All Forum Posts by: Leanne Hunt

Hi there! I read a lot of business books that emphasize the need for knowing your customers and marketing to your clients. However, my buy and hold real estate business doesn't seem to match the ordinary sales or services model. I have a property manager who advertises for tenants, draws up leases and attends to maintenance issues. Basically, I am just the person who buys the property, so I really don't need to market at all — or so it seems. And yet I want to run my operation profitably, according to professional practice. What do other buy and hold investors think? Do I have clients and, if so, what sort of marketing should I be doing?

As an investor active in South Africa, Dineo, I would strongly suggest approaching the banks first for finance. As you probably know, there are lots of scammers out there offering cash loans, and all they are really after are your banking details. Also, private lenders will demand high interest and short repayment periods.  Regular banks at least offer you the protection of a proper financial assessment and can advise on whether you can actually afford to take on the debt you are considering. My advise is to check your credit rating through one of the local credit rating agencies, find out if there are any black marks against your record, and attend to those first.  Then approach the bank for the loan.  Many estate agents also offer a bond origination service whereby they apply to several banks on your behalf to get the best terms.

Josh, thanks for the question. I'm a fairly new investor from the point of view of running a business. I have 3 tenanted units and another one which is soon to be let, but I haven't up till now seen them as anything other than a way of planning for retirement. This year will be my year for working on cash flow and systems. I hope to get a good handle on earnings and expenses with the help of my bookkeeper and to position myself for making more purchases as soon as I am certain that my numbers will work!

My initial response is to say, be careful of building if you haven't done it before! You have to be sure that building costs don't exceed the market value of a completed block. Plus, there is the time factor, so make sure you hire a reputable contractor who won't string you along because he has other jobs on the go. Having said that, though, if others are investing in the area and your existing block is doing so well, the indications are that you can't go wrong. I would build something that matches your existing block in terms of unit size and design, because it obviously appeals. Accommodation close to university campuses always seems to be in demand and you can contribute towards the overall vibe of the neighbourhood by enlarging the residential zone.

From what I see, offshore real estate investing is becoming increasingly popular and, in fact, I am on the opposite side of the equation to Laura in that I am a South African who has investigated opportunities in North Dakota and Atlanta. The thing is, companies are popping up all over to assist people in setting up offshore business entities, and perhaps you could find a consultant who can advise on all the particularities of your case. I'm guessing a partnership would be the most logical, but here in SA people often invest with trust structures. A family trust, for example, allows you to appoint trustees, keep track of whose money has been invested, and appoint beneficiaries. The advantage of a trust is also that it lives on after members die, thereby avoiding estate duty on assets.

I have often wondered about the same thing. In South Africa, the selling process seems to be a little different. There is no escrow period, or at least, it is not called that. After the buyer signs the offer and the seller countersigns, it goes to the conveyancer or transferring attorney who handles all the details.  I think one woud have to ask a transferring attorney to act on your behalf and to work with you as you try to sell the property on to another buyer.

Thank you, John! I appreciate the tips and am looking forward to getting somewhere where I have a reliable internet connection so I can browse the forums and listen to one or two more podcasts. A happy festive season to you!

Thank you, Nate, James and Elizabeth for your responses to my introduction. I am really excited about how much there is to learn on the site and especially the opportunity to gain and share tips about buy and hold investing.  The 2% rule is particularly intriguing because I am a long way off that kind of return. Don't know whether it's our market which is so different or whether I need to drive much harder deals! Must look up a discussion on the topic, I reckon. Any suggestions?

Hello everyone!  I have been dabbling in sectional title property [the equivalent of condos] since 2003 but only became serious as an investor in early 2014 after reading "It's Rising Time", a book on investing for women by Kim Kyosaki.  This year alone, I signed for four 2 bed/1 bath units and am looking forward to further expanding my portfolio in 2015.  This is an exciting change of direction for me.  Before this, I worked as an author and worked hard to promote a self-published novel, only to realise that I would probably never recoup my expenses.  Real estate, and the whole field of entrepreneurship, is prviding me with new creative outlets which I am really finding inspiring.  Apart from the writing and the real estate, I have two daughters at university, which leaves my husband and I to enjoy travelling together.  We love to go to the game reserve or the mountains, and our next big trip is a cruise on the Mediterranean in 2016.  I came across Bigger Pockets through a local real estate investor blog.  The podcasts are particularly valuable to me as they provide a sort of mentorship/peer group where familiar concepts are openly explored .  I particularly like Josh's passion and Brandon's persistence in asking the practical questions.  I hope to be able to contribute something of value on the forums, though I'm not sure how relevant my offshore perspective will be.  I guess time will tell!

John, my husband has roots in Ireland and we visited there in 2003. It is a beautiful country, full of fascinating people. At the time, there seemd to be a housing boom and people were building Tuscan villas and weekend homes all over the countryside, but we heard that things got tough after that with lots of properties standing vacant. It's good to hear that things are looking up again. Like you I am investing outside the US so the value of BP is mostly in the blog posts and podcasts, not so much the networking and marketplace. Still, I find that connecting online with other passionate real estate investors is enormously inspiring and energising, and I wish you a good, long association with the community! Happy investing!