All Forum Posts by: Konstantin Ginzburg

@Moises R.

If you have hired a manager to handle daily operations on your behalf, you are under no obligations to provide your personal contact info to the tenant. Nor are you obligated to communicate with her if you do not wish to do so. I would tell your manager to write down what her concerns or questions for you are and then use the manager as a go-between. If she has concerns that you feel require you to step in personally then you can do so but you should not feel obligated to do so. 

@Luis Puello

Facebook groups could work, however there are so many posts, spams, and scams in those groups that your deal might get lost or ignored if you try to market it in those groups. What might be a better idea is to become actively involved in a local real estate association in your area to begin meeting and networking with investors in your market. This would allow you to build a repertoire with them that would make them more trusting of you and more open to look at your deals. You can begin building a buyers list once you meet more investors. Having a pre-made relationship with an investor will make them more willing to trust the deals you bring them. That trust is crucial since their money is on the line if the deal proves to be less than ideal. 

@Anastasia Rodriguez

We have been able to secure new tenants at any point in the year. Although, it is traditionally easier to get new tenants during warmer months, it is still possible to find tenants in the winter. We did have a situation similar to yours in the past. We purchased a property with one tenant who was paying sub market rates but had lived there for 5 years at that point. Our strategy was to honor the remainder of her lease and then begin to phase in rental increases during each lease renewal. We did not want to cause a substantial sticker shock by increasing her to market rate immediately since that would have meant a 50% just in rent so we instead phased her into market rate over a 3 year span. This may not be the best strategy if you would prefer to increase your cash flow in a more timely manner so I would factor in how good a tenant is she. Does she pay rent on time? Does she take care of the unit? Is she difficult to deal with? If she is a high quality tenant, then it may be best to gradually increase rent in order to keep her and build a long term repertoire. If she is a problematic tenant, then you could phase in a more rapid rent increase. If she is willing to pay the higher rent, you get what you want. If she is not willing to pay the higher rent, then you can begin searching for a new tenant. Be sure to consult your local tenant protection laws though. Make sure the increases are done fairly and legally such as providing a notice rent increase as well as other requirements from your region. This is a means to protect yourself from legal recourse. 

@Heidi Braunhardt

Congratulations on the successful purchase and conversion of the property into a successful airBNB. I purchased a 4-unit property in New Orleans about a year ago and have performed renovations as well and turned 1 unit of the property into an airBNB as well. We are getting bookings but still working on increasing our occupancy rates. While bookings are steadily increasing, we are still not at our target. A portion of the problem of the problem is that the market in New Orleans is very saturated so there is a challenge to stand out from the competition. Do you have any marketing strategies or tricks you used within your listing that has led to your listing standing out and getting consistent bookings? I would love to connect sometime and exchange notes if you are willing. 

@Joe S.

There are different reasons for different people wanting to buy internationally. Some of these reasons are lower buy in costs as real estate in other markets offer a much lower cost of entry than many regions of the United States. This is especially true in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia where high quality condos are available for 30-80k in rapidly growing cities that offer the potential for high appreciate. Other people simply like having a property over seas in regions they want to live in long term due to a personal draw to the area. There are risks to overseas investing but there is also opportunity available. 

@Duane Gunkler

I think the direction you go would come down to what your current goals are. There really is no wrong answer in this scenario. If you are tired of being a landlord, then this would be a good time to cash out and place your equity towards other ventures. If you still want to be involved in real estate, then you can come up with strategies to quicken the rate that your tenant pays rent. Some options are placing in automatic late fees if the tenant is late past a certain date, putting in a clause where you will only accept full balances owed rather than partial payments, provide a notice to vacate to the current tenant and try to improve the quality of the next tenant you get with background checks and income screening requirements. 

@Golan Corshidi

Your friend does make a good point about stocks providing a potentially high return with low effort; emphasis on the low effort. If you prefer a passive means of investing, then stock would be a good option. Stocks are also far more liquid so you can sell them off if needed much easier than you can sell real estate. Historically, stocks have a higher return if measuring stocks appreciation vs home appreciation. However, real estate will often have the higher overall rate of return because in addition to appreciation, you are also able to gain an investment return from rent cash flow, loan pay down, and tax benefits. Real estate is not low effort since it does require you to actively manage the investment so it is in effect like managing a business. Even if a property manager is used, you still need to manage the property manager to protect your investment. Choose real estate vs stocks is a matter of personal preference and can be summarized by whether you prefer higher returns on investment or high levels of passive investing. 

@Allan Tualla

Cosmetic repairs or updating aspects of the interior typically have the highest return on investment. Structural repairs are likely to have the lowest return on investment since structural repairs tend to have the highest cost but usually don't increase the value of the property too much. Some simple things to look at are: is the exterior or interior paints either faded or have an outdated color scheme? This could be a quick and relatively inexpensive way to increase your home value. Is the kitchen or bathroom very outdated in terms of design or appliances. These two rooms will also offer relatively high returns on your investment. Can the floors in the unit be noticeably improved with a buffing or refinishing? That is another option to consider. Other overlooked improvements can be gardening or landscaping. Doing everything you can to increase the curb appeal of a property will go a long way towards increasing the market appeal of the property which often teams to an increase in market value. 

@Victoria F.

I would substantial research into both those regions to determine a fair estimate for rent. A single reference point is likely not enough to get a good estimate. I would look through several houses for rent in both neighborhoods to get a good estimate on what the actual market rate currently is. Keep in mind, its important to make sure you are comparing similar houses (same number of bedrooms, similar square footage and amenities). Go with whatever your research points towards. Websites such as Zillow or apartments.com are good sources to find current rental rates.

One piece of advice is to not just look at price but also keep an eye out for how long a specific rental has been on the market for. If a listed property is listed for X dollars per month but has been on the market for several months, this is likely too high a asking price. Focus on the rentals with 2 weeks or less on the market to get a better fair market value estimate. 

I hope this advice is helpful and good luck!

@Andrea Longoria

Making the jump to investing is simply a matter of education and being willing to pull the trigger on a property. Education doesn't need to be formal and it can be done in a variety of ways. A few options are reading books, listening to podcasts, talking with a mentor, or interacting with this forum. Whatever option works best for you, the goal is just to become familiar with what a "good deal" actually is and understanding the numbers behind an investment. Once you are comfortable assessing how good a deal is, the next step will be to pull the trigger and purchase the property. You will learn a lot once you do this and will be able to build off this experience but having a baseline knowledge before you acquire your first property will be key.

One thing I would also highly recommend doing is networking. There is likely a real estate investors meetup or association near you. This is an excellent place to learn and network with others to accelerate your investing journey. I would recommend joining and actively attending their meetups or events. 

Good luck with your investment journey and feel free to reach out with any questions.