All Forum Posts by: Lee Yoder

Trevor, I'm somewhat close to where you are, but much less experience with transactions. I have no doubt you are going to crush it in apartment syndication. I think the toughest part for guys like you, and me, is that you are playing the Long game when you're purchasing apartment buildings.

I agree with the recommendation to read the information Joe Fairless puts out. I would definitely suggest you get his book: Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book. It really gives you the exact steps you need to take to break into apartment syndication. It's very heavy on creating your own brand and an online presence, but from what I've learned, this is absolutely essential. I just started building my website and I'll be launching my own podcast soon.

Feel free to send me a DM. I'd love to discuss this further. Good luck and God bless!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) fix & flip investment in Lebanon.

Purchase price: $89,000
Cash invested: $26,000
Sale price: $160,000

I purchased this duplex located in my hometown at the county auction. I used my HELOC and some of the profit from my first flip. I attempted to sell this property after completely rehabbing both units, but couldn't get the price I wanted. So, I rented both units. My tenants were great, but I don't enjoy being a landlord and my goal is to own larger multi family properties. After about 5 months, I sold to a local investor who owns about 50 units in this town. There were no realtors/brokers involved. I made a good profit and learned a little about being a landlord.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to flip another property, but I also wanted to dip my toes into multifamily. I knew if I couldn't sell this property after rehabbing it, I could rent it and get some experience landlording.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this at the county auction. I was the high bidder.

How did you finance this deal?

My personal savings/profit from my first flip and my HELOC on my personal residence.

How did you add value to the deal?

I spent $26,000 on the rehab and completely renovated by units.

What was the outcome?

I rented this property for about 5 months and then sold to a local investor. We made about $45,000 total on this deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that I do not enjoy being a landlord. I had great tenants that rarely bothered me and had no serious issues while renting, but I and my wife did not enjoy being responsible for our tenants. I plan to use professional property management for my future rentals. This is why I want to focus on larger multifamily properties.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) fix & flip investment in Lebanon.

Purchase price: $89,000
Cash invested: $26,000
Sale price: $160,000

I purchased this duplex located in my hometown at the county auction. I used my HELOC and some of the profit from my first flip. I attempted to sell this property after completely rehabbing both units, but couldn't get the price I wanted. So, I rented both units. My tenants were great, but I don't enjoy being a landlord and my goal is to own larger multi family properties. After about 5 months, I sold to a local investor who owns about 50 units in this town. There were no realtors/brokers involved. I made a good profit and learned a little about being a landlord.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to flip another property, but I also wanted to dip my toes into multifamily. I knew if I couldn't sell this property after rehabbing it, I could rent it and get some experience landlording.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this at the county auction. I was the high bidder.

How did you finance this deal?

My personal savings/profit from my first flip and my HELOC on my personal residence.

How did you add value to the deal?

I spent $26,000 on the rehab and completely renovated by units.

What was the outcome?

I rented this property for about 5 months and then sold to a local investor. We made about $45,000 total on this deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that I do not enjoy being a landlord. I had great tenants that rarely bothered me and had no serious issues while renting, but I and my wife did not enjoy being responsible for our tenants. I plan to use professional property management for my future rentals. This is why I want to focus on larger multifamily properties.

I would love to join a mastermind group with you guys. I'm a Physical Therapist living just north of Cincinnati. I purchased 34 units (3 properties) last year and I'm flipping a house right now while rehabbing many of the units in my apartment buildings. My goal is to transition into buying large MF properties this year. 

You're killing it Joe! You've made significant strides every year I've known you, and I have no doubt 2020 will be your biggest year yet. I'm so excited for you to live out what is for many just a dream- leaving the comfortable 9-5 and instead run your own business and invest full-time. I hope to be like you one day soon! Good luck and God bless!

Joe, the numbers on this park are incredible obviously. I really do have to question the expenses. With 23 POH, I think that's a bit low. Are they paying for management? 

The biggest question for me would be the location. The park is full now, but you have to worry about being able to fill vacancies when tenants move. This is the downside of having a high percentage of POHs. If the park is in a good location, I would get it under contract quickly. You can dig in and find any issues during your due diligence process.

Good luck!

I am a multi-family investor from Cincinnati, Oh. As I continue to look for more deals I'm begin drawn to MHPs more and more. I still love apartment buildings but everything I'm seeing is <8 cap and I'm looking for better deals at this point in my investing career (I realize many people are still finding great deals in MF). In the MHP space I'm seeing much better deals and I love the concept of MHPs. I have a pretty good MF network by now and a great MF mentor but I know almost no one in the MHP space local to me. If you live or invest or are just interested in MHPs anywhere near Cincinnati, I'd love to connect. I have capital to deploy and I have plenty of time to put in the work to take down several parks. 

Zain, I think house hacking is a great way to get started. One thing I would keep in mind is how many bedrooms the units have. If you get a MF property with 2 bedrooms per unit, you'll have a better chance to get families with kids, so local schools will matter. If you get a MF property with all 1 bed units, I think you'll attract less families, so local schools won't matter as much but proximity to jobs and bus lines and restaurants etc will matter. This would also be the case if you buy a large home and rent out rooms. Another thing you might consider is buying a large house and renting out rooms through AirBnb. I'm not an expert on AirBnb, but it seems like a lot of people have great success with it when they live in the house themselves and don't have their own family. 

Good luck and God bless!

Alec, I think house hacking is a great idea for a young guy like you who's looking to get started. One thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to get a multi-family property in order to rent it out to some roomates. You could buy a big house and rent out each room. You may be able to get a nicer home with $205k than you would a MF property. The only difference is you'll be sharing bathrooms which shouldn't be a problem for college guys. Then you could always sell in a couple years and pay no tax on your profit if there is any. I would look to get a property where you could add some value by fixing it up some while living there. That way, you have a great chance to make money if/when you exit in addition to the money you'll make from your roomates. 

Good luck and God bless!

Thanks Gino! I totally agree that I (and anyone else) can achieve great success by surrounding myself with great people. I'm working on that right now. I'm attending lots of networking events/meet-ups, I'll soon be attending an apartment syndication boot-camp, and I plan to sign up for some paid mentorship/coaching in the very near future.