All Forum Posts by: Lucy Atkinson

Id be happy to help you look for deals in Northern & Central KY. We work with a lot of out of state investors so we are also familiar with those ins and outs as well. 

as far as your question about paying utilities, I have seen success with charging a set  utility reimbursement fee in addition to rent every month as a way to help owners get some of the money back they are dishing out on multi family properties with shared meters. If the building has utilities that are separately metered then tenants should be putting them in their name and the owner would only pay for things like the lights in the common areas or in the case of a vacancy. 

management fees range from company to company based on the amount of services they provide (Are they full service or more of a answer the phone and balance the books type of operation) and the size of the portfolio they are managing for you, but in my experience percentages can range from 6-10%. Where you are just starting out its safe to assume you'll be closer to 10% with it eventually going down as you add more units. 

If you have a trusted realtor friend that could keep the keys and check in periodically on the property and has a good rolodex of vendors to call on in the event of a maintenance emergency who would agree to do so for a small fee as opposed to a set management percentage like a traditional management company that could be a cheaper/easier alternative. 

However, if you plan to add units in the future our stay gone for the indefinite future, hiring an established management company may be something worth considering. 

Age of the property should be a factor in your decision as well. In theory and older building may have a greater chance of maintenance issues which could mean more headaches. 

If your purchase and rehab budget will allow, buying a small multi family to reno would not be a bad idea, you could fix up some of the units, and rent them out while you continue to renovate the remaining units. 

single family homes have their perks too, you can liquidate one or two of your units down the road if you needed capital, which is something you would not be able to do with a multi family building. 

There are tons of things to consider when choosing ways to invest. Good Luck on your hunt for the right property!

Hi Jasmin, I am a former Property Manager and current Wholesaler based out of Lexington, KY. Through both lenses I have worked with investors from Utah, New York, Montana, and Florida to find, renovate, and manage portfolios here in KY. It is very important that you feel confident with the team you choose to run your properties and find someone who can manage your budget and expectations when it comes to your rentals. I would say ask a lot of questions about the areas and try and connect with investors that are local. I know here in KY there are tons of very active Facebook groups that make networking very easy and are great resources for finding lenders and contractors 

Hey peter, feel free to reach out, I am a wholesaler in Lexington but we do a lot of deals all over central and northern KY and I would be happy to talk shop with you about the process. 

Are you committed to just the OH side of Cincinnati? or would you also be open to deals in northern KY as well (Covington, Dayton, Bellevue, Newport) that is just across the river? 

Have you ever considered KY? I have worked with a lot of investors in NY and Utah, who have pretty substantial portfolios out here in Central KY and I would be happy to talk with you if you are open to this market as well. 

What have you all been doing to promote your Airbnb listings during the off season? I’m looking for ways to increase bookings for my listings when we are coming into a pretty slow time of year in my area and want to see if there are any proactive things I can do to get some new guests.

Thank you!

Hi all!

I will soon be sitting for my real estate agent exam in KY and have recently transitioned into an Airbnb management position and had a question for the group. The bulk of our leads for Airbnb management come pretty naturally through google and that sort of thing but what are some things people are doing to market their Airbnb property management services that have been successful? I would really love to get some new and innovative ideas to continue to grow our portfolio.

Thanks!

Hi Evan, Welcome to Lexington! Over the last year I have seen the rents go up in Lexington almost 20%. Now is a great time to look into getting in to a couple properties. The only scenario where we normally would include utilities is if the properties utilities are not individually metered. In this scenario, we would charge a utility package that is based on the size of each unit in addition to the rent as a way to get some reimbursement for those expenses. However, we have also run into the issue that @Ryan Niccum mentioned where tenants have stopped paying rent and we were still required to keep the utilities active. Just something to keep in mind when looking over your prospective properties.