All Forum Posts by: Michael Marquis

Out of all of the lead generation strategies you've implemented to add doors (and grow your business), which ones have been the best return on your investment?

I want to create a daily business development schedule that optimizes revenue-producing activities. After reading pretty much everything on Property Management and listening to countless podcasts, this is the list that seems to work:

- REIA Meetings (Networking)

- BDI Meetups (Networking)

- Local Chamber of Commerce (Networking)

- Real Estate Offices (Networking with Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agents)

- FRBO (Zillow, etc.): Direct Mail/Mailers

- Host Educational Seminars on Building a Property Management Company (target landlords)

- Direct Mailings to Out-of-Town Property Owners

- National Association of Realtors Local Chapter Meetups

- Facebook Marketplace (Private Owner Listings)

Are there any additional lead generational techniques that have worked with growing a PM Business?

Thank you so much in advance,

Mike Marquis

1 Vote

@Dustin Lauer Thank you for the good info, Dustin. I just checked out establishing a foreign entity in each stay - it seems like that's the best play. All the best, Mike.

1 Vote

Quote from @Benjamin Sulka:

Quote from @Michael Marquis:

Quote from @Aaron Bard:

Hi everyone,

I'm still learning how to navigate the BiggerPockets site and forums, so this is a new realm for me.

I am based near Bangor, Maine; about two hours north of Portland. I am in the process of looking for a 4-unit building somewhere within a 30 minute drive of where I work that I can househack.

I have money saved for a down payment, have connected with a fabulous investor-friendly, husband and wife realtor team, have been pre-qualified for an FHA loan, have connected with a great lender, and taken some educational courses in order to qualify for state grants on multi-family properties.

Right now, I have yet to find a property that works for me. So far, they are either too expensive, too far away from work, or violate some small code issue and don't qualify for an FHA loan.

I have plans to purchase a 3 or 4-unit and refinance in the future to either buy more rental properties, or potentially, self storage. But one step at a time.

Right now I just need advice on being patient in this dry market. I have an entrepreneurial itch that it seems only real estate can scratch.

I appreciate any feedback!

Hello Sir Aaron,

I love your transparency and you are certainly not alone. Finding a multifamily to house hack is becoming an increasingly tall order, especially with limited inventory and battling through multiple offers. The good news: you have a great team in place to pull the trigger once you do find a gem of an investment property.

I went through a similar process in finding a single-family home to house-hack on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The one thing that helped me:

Changing from an FHA loan to a conventional loan. I know right now, there's a new loan program that allows you to put 5% down on a multifamily purchase under a conventional loan program. It literally launched about a week ago. This is a game-changer for investors.

If you're in a bidding war for multifamily, it's difficult to make the FHA loan work; as in, your offer stand out. There are just too many hoops for a seller to go through in order to get their property FHA approved (inspection process and paperwork). A seller, in this market, is more apt to choose a buyer with cash and/or conventional loan funding. It's just more of a seamless process.

So if you can, I would go for getting approved for a conventional loan. I would ask your loan officer about the new 5% down on a conventional for a multifamily purchase.

I switched from an FHA pre-approval to a conventional pre-approval and make no mistake, it was the only reason we were able to outbid/get chosen to purchase our first single-family home.

All the best to you,

Mike Marquis

@Michael Marquis Great points and great advice. I'm also debating whether I should go the FHA or conventional route and this was super helpful.

@Benjamin Sulka Glad I could help sir. Yeah, it's just a matter of whether or not the opportunity is worth the 1.5-point difference in minimum down payment (3.5% FHA or 5% conventional). Most of the time, it is.

1 Vote

Portland, Maine

Quote from @Brandon Hall:

Yes you nailed it. Maine is pretty lenient with some licenses, but not with others. For example, contractors do not need a license, but plumbers do.

I recommend connecting with Justin Freeman, he is extremely knowledgeable and always makes time to chat. He also knows and invests in Maine which I think is important. I will attach a link to his website for his accounting firm. https://www.freemanassociatescpa.com/our-team/justin-freeman...

If you need any help with anything else let me know, I am a licensed agent, and an investor in the Southern and Central Maine markets!

