All Forum Posts by: Kyle Marek

@David Hedges

Sounds like finding the right property manager is the key if you choose to use one. But for someone new who doesn't have a ton of connections in the area, how do you know which one will be the right one? I know you can interview them, but as people have posted on this thread you don't really know what they will be like until they are are hired.

@Peter Tverdov

I'm very aware of the time is money aspect of PM. One of the main motivating factors of RE investing for me is making some money while freeing up time to do the things I love. Very motivated to work hard, but down the line I'd take a little less money and more time for myself.

@Matt R.

Thanks for your 2 cents, Matt. So many different pieces of advice! I wouldn't have thought finding a PM before a property would be the wise thing to do. 

I find it interesting that Brandon Turner always just breezes through the 10% management fee like it's no big deal in his podcasts and webinars, yet people have all these different takes on using PMs.

@Will Karstetter

I thought hiring a tenant for repairs seemed like an odd strategy haha. I do like your method though, I'll look into it.

I would be very willing to drive an hour or 2 and back on a weekend if needed. Managing exclusively on weekends would totally work for me. I guess the biggest emergencies that could happen would be a situation where the water needs to be turned off or the fire department would need to be called. Briefing tenants on these things could limit my physical involvement to weekends it sounds like?

@Paul Schu

Thanks for reviewing, Paul. Ok I did raise the rate just a bit, and increased my repairs from $1000 to $2000. The numbers are still great. I'm finding this odd because I crunched numbers for a few other Sacramento multi-families and was getting negative cash flow each time until this one. And this one's numbers are great so I'm skeptical! Love the possibilities of a 4th unit too.

@Will Karstetter

Thanks for the insight into your thought process!

So you designate your tenants to do some of the maintenance stuff? How does this incentives system work?

I have been adding the 10% for property managers when doing my calculations. I definitely want to try managing myself in the beginning. My question is though, how close do I need to be to self manage? Do I need to be able to drop what I'm doing and be there in 10 minutes? Can I live an hour away and drive down on weekends if I need to? 

Sorry about the bombardment of questions but I'm still very much in brain picking stage. You guys are awesome

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

New to using the Rental Income calculator. Got all of my information on rent, taxes, utilities on Realtor.com listing. My cash flow and ROI seem high, not sure if I messed up somewhere with my numbers? Any help greatly appreciated!

Here is the link to the triplex:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/...

@Amit Sharan

I second Dave, great addition Amit. I will be referring back to this thread plenty once I'm in the position of buying my first property.

I'm amazed at how willing BP members are to help, can't thank you all enough.

@Dave G.

Thanks for providing great insight into many of the logistics that go into managing property, Dave. I admit I am somewhat surprised to see this amount of negativity about the idea of using property managers. Sounds like my grandpa knew what he was talking about. Then again, he's used dozens of PMs himself so I'm sure he has another side as well. 

It's nice to hear from the other side that they can be useable, which is making me feel a little better!

After all, property investment is so motivating to me because of the potential of financial freedom and extra time to do things I love.

@Ben Dao 

Sounds like you've started the right way by self-managing to get experience of what to expect from a PM. You are correct in that they will never care as much as you do (no vested interest). 

Even if it is a rocky transition when you decide to transition to using PMs someday, sounds like once you find that right PM and treat them right life your time will free up considerably, which is worth it to me.