All Forum Posts by: Kayla V.

@David Zheng No, I wouldn't have hopped on Zillow. It's just human nature to be curious where a property is when you're talking about real estate. I've identified the markets I'm interested in based on where I have knowledge and contacts. I've heard of several "good" markets where people are making lots of money, but I'm not interested in them because I don't know them. 

Good luck with your investing! Your success was inspiring- hoping to do the same (in my own market). 

@David Zheng I did read your entire success story post and I, as well as I assume several other readers, were curious where the property was in general, not a specific zip code. Your profile states St. Louis, but you seemed to allude to it being out of state. Also, by completely ignoring the multiple people who asked if it was in St. Louis, you made it seem like you were missing the question somehow. If you had replied with "The property is in the St. Louis metro, but I'd rather not give more specifics.", I doubt you would have received nearly as many private messages. 

Just be honest and people (newbs like myself included) will respect that. 

@Ryan Arth Thanks for the recommendation and tips! I know I need to eventually figure out how to get off-market deals, but for now I'm just looking on the MLS/HUD/Craigslist.

I'm not comfortable completely removing the inspection, but I will try lowering the time frame. 

I feel like I picked the worst time to decide to start buying, but I also don't want to sit it out for years hoping for a crash. 

@Ryan Arth I put in an all cash offer of $50K on Chitty but got out-bid. I'm still waiting to see what the final sales price was. My realtor tried to get some info and he said the winning offer was also all-cash, closer to list ($59,900) and didn't want a lead paint inspection. 

My realtor keeps pushing me towards lengthy closing periods (4-5 weeks from contract acceptance) to make sure we can get a good inspection, but isn't the benefit of cash a quick closing? I just don't have a great relationship with an inspector to be confident I can get it done in a shorter time frame (say 2 weeks). 

@Evan Stephens I haven't purchased a property yet- still looking. The two things I discovered that I wasn't estimating enough for were Capex and utilities. And sometimes property taxes.

Since Akron properties are pretty affordable, using a percentage of either rent or purchase price for a Capex estimate isn't super accurate since it costs about the same to maintain a 1000 sq ft house that rents for $800 as it does a 1000 sq ft that rents for $2000 in another part of the country. If you're planning a major up front rehab, you can keep that estimate a bit lower, but I've seen a minimum of $180/month recommended for an older home. Keep in mind that repairs are separate- Capex is only large expenses where repairs are the day to day things that break. You need a separate budget for that.

Utilities are another issue- it seems pretty common for the landlord to pay utilities in Akron, especially water/sewer. The city of Akron got cited by the EPA for their current sewer setup and are replacing all the pipes over the next several years, which has significantly increased water bills. If you're looking at a place with tenants in place, make sure to check who pays all the utilities. 

Last, always check the assessors site for property taxes. I looked at a house where the taxes were $1550/year and then looked at another one a couple blocks away of similar size and value and the taxes were $3450/year. I've read you can contest the taxes with the city, but if you lose the higher taxes can kill cash flow pretty quick. 

Good luck with your search! I'm likely going to start with a single family BRRRR to get some experience and start the process of finding a contractor I trust, but I hope to eventually move in to multi-family.

As a newer investor, I'm grateful I attended this conference now rather than waiting until I was more established. I definitely still have some limiting beliefs and meeting and hearing from so many people who are out there doing big things has made me reassess my business plan and consider larger properties. 

The connections I made will be very helpful going forward and I can't wait to come back next year with some great stories to share! Time to think bigger and do the work! After all, I am dying. :)

Thanks for all the input everyone! After my agent toured the house, I did a more detailed renovation estimate and it went up to $35K, including adding a master bathroom. That put the ARV high enough ($120K) to still support a $50K offer.

I put in the offer earlier this week for $50K cash, 14 day inspection window plus a sewer line and exterior lead paint inspection. I just found out that another offer was accepted for closer to asking price (don't know the exact number) cash, 10 day inspection and no additional contingencies. 

Time to find another one!

I use a property manager for my two properties in Denver and she charges a flat fee. I interviewed several when we first started and all others used the percentage system, but her standard is a flat rate with no leasing fee. 

We've used her for 4 years now and she's been great. The rate is less than 10% of what our properties rent for, so we're saving money and she still provides excellent service. 

@Jared Vidales Awesome work! How did you coordinate the rehab from out of state? Did you already have relationships with contractors?

@Michael Swan It's in Akron, Ohio. 

@Steve Kachniewicz I haven't gotten an actual insurance quote so that could go down, but I wanted to be conservative. I'm out of state, so I'll need to hire a local management company.