All Forum Posts by: Lily Wong

Hi, Serafin!

At Marketplace Homes, we require all applicants to connect their bank accounts directly through Plaid to verify their income right from their account. This helps us avoid manually checking bank statements, which can unfortunately be forged pretty easily. People can alter PDFs, change the numbers, or even use fake templates that look incredibly real. Some red flags to watch for are inconsistent fonts, blurry text, or mismatched information across pages. When in doubt, always double check. In today’s world, you can never be too careful, unfortunately!

Good luck!

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $375,000
Cash invested: $101,500

I own a mixed-use property with a total of five units, four 1BR residential apartments and one commercial space.

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

This deal fell on my lap as I was working with my family at their restaurant. My stepmother, rented the commercial space from the past landlord to open a coffee shop. When she started to remodel, she realized the electricity needed to be updated and the current landlord didn't have the funds to cover. So, she offered me the opportunity to buy it, since her debt to income was to high, and she paid the down payment.

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

Current landlord couldn't pay the upgrades so we offered to do the upgrades until the sale was final and not pay any rent in the process. We also gave him a large earnest.

How did you finance this deal?

Through commercial lending as an investment property.

How did you add value to the deal?

Updated all the mechanicals, designed a brand new commercial space, and remodeled the residential apartments.

@Lily Wong

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.

Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

Hi Lily, we don't service most areas on the east side of Cleveland, including 44112, but we service all the west side as well as any Cleveland suburbs and down to Akron. If you ever purchase in those areas, we would be happy to help! We are one of the largest PMs in the area and are always looking to manage more!