All Forum Posts by: Robert G.

Honestly?  I don't.  When it comes to small multi-family properties, I would only consider properties that are already separately metered (or that I was budgeting for the conversion to separate meters).  I'm not willing to risk having a few tenants run up an enormous electric bill at my expense.  A bad month or two could practically wipe out any profit for the year on a property such as this, and that is not a possibility I'm willing to risk. 

IMO, the expenses look grossly underestimated for so many doors in D class area. $250 electric? My personal residence is much more then that, I cant imagine a duplex, a SFR, a triplex, and 2 efficiencies all coming in at that amount. And 15% for maintenance and capex sounds about right for normal rentals.....not for low income rentals in D class areas, I'd raise that number signficantly. Also, if you can find a property management company willing to take on these properties, they'll likely require more then a flat 10%.

I don't like the idea of investing in a D class neighborhood, personally, but if I were to do it I would require much more then an 8.6 cap rate.

There isn't 1 MLS for Florida. The fees you pay will be determined by which MLS you register for....and which realtor association....and whatever is required by the broker you choose to hang your license with. In short, it all depends, there isn't 1 set cost amount that we can provide you with. In general, I'd budget about $1,300 for year 1 (with required class, application, background check, test, etc.) and about $800 a year after that.

Bill, I think you are correct that the newbies make up the "quantity".  But what you are missing, in my opinion, is that the newbies are here to learn from those more experienced that are willing to share and educate others, which you refer to as the old guard.  If the small percentage of old guard are driven away by unliked changes, the site will quickly become the blind leading the blind.  And the newbies will slowly realize they aren't learning much, and the "quantity" will become a deficit.

The old guard may only make up 15% of the population of this forum, but they are the driving force and soul of it nonetheless.   Without them, BP would turn into a dime-a-dozen real estate website.

In the end, it isn't about what you think, what @Cal C thinks, or what I think.  The numbers speak for themselves.  A significant percentage of users, including some of the most active and insightful, have expressed dissatisfaction with the new design.  I imagine the click counts and post data backs that.  Hell, since the redesign I've spent most of my BP time (which has definitely been reduced) in this thread reading the feedback and waiting for changes.  I get that BP is a business, and like any other, is balancing several priorities when making these decisions.  Just disappointed that, rather then take us at our word when providing the requested feedback, it appears as if it is going to take a drastic decrease in site traffic in order to undo this "redesign".

a) Yes, your wholesaler is worth it.  He is bringing you feasible deals, even after his fee is taken into consideration.  That said, given the low purchase price of the property, paying over 11k is a bit steep.  I'd try to negotiate a bit, drop that to maybe $7,500.  You don't want to push the wholesaler away, because the deal is still feasible, but spending less is just as important as earning more in this game.  

b) Your expenses seem understated to me. I would definitely include vacancy (I use 8.3% of the yearly rent), property management (say 10%), and increase repairs & capex quite a bit. All in all, instead just over 11k I'd expect your actual NOI to be just under 9k. Still should be about a 12% return, which works out, just not the 16% you're expecting.

Thank you for ackknowledging that we've been heard.

Quick question, have we lost the edit function?  I just went to edit my long post (to eliminate some of those unnecessary white lines/spaces) and I can't find it. 

You want feedback?  You've got it.  Now it's time for @Joshua Dorkinand the rest of the BP team to step up and fix this.  Internet forums are a VISUAL medium.  Those of us interacting here can't hear each other, or feel each other, or hear each other.  We can only SEE the words we decide to share in posts.  Limiting that visibility cuts to the very core of the function and purpose of this site.

Here's a quick review of the feedback:

Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

..finding it more difficult to read.

Originally posted by @Jeff S.:

I have a headache....getting very difficult to read.

Originally posted by @K. Marie P.:

Whoa. Hard to see, hard to read.

Originally posted by @Joel Owens:

feedback from the moderators is we did not like the new look overall....Maybe it's easier to read on cell phones? I know for desktop it certainly is not.

Originally posted by @Cal C.:

this is way too much....Hard to quickly scan through the recent posts.

Originally posted by @Robert G.:

makes me strain my eyes....painful to read.

Originally posted by @Kyle J.:

the text seems lighter (harder to read).

Originally posted by @Pam B.:

changes are very visually uncomfortable for me.

Originally posted by @Nnabuenyi Anigbogu:

font is harder to read....find my self straining my eyesight more

Originally posted by @Matt R.:

Seriously is no bueno...Harder to read is the biggest issue.

Originally posted by @Colleen F.:

I don't like it...much harder to read. PLEASE PLEASE fix this.

Originally posted by @Michaela G.:

I really don't like the way the forum reads now...Not pleasing to the eye.

Originally posted by @Nick Doria:

Front is way to small and thin, much harder to read

Originally posted by @Sam Lucio:

even with my 20/20 vision I find the text very hard to read and bothering.

Originally posted by @Johanna S.:

Really hard to read ☹

Originally posted by @Simon Shih:

Format is weird...Makes it hard to read.

Originally posted by @John Weidner:

Much easier to read and navigate before - I really do not like the new format

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

comments about eye strain I can vouch for...I can only look at this for a few mintues then need to leave

Originally posted by @Charmaine M.:

NOT working for me....I have not been reading alot because it is very hard on the eyes.

Originally posted by @Rick Harmon:

I think it enhances the advertisers' experience....But not mine. 

The large majority of the complaints are really "preferences".  Obviously you can't please everyone when it comes to some of those options.  You do the best you can, please the majority, and hope the others will get used to the layout/structure.

HOWEVER, the fact that I just spent 8 minutes catching up on this thread and my eyes are physically hurting already.  That is not a preference.  That is is a simple option for BP.  Fix it, or be prepared to lose those that it is affecting.  I love this site, and I truly want to continue to interact on here, but I'm no masochist.  I've tried 2 different computers.  It feels like the site is squeezing the life out of my eyeballs.

The "reasons" have been well stated by those before me, but I'll just add the redesign gets a thumbs down from me.  Plain and simple, the coloring, layout, and size makes me strain my eyes.  Which makes these forums a bit painful to read.

If it ain't broke.....