All Forum Posts by: John Barrett

Hey @Tanya Solomon, I've got my button too...granted "let me help you out" isn't one of them, but I get where you are coming from. What I've learned is the more home work I do upfront the better it is in the long run. Some tells me they "got a guy", I look them up on google, yelp and BBB IF all three sites they have all their reference check out then they get a call, that's it. I talk with them and if something doesn't check out move on to the next. Contactors that make it into my "regular" rotation if at any point they don't perform, they're out. 

Here's the thing I generally treat contactors, tenants, agents, pretty much everyone how I want to be treated. I'll laugh and joke all the time because I truly believe people are more likely to give you their best when you give them your best. I want a deal, just like everyone else, and I generally get a good price especially for the quality I get, but I've been burned too its all just part of it. I also give bonus, I make it REALLY easy to work with me. As long the job is done on time and within budget I bend over backwards to make sure they know how much I appreciated it.  

Now I'm also very direct, some view this as me being an @55-Hole. I have no issues with someone telling me the truth, but have VERY little patience's for when someone tries to upsell me or gives me a line of BS or lies. Don't get me wrong it sucks firing a contactor or evicting a tenant. Making someone homeless, not a fun process. It sucks knowing I'm not just firing that guy but their whole family, but what that also means is I get to give someone else the opportunity at a new job or I get to give someone new a place to live. In the end trust your gut if something or someone doesn't seem right, its most likely not. If you think about it this way, worst case you make a mistake. Mistakes are nothing but learning opportunities. Hope that "helps you out" :-) 

@Bill B., It's ok to miss the point entirely sometimes. The main point is to see if anyone missed the news and get their opinion on it. The second point was to see what are some of the options that other REI use to list their properties. Let me ask you when you shake your fist at the sky for being blue or yell at the kids to get off your lawn does it work and make you feel better?

If you think for 1 second that by you simply visiting a site your not adding to that site revenue stream you are fooling yourself.  Just stop and think about @Jim K. post, then hopefully you'll learn something. 

I'm not trying to bring down Zillow or apposed to paying for advertisement and I'm certainly not against paying for  operating expenses. Like you I'm annoyed, that a product is bundle with a bunch of crap that I don't use or want that WAS free won't be much longer. IMHO the reason its popular is because its free to use. Also announcing that your going to be doing something that is going to unpopular when you think no one is paying attention isn't on the up and up. Also having worked for a website I know when you run out of idea's on how to bring in more traffic to your site it's not a good sign. 

@Bryan Devitt I'm disappointed, that you'll end up being right. It's just sad when a good site goes bad or starts these kinds of practices. I wonder which site is going to take advantage of Zillow's mistakes. I know they have made some pretty costly blunders recently. I hate to see the fall of a giant like Zillow but if they stop innovating someone bound to pass them and take their traffic. Wish I knew who the new site is going to be.

@Mitch Messer, I could see that and would be on board with it, BUT if that was the case then why not charge people for zombie listings...as in if you wanted to keep your ad up for X amount and did NOT update it then you have to pay a fee. or even if there was something like a deposit for posting on the site for a week or month or so and without updating it after you filled it then you would be charged. If this was to prevent scam ad's or something to that nature again I would be on board with it. 

I can even see a play for say IF I pay extra I out higher up on the list of available properties in the area. If I advertise an entire apartment complex and wanted to keep my ad indefinitely I pay a certain amount. 

I like the interface, the platform, and opportunities it creates. I also understand the need / requirement to make money just approach seems shady and under handed. Announcing something like this on the 3rd of July late in the day? I just make me wonder which is gonna be the next site to step up? 

RedFin perhaps or maybe even Bigger Pockets :-)

Link to Zillow's Article about charging to list a Property

Looks like Zillow is looking to add another cash flow stream, by charging landlord to put their properties on Zillow. Looks like Zillow is going to be charging $10 a week to list a property on Zillow, don't get me wrong $10 a week or $40 a month isn't make it or break it money, but it is annoying. It seems like a cheap nickel and dime approach to making cash. I'm sure with the amount of places for rent on Zillow it will add up to be sizable chuck of cash for Zillow. At the same time I don't like or use all the "extra's" Zillow Manager offers / bundles with their Rental Manager app / site. It just agitates me when I'm stuck with paying for stuff I don't use or want because I only want 1 thing out of package. I know websites have to make money and its a business and when the revenue from the advertisements aren't enough sites need to get figure out other methods to make money I get it I truly do it just seems sleazy building up traffic to site and when you get a good amount of traffic to your site THEN you start charging half your base for their contribution to the site. 

In the last couple of years I've found some great tenants from Zillow their sister sites Trulia and Hotpads. Don't get me wrong I advertise all over Craiglist, Rentals.com, GoSection8.com, Facebook Market Place and Apartments.com. If anyone has any other suggestion please let me know as well. My approach is that the more people I can get to put in an application the better. In my opinion having to pick from a group of great tenants is a good problem to have. I found that having the right tenant vs the next tenant works out well for me better in the long run. 

Is anyone else a little bothered by Zillow tactic's or is it just me? Also do you think this will drive some or any of the traffic away from Zillow now they are taking this approach? I've seen other websites that when they started doing cheap money grab tactic's it the beginning of the end. Just wondering what everyone else thoughts on it were? 

Thanks In Advance 

John Barrett

@Casey Kendzior

I'm a fan of the housing hacking plan its how I got my start as well. My experience was the 1st property is fun. The second one is the hardest and most nerve racking. Then it just gets easier and more additive from the 3rd on. I recommend staying away from the BRRR your 1st time. Just because living in a property when its being remodel is really hard. REI its already hard no need to make it harder. My rule thumb when it comes to remodels is PLAN for it to take 30% longer than expected and cost 30% more than the original quote. If it doesn't great but have that extra cushion just in case. Running out of cash in the middle or near the end of remodel is crippling. Now a property that needs some LIGHT cosmetic updates absolutely, just wouldn't recommend going full blown rehab right out the gate. Build a strong solid network of quality contractors be budget minded but don't cut corners. Penny pinching on quality will cost you 10x as much in the end. 