Perfect, I'll contact Justin tomorrow and set up a meeting. I will certainly keep in touch as I transition to South Portland by mid/late December. My wife and I are certainly looking to grow our portfolio and are mostly looking in the Westbrook/South Portland, area.

Once again, thank you for the guidance!

All the best,

Mike Marquis

0 Votes

Quote from @Brandon Hall:

Not sure of the answer to this exact question, but I am sure your accountant would be able to answer this question for you.

However, it is my understanding that you can have an entity in whatever state you wish, and can conduct business in any other state. For example, the first LLC I established was in New Jersey, but I only own property in Maine. It was explained to me like this. Fedex has their corporation centralized in Tennessee, however, they still ship packages in Maine.

I hope this is helpful, I can provide a Maine accountant I use if you need some insights.

Thank you so much, Brandon. Yeah, you pretty much answered my question. I know certain states require a Property Management license/RE Broker license to operate a PM company. Fortunately, Massachusetts and Maine do not have this restriction, especially if you plan to provide management services only.

And absolutely yes, if you know of a CPA/Accountant who specializes in real estate, I would love to connect with them.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question and point me in the right direction.

Mike

1 Vote

Quote from @Sloane Kraftsow:

Welcome to Bigger Pockets

Thank you so much, Sloane!!!

0 Votes

Portland, Maine

Quote from @Ben Russell:

My wife and I started a PM company this year. A few ideas for marketing that have been working well for us:

-Network everywhere you can. RE meetups have provided several clients.

-Go and meet with realtors at all the brokerages.

-Every week look at the new rentals on Zillow. Find the owners info on the assessors website and send them a mailer.

-check Facebook marketplace for any private owners advertising rentals. Send them a message.

-Get a list of out of town property owners with 2-5 units. Start at 1k names and send 250 mailers a month, hitting each name at least 3 times.

-what makes you different from other managment companies? Most of the people calling will be looking at leaving the PM they are with for a reason. What do you offer that they dont? This is a big question you need to have an answer for.

good luck!

Amazing post. Thank you. Outside of the normal traditional website presence, Yelp, NextDoor & GoogleMyBusiness, this is a gem-of-a-list to help grow your doors.

0 Votes

Upstate New York, New York

Quote from @Aaron Bard:

Hi everyone,

I'm still learning how to navigate the BiggerPockets site and forums, so this is a new realm for me.

I am based near Bangor, Maine; about two hours north of Portland. I am in the process of looking for a 4-unit building somewhere within a 30 minute drive of where I work that I can househack.

Right now, I have yet to find a property that works for me. So far, they are either too expensive, too far away from work, or violate some small code issue and don't qualify for an FHA loan.

I have plans to purchase a 3 or 4-unit and refinance in the future to either buy more rental properties, or potentially, self storage. But one step at a time.

Right now I just need advice on being patient in this dry market. I have an entrepreneurial itch that it seems only real estate can scratch.

I appreciate any feedback!

Hello Sir Aaron,

I went through a similar process in finding a single-family home to house-hack on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The one thing that helped me:

So if you can, I would go for getting approved for a conventional loan. I would ask your loan officer about the new 5% down on a conventional for a multifamily purchase.

I switched from an FHA pre-approval to a conventional pre-approval and make no mistake, it was the only reason we were able to outbid/get chosen to purchase our first single-family home.

All the best to you,

Mike Marquis

2 Votes

Portland, Maine

Quote from @Dominik Porobic:

Good luck Michael! You picked a great place to move to!

Thank you, Dominik. Really appreciate the words of encouragement.

0 Votes

Portland, Maine

Quote from @Andrew Syrios:

Welcome aboard Michael!

Thank you Andrew. Really appreciate it!!!

1 Vote

Portland, Maine

All Forum Posts by: Michael Marquis

Michael Marquis has started 4 posts and replied 16 times.

Post: Property Management Lead Generation

Post: Question about Managing Properties in Different States...?

Post: Big Plans, Small Progress

Post: Question about Managing Properties in Different States...?

Post: Question about Managing Properties in Different States...?

Post: New Affordable Housing Property Manager

Post: Starting a property management company

Post: Big Plans, Small Progress

Post: New Affordable Housing Property Manager

Post: New Affordable Housing Property Manager