All Forum Posts by: Michael E.

Hi @Devron Goodwine. Most of the posts about Saginaw are 5-10 years old (or more) but I'm in Saginaw. I don't have a rental in Saginaw but I'd love to connect with you.

Glad I could be of help. I saw your profile, I'd love to hear how you locked up that 12 unit. Very impressive.

This post is over a year old but maybe it will help.

tri-cities-michigan-wholesale-friendly-title-company

For Zip codes you will want to stay out of 48601 and probably 48602 (little appreciation in 48602). 48603 is a much safer bet. (I live in that zip.) 48604 and 48638 and also ok. In general you want to be west of the river and the farther west the more appreciation you will see.

Note, I do not own any rentals in Saginaw.

Hi Charles,

I too am looking for a contractor but so far have not found one that seems experienced and trustworthy. Or rather I should say of the few that return my calls. I'm not sure if you are local or out of state but I live in Saginaw and if you are local and would like to meetup sometime I'd love to hear some of your experiences so far.

Good luck in your search.

Hi @Lukas Obel

As I said I'm pretty new myself and I have not done a house hack. However, personally I would look for a small multi-family property. I've tried having roommates before (not a house hack) and it didn't go so well. Two of the roommates didn't get along and that did not make for a relaxing home environment. But again, that is just my personal opinion. I don't know what your budget is or how you feel about putting in sweat equity but there are lots of 2 and 3 unit properties available. 

 Hi Lukas,

I'm a relatively new investor myself. For a house hack you should probably start by deciding what areas you would actually want to live in. Then look for a property that meets your goals/criteria in those areas. My agent @Nick Harris was great in helping me choose an area to target. He works with @Joe Hammel and @FIRE Realty Team and they are helping a lot of new investors get good properties in the metro area. They regularly put out useful info and a resource list. Below is an example. I can't upload a PDF so this is just a screenshot of the first page.

Hope this info is helpful and good luck!

Hi Desmond,

I would just add that if you do keep the sprinkler system, make sure the tenants understand A) how to use it and B) any damage will be their responsibility.

Congratulations and good luck.

Currently I'm doing both but that wasn't by choice.

I just bought my first rental in January. I talked to several PMs and asked a lot of questions (put together a list of questions using info from BP), then picked the one that had good answers. The guy I spoke to on the phone was knowledgeable and experienced, the guy that was actually managing my property, not so much. I didn't realize it but half of the things that needed to be done were falling through the cracks. And after 6 months there were multiple things I had to do myself (like cutting the grass) because they just were not getting them done. I'm currently replacing them with a new PM.

The biggest thing I've learned is that I need to act like the PM's supervisor. Follow up repeatedly to make sure they followed up on the tasks/issues and then verify that it was completed in a satisfactory way. 

Even though I'm hiring a new PM, I still plan to have a more hands-on role. That way I can know about issues and address those issues before they become problems.

@Alicia Marks Thanks for another great QOTW!

Hi Trevor,

My most immediate challenge is finding a good PM and quality contractors. My current PM has totally failed me. I called/emailed 8 other PMs and only 3 ever responded. Of those, only one actually manages properties in that area. Same thing with good contractors. So I just keep employing "the power of one more". One more call, one more email, one more contact list, until I find the right people.