All Forum Posts by: Trevor Brunckhorst

I really enjoy reading the successes of fellow BP'ers. As a 24 year old with a passion for EVERYTHING real estate, the success stories are just verification that it's never too early to start in the real estate game.

As much as I enjoy reading the success stories, I think a good forum would be the opposite; Failures.

I think that a "failures" section would be a great addition to an already great site. The things we learn from our failures, and the failures of others, often teach us the most.

Maybe others can weigh in on whether or not it'd be a good topic deserving it's own section.

In the meantime, lets start here. What are some of your failures in the Real Estate game? What are some of the details? What led to the failure(s)? What did you learn from the failure? How'd you cope at the time? How are you preventing similar failures from happening again? How devastating was the failure at the time it happened? Did you recover? What would you want others to learn from your failure?

**Note, failure might be too strong of a noun, but substitute it for what you'd like**

Since I am new to the game and the site, i'd say my biggest real estate failure to date would be not getting started earlier. I'm here now and ready to roll!

Trevor Brunckhorst

3 Votes

Originally posted by Realtyman:

My first advice would be to stay away from hiring a PM company. You lose 10%+ of your gross rents monthly. They usually hire their friends or family for repairwork so repairs are charged at the professional rates and you get amature workmanship. The repairs are so shoddy, that sometimes you pay for the same item to be repaired 2-3 times. You need to watch the vacancy fees. They will put a homeless person in and then you have court costs to evict them for nonpayment and then there are repairs every time between tenants along with additional fees to PM company for filling the vacancy. Secerity deposits are to be kept in separate accounts - they usually have one large trust account for the company - if they go bankrupt those funds are passed out to creditors. They do not have any ownership in the property so will put all kinds of individuals into the property - drug dealers, prostitutes, meth labs, etc. Drive around town and look at properties like yours that are managed by a professional mismanagement company and you can see from the outside how bad it is! It is best for you to retain the management of the properties yourself!

When first starting out - I also did not want to be involved in the management, but after 6 months and 4 tenants - we took over and it is not all that much to maintain. We ended up with 5 different tenants over the next 10 years.

I realize this is an older thread, but it's important to me to reply. I hope the OP is smart enough to disregard REALTYMAN's post as a horrible experience. It's unfair to label all PM's this way. I believe if you speak with our clients they'll sing a different song than Realtyman.

A lot of PM's are unprofessional. There are several more that DO and WILL care for your property. The same goes for landscapers, plumbers, or any other service provider.

The key is to ask questions, seek references, understand what's expected of the PM. Communication is key. In this day and age, nobody should wait longer than an hour for a return phone call. The technology allows us to be efficient and provide value to your business.

Trevor Brunckhorst

0 Votes

Originally posted by David Jackson:

5% plus a 5% placement fee is just the same as 10%.

In Michigan, our standard rate is 10% monthly management fee. The placement fee is 1 month's rent and that is standard. This of course is always negotiable depending on several factors - proximity, volume, condition of property, etc...

Our services range from simply advertising the property all the way to complete management oversight. The key is to be flexible and offer the investor/landlord exactly what they want.

Trevor Brunckhorst

1 Vote

Originally posted by Mark Yuschak:

Welcome from Grand Blanc!

I'm a buy-and-hold investor with multiple SFHs and a small apt building. And, I am a rehabber.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! There are plenty of opportunities in Real Estate in Michigan, regardless of what you read in the headlines! For a company like ours, property management is growing considerably right now. There are so many people who are becoming "accidental landlords" around Metro Detroit. We've also been able to hook up with a few investors from the Far East that've been instrumental to our growth.

The goal is to grow the real estate business enough that I can say "bye-bye" to the 9-5 within 6 months. Feel free to add network and "follow" my career growth!

Thanks,
Trevor Brunckhorst

0 Votes

Originally posted by Joe Dube:

Hi Trevor,

Welcome to BP. I'm sure you'll find plenty of information here and it's a great place to network. Are you in the commercial niche or SFR?

Hi Joe. My "9-5" is transportation related industrial truck terminals and warehouse space. The idea is to get out of there ASAP. My passion is focused on real estate investment, property management, etc... I'm really excited about building my network and the path that lies ahead.

Trevor

0 Votes

Hello everyone! Awesome site here Josh...

I wanted to take a minute and introduce myself. I'm Trevor Brunckhorst from Berkley, MI. I'm a recently licensed agent and have been working business development for [a property management firm] in addition to being employed by the largest private landowner in Michigan.

My goal is to build a portfolio of 50 units for my management company within 6 months. We've got a lot of activity in our area, so I know it's doable. I'd love the opportunity to work with anyone in the Metro Detroit area.

Trevor Brunckhorst

0 Votes

Did you end up buying the property? Are you planning on managing the unit yourself? If not, I didn't see a 10% in your calculations. Feel free to PM me as we work in the Metro Detroit area with multiple investors, landlords, and tenants.

Trevor

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Trevor Brunckhorst

Trevor Brunckhorst has started 3 posts and replied 17 times.

Post: Success is Good; Failure Better?

Post: Hiring a Property Manager?

Post: Starting a small property management company

Post: Property Manager / Agent / Investor - Metro Detroit

Post: Property Manager / Agent / Investor - Metro Detroit

Post: Property Manager / Agent / Investor - Metro Detroit

Post: Detroit Suburb Duplex Analysis