on new purchases, although this is in the Bay Area where it's hard to find any cash flow. This return is also with 30yr fixed financing, lots of maintenance and reserves factored in, and relatively low-headache tenants. My prior purchases are higher and FHA ROE can't really be calculated because it was all borrowed. But the numerator is great! There's another 2-3% ROE "accrual" returns in principal paydown. And 3-4X leverage on any appreciation returns. At a long-term rate of 2%, that would add 6-8% ROE in appreciation returns.. No guarantee, but I also have to look at the reasonable upside and downside in assessing my purchases.

6-9% in CF
2-3% principal paydown
6-8% appreciation

= 8-12% ROE before appreciation,
14-20% after appreciation, over longer-term

I might add that buildings are in good condition and rents/ft are about $1.50/month (or $12/ft/yr), so a fluctuation in vacancy or expenses won't change my income too much. I noticed that in many low-income areas BP investors are in, the REO appears high (20-30%!), but a single new AC unit or wood rot job can take the profit negative for a year or more! Yikes!

Welcome Rodney . There are a lot of super helpful people and great advice on this site! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! A lot of others doing flips, wholesaling, notes, everything.. A few tips..

You can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name when it pops up at the bottom of the message box. You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and most importantly, the BP members! Welcome to BP, and good luck on your investments!

Hi Daniel, and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

Welcome John. There are a lot of super helpful people and great advice on this site! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! A lot of others doing flips, wholesaling, notes, everything.. A few tips..

You can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name when it pops up at the bottom of the message box. You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and most importantly, the BP members! Welcome to BP, and good luck on your investments!

Hi Michael, and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

Welcome Paul . There are a lot of super helpful people and great advice on this site! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! A lot of others doing flips, wholesaling, notes, everything.. A few tips..

You can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name when it pops up at the bottom of the message box. You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and most importantly, the BP members! Welcome to BP, and good luck on your investments!

Hi Dana , and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

I started a lease for one of my SFH's with no pets on the lease. Tenants are good tenants, take care of everything, including lawn and landscaping. Looks nice outside and in. They called and asked if they could get a dog for their daughter, to keep any stray cats away from the house, and as a little barking alarm (small, outside dog.) It is a lower-income area, and a lot of people like having a little dog to bark in case anyone thinks about slumming around the area.. Just enough to alert..

I said yes because:
- They are good tenants, hands-off, and paying healthy rents
- They want to keep it outside, so I didn't charge an extra deposit
- I figure it will tie them to the house longer because they will have the right size yard for their dog at this house, and somewhat limit their ability to move by those who do not accept pets (what parent wants to get rid of their child's favorite pet?)
- No aggressive breeds

A lot of people give out bonuses around the holidays to people that wouldn't normally get tips/bonuses throughout the year. Of course, many send out the picture xmas postcard too, but that's a little different.. Who do you give gifts or bonuses to in the RE world during the holidays? My plans for this year so far..

Handyman - $200-300.
He probably expects nothing because he didn't get one with last employer.. He works for me part-time, handles all my units, makes my life easy, and will be moving into my unit in exchange for work in early 2014. (Hmmm.. maybe I should give him more)

Backup call-taker when on vacation - $50 gift or very nice dinner.
He is a friend who is my backup call-taker for my tenants when I am on vacation, in case my tenants can't get ahold of my handyman. Never had to get a call yet (w/ 1.5mo absence). But important to me. He knows real estate/landlording and would be able to handle any issue or call someone who could take care of it, without getting ripped off.

Investor/Partner - Some bitcoin? Nice dinner? Something real-estate related? This is a passive investor who helped get a deal done with their JV support that I'd like to give a little gift to..

Tenants - the good ones - home-made cookies! Was going to buy some candy, but thinking about baking some cookies and giving them out, since I want some yummy cookies anyway, and can give some to co-workers. I like to do nice little things for my tenants.

Garbage Man - $20 or a 12-pack.
Maybe this is just because my dad used to work for a garbage company. He says bad to give out alcohol to drivers though.. This inexpensive gift may pay dividends later when you or your tenants have to pile your bins a mile high to get rid of waste/debris or ignore that block of cement in your trash can..

Apparently, these are the most important people in my real estate life.. I'm trying to think of who else I rely on..

Who in RE do you give gifts/bonuses to during the holidays, and how much?