All Forum Posts by: Matt Fisher

Kyle,

To me the COC return is low, but I try to focus on forcing appreciation through rehab and refinancing with little to no money down when I'm done. That said, from a 'turnkey' perspective this sounds like it would probably work.

Your concerns about renting and renters are justified.  It sounds like the house is in great shape, this may allow for better rents-I always try to get high rent off of a fresh rehab AND I'm happy to wait for great tenants and/or tenants that are likely to stay for a long time. BUT, I am in Des Moines, there is a huge pool of potential renters.  I also know your neighborhood well (I used to work near Letts/Cranston)... For Iowa, the area is economically depressed and you may have difficulty just renting it.. What town is it in? 

Luckily, you will probably be close and can keep an eye on it. Strong lease agreements and excellent tenant screening can help minimize risk and since you will likely be close, you can keep an eye on it. It's ok to nag them! 

I think any skilled agent will be able to help you. You need 3 things from them. 1.) MLS access (i.e. you need an email 'feed'0, 2.) Their access to property and 3.) their assistance with the acquisition (or sale). You need to figure out what constitutes the type of property you want and convey that clearly to them.

IMO, if you're working with an 'investor friendly' realtor, you probably aren't getting the deals that their oldest/best clients are. Find a good agent that will work for you and help them understand what you want.  If they're good, they will quickly understand what you're looking for.

My wife has used Katie Chalupa twice-she was excellent and hard working.  Both my brother and sister recently used Mike McEleney and were very happy.  I don't think you'd go wrong with either.

Hi, I always seem to have trouble with @mentions.  On my desktop, I type @+ first few letters of the person's name and their name pops up, however when I try to click that name, or hit enter, it never publishes it as an @mention.

Any suggestions?  Sorry, I searched but didn't see anything about this problem specifically.

TIA,

Matt

Following. Mine recently charged me $150 for a one sentence email...

@John C It sounds like you need to have a discussion with an attorney.  Although there are plenty of knowledgable people here, there are plenty of ways that local procedure varies and no one knows this better than a good local attorney.  $200 spent might be well worth it... even if it isn't profitable, you will learn a lot for next year!

I've never really spent much mental energy on the tax sales-seems that most I know get paid off quickly by the owner so it seems like the potential for a lot of work and little payoff (with occasional bit paydays!).  Given that, I think @Keith Brockmeyer's explanation was one of the simplest I've ever heard!  And I had never considered that it was done to balance the county's books although in hind sight it makes perfect sense!

I have read that VA's can have complex taxation issues in the home countries. As they would be working with marketing-critical to my business-I could be taxed in both the US and whichever country they are located.

How do others deal with Virtual Assistants' taxation?

I need help with marketing-primarily research- and I'm spinning in circles about whether I should hire an individual as an employee or as a contractor (and how a virtual assistant would be classified).

The initial work I need would be internet research for specific individuals that meet my marketing criteria.  It may be less than 10 hrs per week, it could be done at home and I'm very flexible about how and when they do it-I just need it in a format that I can use. I can see this role expanding into about a half-time position in a few months (expanded marketing stuff).

Hiring an employee seems to be an incredibly cumbersome task.  Hiring the same individual as a contractor seems much easier (in terms of added bookkeeping workload, etc.) but for my needs I'm not confident in the IRS' litmus tests...

Finally, I think that a VA would be GREAT for this, but I am having trouble finding how they are treated from a tax standpoint... Personally, I would prefer to hire locally but our tax code seems to make offshore VA's more attractive, but I digress...

Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions?  It's greatly appreciated!

Matt

Just keep talking to people and telling them what you do.  You will meet them.  There are tons of investors out there... it's good to meet not very successful investors too.  IME, I learn as much from them as the good ones!

Don't get me wrong... Students are a lucrative segment of the market.  I just tend to avoid problematic tenants as part of my biz model: "Good Houses, Good Neighborhoods, Great Tenants". I think you have a good plan, but it will be difficult to find property to buy.  Not impossible and where there is a challenge, there are opportunities!!!  So, don't let me discourage you, just be prepared to do a lot of work to find one.

I like Cedar Rapids because it's a town that's growing and has tremendous potential (if it doesn't have another huge flood). But more importantly, it has so many reasonably priced properties vs the Iowa City 'metro'.  When I lived there, that was where I was going to focus (and the QC/Muscatine area).  

Yep. IC's a tough, tough market.  Lucrative but extremely hard to find deals.  If I had stayed in North Liberty I would have focused on Cedar Rapids.  It sounds like you want to buy and hold-why not buy 4 cash flowing properties in Cedar Rapids with stable tenants instead of one that's going to get destroyed by students?  Cash is cash, right?

If you're dead set on buying a multi-family, my best suggestion would be to find out who the landlords are and talk to them, preferably face to face.  Let them know you're serious and looking. They might just take a shine to you and your chutzpah!  They are getting letters from investors so don't expect that to be a stand alone strategy.