All Forum Posts by: Matt Gehrls

That you've found your unfair advantage? I reread this twice. I can't tell what you mean. I thought you were going to write out your plan, but I didn't see a plan. Then I thought you were going to cover what your niche is. I couldn't find that either.

Is the point that you found it? Because that makes sense. If that's right, I would love to hear what that advantage is. I'm just starting out and have no idea what I have/if I have one. If I missed the point, can you boil this down to like one or two sentences?

I came to this post just to see what exactly you were asking. I think you would get a better response if you put Property Preservation Advice or something in the title. The subject line is just way too broad. It applies to literally everyone on the site even though what you are asking is about a very specific aspect.

Good luck. I hadn't heard of that kind of business. Just looked it up. Very interesting idea. If you target the right markets, I bet you could have some success. I imagine mostly urban markets for this kind of thing. Probably what I would do is search for people in your area that are on this site and see if that's something they are interested in. If so, I bet they would have ideas to help you tailor your services to fit your market really well.

It doesn't help that the average wage have dropped dramatically since the last crash too. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c...

This is likely a bad sign for investors hoping for appreciation, but how do you think this will affect cash flow investors? I am planning to jump into my first deal, but if it's the height of the market, should I hold off or will I be unaffected if I still get a deal where the numbers work right now? I may have to spend some time underwater if there is a crash, but if I buy and hold, that doesn't matter so much, right?

I wouldn't want to invest there until the dust settles, but most of the protesters are peaceful and passionate. They are protesting because care about their community, and something terrible happened there. Assuming they are working and can afford the place I would have no problem with a person like that as my tenant.

That said, with everything happening there the market has got to be unstable and any investing would be pretty speculative.

Also, I would love to see your sources for people burning their own houses down in protest. If it did happen, it was someone who had issues way before all this stuff went down.

I actually had a long term sub position at four GRPS schools. Only one of them would I ever step foot in again. It was my first experience in urban schools and it was very eye opening. 

We want the city because we like downtown and we want healthy distance from some family in the area. Really depending on where we find work we may end up in a suburb.

@Michael Lurch Nice jab at Chicago. I laughed. Trulia crime map is a new tip for me. Checking it out now. I'm going to be there over Christmas and I plan to drive around to map out the areas that are definitely not places I want to be.

Honestly, if I could find 6-7% cap rate in the Heritage Hills area, I would do that over a 10% somewhere else. I'm already "making" money by having the place pay my bills. For property number two, I'll be pickier.

@Michael Lerch That is something I am open to right now. I need to do more research.

Original, I thought downtown, and that would be ideal if the math works. It looks like the cap rates are better just west of the river, but that's based on online listings, which I know isn't a good way to find deals.

Share the wealth, Nathan!

Actually, I would take an okay deal. Even a negative cashflow place would be a HUGE step up from where I am now. Fact is, the rent I'm paying in Chicago could pay for 3 mortgage payments in GR. If I was breaking even I'd be happy with the place.

That said, I'm not going to buy a property that looks like it will break even. I just don't need to be picky about a 10% cap rate yet.

Greetings BP,

Long time listener (to the podcast), and been a member for a little bit but I haven't really been involved on the site yet.

I have my degree in Music Education and will hopefully be getting a good High School Choir teacher position for the next school year. Right now, I'm just working jobs to save money for a down payment and living in Chicago with my long term girlfriend.

We are moving back to Grand Rapids this summer and the plan is to start investing when we get there. We want to buy a multifamily house and live in one of the units, hopefully for free; minus the time I spend landlording.

I've read the biggerpockets books and two other books recommended by people on the site, and I've listened to about 70 hours of the BP podcast so I feel like I have a decent handle on how to run the numbers and know some of the pitfalls. I've started looking at deals just to practice the numbers and play with different ideas.

That's pretty much where I am. Anyone in Southwest Michigan: Kalamazoo, Battle Creek areas that want to say hi, you are welcome. 

Have a good day!