All Forum Posts by: Michael Clark

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $293,000

3 unit property in downtown Allentown. Turnkey investment with value add potential. Two units occupied, renting for $815 and $850 per month. Did a light rehab on the 3rd unit - fresh coat of paint and new carpeting. Currently listed for $1250 per month. Not a home run deal, but a good start and a lot of appreciation potential.

Thank you for your responses! Jeremy Pace - I did not realize that section 8 provides free inspections. Perhaps a landlord would value more frequent, at-request inspections. I agree- if property management is already in place than this service probably does not add any value. Marcia Maynard - that's what I was imagining. Landlords who self-manage properties at a distance from their primary residence or are seeking to free up their workload might be prime candidates. A self-employed field inspector who is already driving certain regions on a regular basis and performing a similar function for mortgage companies would be able to take on additional work in those areas and provide quick turnaround. With that in mind, the price could be lower than a full blown inspection but vary depending on the extent of service provided. What do you believe would be a fair price that provides value to the landlord?

Landlords- Would you consider it a valuable service to receive a periodic report, summarizing the condition of your rental property, along with pictures, right to your inbox? This could be a simple drive-by exterior inspection or a walk-through. Maybe a tenant move-in/move-out inspection report. For somebody with a "field inspector" background who has completed these types of inspections for mortgage companies for many years, I wonder if this could be a valuable "add-on" service offering to pick up additional work. Maybe not. BP community- can you help me validate (or invalidate) this idea?

Thanks @Matt M.  I will look into that.  I am going into this with an open mind and looking to take the path of most opportunity.

Thanks for the advice @Derek Dombeck  and @MICHAEL YBARRA I attended my first REI club meeting last night and signed up for a full-year membership.

Hi @Mary W. !  Thanks for the tip.  Are there any specific videos that you recommend?  I attended the DIG meeting in Horsham, PA last night.  It was awesome!  Check out their website - DigOnline.org It was well attended, very educational, and provided a great opportunity to network and gain insights into local market.  Hope to see you there!

Thanks @Derek Dombeck ! That makes a lot of sense. Do you have any advice on how to determining which method of generating leads will be most successful for certain markets? With online marketing, I know you can Google certain keywords and browse certain websites to see what online strategies, if any, competitors are using. But when it comes to direct mail, is trial and error the only approach? I plan to begin my first marketing campaign soon but am trying to figure out how to best spend my money ($500/month budget). Also, how do you determine which areas to target? There are several zip codes I have in mind, but I want to determine if it makes sense to target them for wholesaling before I invest in marketing. I have read several places that it is best to find out if cash buyers are purchasing properties in a given area first and go where the money is. That makes sense to me. I am attending my first REIA meeting tonight and hope to begin building a local network. Have you found this approach to be most effective as well? Thanks for taking time to share your valuable insights with this newbie!

With the real estate market moving towards recovery, in what ways does the wholesaling field change? I understand there will always be motivated sellers, regardless of the market condition. I assume that absentee owner lists, inheritance lists, probate lists, etc. can be good lead sources in any market. However, unemployment continues to decrease, home values continue to increase, and the number of foreclosures continues to drop (on a national level). I’ve heard some investors comment that it’s time to move from a buy and flip strategy to a buy and hold strategy. I live in the Philadelphia area, and hope to get into wholesaling until I have enough capital to execute buy and hold deals. However, I don’t want to climb onto a “sinking ship” so to speak. Aside from wholesaling being a difficult field in general, are the current market changes working for or against wholesalers? How are you adjusting your strategy in response to the market changes? As someone just getting into the real estate investing game now, I really want to wrap my head around where things are going.  Thanks!

Thanks for the advice @Edward Synicky !  Networking is my main focus right now.

That is very kind of you @Nancy L. I may take you up on that!

Thanks @Paul Timmins that's very kind.  Lets stay in touch! 

Hey @Kevin Delaney ! Wow the BP community really is everywhere.  I just moved into Langhorne in December.  Hope we can connect at a DIG meeting soon!

Thanks for sharing that info @Steve Babiak I was not aware of the membership fees.  I will reach out to the meeting organizers to make sure I have all bases covered before showing up.  Have you always found the fees for membership/training classes to be worth the cost?

Thanks @Joe Mulcahy!  That is good advice. 

@John Matthews  thanks for the greeting!  Check out the group site: DIGonline.org Did you find the discussion topics were over your head as a newbie or did it all click?

It seems like networking is the natural first step beyond pouring over the endless articles, books, forum posts, etc. about real estate investing.  Everything is beginning to feel more real already now that I'm connecting with investors and sharing my goals.  My business cards are on the way and I'm marking my calendar.  I hope to run into you guys sometimes soon!