I'd recommend focusing on solid B or C class Duplex, triplex, or Quad it's a great way to start. You can live in 1 unit rehab while you live in it. Then rent that unit out and move on to the next after. Doing this will give you a "BRRR" experience and develop your landlord skills as well. While keeping your risk fairly low but gives you a high chance for a big reward. The purchase price might be a little higher and the cash flow might be a little lower at first but your risk will be lower. You'll get a higher quality of tenants that won't thrash the place and in the long run it will pay off more.

After you've gain the experience from the 1st purchase then you'll be much better equipped for the 2nd purchase. Also you WILL make mistakes. Mistakes are just learning opportunities. When you fall you GET to pick yourself up. I wish you the best of luck, REI is not easy but it can be fun. Keep at it don't quit either. Any way that's my advise hope it helps.

@Johnny Situ

Well done and congrats on the success. We have a fair amount of common ground but with some differences. I'm a systems engineer aka the part of tech no one thinks about. Similar traditional financing experience with 20-25% down (extra 5% because so I could buy points). I bought my 1st property in 2007 (before the crash). I'll be 39 in March and my wife is from China (Guagzhou). Currently I've got 10 doors/units total and they range from $350-$1800 a month in cash flow. I have 7 SFH's and 1 triplex. This past year I sold one and bought 2 more via 1031. I also don't do the 0% financing on repairs and rehabs. I just do cash out of pocket. 

This past year is when I made my mistakes and got over confident. I bought my wife a car AND bought myself a truck, and the 2 new properties I bought aren't cash flowing nearly as much as I predicted/speculated. I didn't loose any money but I certainly didn't increase my monthly cash flow, like I expected. I manage all the property's and did all the repairs/remodeling on the one I sold myself. I did this at the same time my wife gave birth to our 2nd baby girl. In hindsight working full time at my 9-5, managing our current properties, remodeling / selling / buying properties, plus have a NEW born at home was just too much. I didn't follow my own rules / principles and didn't research and follow the numbers as strictly. My goal this year is to learn from my mistakes and not try and do it all by myself. Also re-evaluate my strategies so I can scale faster and build up my network. Thanks for the book recommendation and for the app, I put a hold on them at my local library already and downloaded the app as well. As far as penny stocks it's just something I don't really understand so never got into them. I like Warren Buffet's "Ted Williams" quote/idea for investing (Here's a link to it)

For you and anyone else, the YouTube channels I'd recommend: 

Bigger Pockets: (obviously)

Grant Stephene's: I like his style of deliver. I like his "picking and choosing" idea of gathering information to make a decision, but some of his video's are just for entertainment.

Dave Ramsey: I'll admit he's a bit of nut job and my tolerance for yelling is low. But his logical is hard to refute.

@Kevin Amolsch Pine Financial: Hard money lender in Colorado. This is where I invest so its a good for me resource.

Grant Cardone: Good for theory and for getting idea on rules or principals to follow, but unless you have a large amount of cash its hard for a "small" investor to attempt his style of investing

Phil Pustejovsky: The material and information is good but the "partner/mentor" program seems a bit expensive

Books:

Tony Robins: Master the Game 

Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

Mary Hunt: 7 Money Rules for Life: How to Take Control of Your Financial Future

Robert Kiyosaki: Rich Dad Poor Dad

Thomas Stanley: The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealth

T. Harv Eker: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

Jeremy Miller: Warren Buffett's Ground Rules

@Eric Carr 

Hi Eric, it looks like you missed this follow up post / convo I had with Kevin:

@Kevin McGuire

That's what I learned as well, that there were so many different "breeds". Honestly to me it made no difference to me about the dog. What I learned was that it was about a percentage of genetic markers aka what the animal looked like and supposedly acted like is what the city cared about. The reason why landlords in the US get into the legally of it is because if the neighborhoods, police, animal control, school etc get into something with your tenant as the property owner you are on the hook legally because you allowed the animal to "stay/live" there so you as the owner could face fines, charges, be sued for damages, etc. IF something happens or is reported. My property was also across the street from a school and kids and parents walk in front of the property daily while it has a fence I just didn't want to risk the fight or potential problem that I might have run into. Just didn't seem worth it, in my opinion.

I think technically I "could" have gotten around it, BUT it seemed like an added added risk that I was to get around by simply waiting for another tenant 

@James Carlson Hey James I'm new to the STR area of investing and property management. I'd really love to pick your brain about any tips / tricks you've learned. I have one now and its going ok for me but I'd really like to get better at it. I've been projecting and gotten good estimates on numbers. I know we're in the "slow" months but would really like to KNOW how to turn estimates into actual numbers. I'd appreciate any and all help/advice you can provide.

@Kevin McGuire Hi Kevin, That's what I learned as well, that there were so many different "breeds". Honestly to me it made no difference to me about the dog. What I learned was that it was about a percentage of genetic markers aka what the animal looked like and supposedly acted like is what the city cared about. The reason why landlords in the US get into the legally of it is because if the neighborhoods, police, animal control, school etc get into something with your tenant as the property owner you are on the hook legally because you allowed the animal to "stay/live" there so you as the owner could face fines, charges, be sued for damages, etc. IF something happens or is reported. My property was also across the street from a school and kids and parents walk in front of the property daily while it has a fence I just didn't want to risk the fight or potential problem that I might have run into. Just didn't seem worth it, in my opinion.