All Forum Posts by: Leroy K. Williams

For future reference anyone who finds themselves in this situation can turn the main valve off which in Detroit is almost always in the basement.  Once you turn the valve off, open the valves to your laundry tub if you have one, if not open all of your sink valves. At that point have the heat restored. Next, set the temperature to about 60 degrees and every 6-8 hours turn it up by 10 degrees to allow the thaw to happen gradually.  The ice in the lines should start thawing and draining out of the open lines until there is no more water in the line at all since the supply valve is off.  Once your system is drained and the house is warm flush your toilets.  

For PEX typically the rupture will happen along the crimped connections, the rings will burst and you may only need to re-crimp these sections.  I would hire a plumber or good handyman for that part and it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.  

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Leroy K. Williams man, don't look now, but you just showed your integrity:)

That's a compliment by the way!

 Thank You

Quote from @Leroy K. Williams:

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Leroy K. Williams & @James Wise

Don't have a problem with the property Class as long as the challenges are properly explained to the investor buyer.

Michael, I agree with this, however the same is true with any property class, they all have challenges. The investor should understand the various methods and strategies for each property class.

The biggest and most prolific problem is that many of the real estate professionals in the market push "deals" through webinars, seminars, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc that make real estate investing seem like an easy way to 
get rich quick. It can be for someone who knows exactly which steps to take and has sufficient access to capital, but if you are a novice and you are spending your life's savings you should proceed with caution and help. 

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Leroy K. Williams & @James Wise

Don't have a problem with the property Class as long as the challenges are properly explained to the investor buyer.

Quote from @Monika Ruszaj:

Quote from @Leroy K. Williams:

Section 8 is not rocket science. I have studied both and Section 8 is a lot easier.

Yes, Section 8 is intended to help with the issue of available housing for low income people so absolutely its not designed to compete with your Class A rentals. That said, its a great opportunity for the investor willing to accept the challenge.  

Keys to success:  

1. You must hire locals who are familiar and acclimated to the culture of the city you plan to create rentals in.  Its never going to work if you want to buy in the low income areas of a city and hire management from outside. It feels comfortable and reassuring in the beginning but guess what happens?  After a few months you figure out that your team has not really engaged your property on a regular basis. The home has been broken into, the furnace is gone, the house is open to trespass and no one knows for weeks.

2. You must not follow your instinct and attempt to invest as little as possible into the renovations thinking "If someone is willing to live in this neighborhood there is no way they have standards".  Exactly wrong. Tenants in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc have options when they receive their voucher. Many of the recipients are single mothers who actually want to find stable housing for themselves and their children so initially they are looking for the best house they can find and it is only when time is running out and their voucher is expiring (Yes that is a thing) that they begin lowering their standards and will settle for a cheaply put together home.  So moral of the story make the property appealing.

3. Patience.  Section 8 is a process, it takes a few months to get everything up and running from an administrative standpoint. But once the payments start rolling in like clock work you forget about the initial crawl.  

4. If you come to Detroit get in touch with me.  But honestly I don't care how many courses you take you must have a local team or you will crash and burn. After 20 years I have seen the biggest and baddest investors come crashing down running away with their tails between their legs. 

 That was an awesome and transparent breakdown, Leroy! Thank you for that! Def coming to you if we decide to pursue Sec8 in Detroit vs IL, where we reside now. 

 Wonderful, I look forward to it.  

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

Detroit Neighborhood? 

Is this Class C or D?

 Class D, but that is what makes it so sexy.  Very smart people see the opportunity here.  if you are looking for appreciation you shouldn't be looking at Section 8, if you are looking for rhythmic income into your bank account class C-D is beautiful.  You just have to know what you are doing.  

Section 8 is not rocket science. I have studied both and Section 8 is a lot easier.

Yes, Section 8 is intended to help with the issue of available housing for low income people so absolutely its not designed to compete with your Class A rentals. That said, its a great opportunity for the investor willing to accept the challenge.  

Keys to success:  

1. You must hire locals who are familiar and acclimated to the culture of the city you plan to create rentals in.  Its never going to work if you want to buy in the low income areas of a city and hire management from outside. It feels comfortable and reassuring in the beginning but guess what happens?  After a few months you figure out that your team has not really engaged your property on a regular basis. The home has been broken into, the furnace is gone, the house is open to trespass and no one knows for weeks.

2. You must not follow your instinct and attempt to invest as little as possible into the renovations thinking "If someone is willing to live in this neighborhood there is no way they have standards".  Exactly wrong. Tenants in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc have options when they receive their voucher. Many of the recipients are single mothers who actually want to find stable housing for themselves and their children so initially they are looking for the best house they can find and it is only when time is running out and their voucher is expiring (Yes that is a thing) that they begin lowering their standards and will settle for a cheaply put together home.  So moral of the story make the property appealing.

3. Patience.  Section 8 is a process, it takes a few months to get everything up and running from an administrative standpoint. But once the payments start rolling in like clock work you forget about the initial crawl.  

4. If you come to Detroit get in touch with me.  But honestly I don't care how many courses you take you must have a local team or you will crash and burn. After 20 years I have seen the biggest and baddest investors come crashing down running away with their tails between their legs. 

Detroit's real estate prices are rising fiercely yet many investors are still looking from the outside trying to figure out how to engage this market.  This is what we do everyday.  We have helped and are currently helping investors (Some from BP) make the inner city of Detroit work as a viable income producing market.  

What I have decided to do is feature properties available from my network of wholesalers that fit into a scenario where everything is rolled in at a turnkey price of 65k-70k per single family home or $65k per door for duplexes in the inner city which are projected to rent for $1,100-$1,300 per month Section 8. That's purchase, renovation, municipal compliance inspections, tenant placement through the Section 8 process.  So here is the first featured home available. 

It is happening as we speak. Check out my YouTube channel and you will see tons of videos of us doing exactly this for other investors.

http://www.youtube.com/@leroyrehabcentral5333

Hi Maryam.

If you are still interested in creating Section 8 rental in Detroit we can help. We deal with this everyday and we are located right in the heart of Detroit.  We help our clients purchase renovate and place tenants.  The typical 4 bedroom brick turnkey with a placed tenant will cost approximately 70k per door.

Some people avoid the interior neighborhoods however the best opportunities are there. I would be happy to show you several cash flowing properties in the City proper so you can see how this works.

I had this problem only 2 months ago with one of my Section 8 rentals.  The tenant swore there was mold so we came out and found no visible mold however we did treat the surface areas with a spray product sold at Home Depot called "Concrobium" then we followed it up with treating the walls with Hydrogen peroxide. of course this was to ensure that the tenant could not say we were unresponsive which is also why we made a video while on site showing no mold.

It was a relatively cheap way of responding and in the end the tenant later confessed that she simply needed to break her lease.