All Forum Posts by: Ed Brancheau

Yeah, you got a pretty tall order there.

Maybe you can create your own group?

I did that when I went out on my own to start my digital marketing company because anyone that attends will see you as the "expert". You just have to know a little bit more than they do.

Does this help: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I'm not sure about Greenwood but I've done deals in Indianapolis from here in San Diego, CA. They've done very well.

And forgive me if you've already done this because it is really simple but you'd be surprised how many people on BP forget about the search box, myself included.

I just did a quick search for "Greenwood Indiana" and there's a lot of great advice about the area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Thanks @Craig Parsons, I will definitely look into your suggestion because that would be better. However, I've heard this same nightmare scenario from numerous investors in a local REIA.

It's a really stupid law meant to protect sub-contractors from getting screwed but it just screws someone else, the investor who already paid enough to pay everyone, instead of the person that the sub-contractor should go after... the GC.

And yeah, in California, it's a safe bet to bet that a permit is required for just about anything.

Like @Tom Hamblen suggests, definitely get involved with your local REIA. Everyone I've met at the REIA in San Diego has been extremely helpful and I've heard the same about other cities.

You're correct to assume that STRs are more hands-on BUT there's a misconception about how much time they take because most people don't build a team and system to manage them. They try to do everything themselves... find the property... fix the property... rent it out... clean it -- WHY would any investor want to do the cleaning?!

But once you have a team, it takes much less time to manage. Really, it's infinite because you can just add more team members as you get more properties.

And I don't worry about competition because at least 80% of STR owners don't know how to market their properties. They think they can just post them on AirBnB and the bookings will come rolling in immediately.

Here are a couple of examples:

Example 1: A friend of my is a new Realtor and investor here in San Diego. She bought a 2B/1BA apartment in La Jolla that's a five-minute walk to the beach. She paid $750K -- yeah, expensive which is why I look in other parts of the country in addition to San Diego) and dropped another $50K to reno everything.

She had a professional photographer take photos and she put it up on AirBnB at a competitive price but she got ZERO rentals in over three months while she had to make $15K in mortgage payments.

One Saturday, we were watching our USC Trojans get whipped by Notre Dame with a bunch of friends at a local La Jolla bar. We were pretty blitzed.

Anyhow, she turned to me and said, "I need some marketing advice for my AirBnB listing. Can you help?"

Now, she's one of those people that always asks for advice but never takes it. Even worse, she always says things like, "Oh, that would never work for me because"... BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!

It drives me crazy, so I told her...

"Listen, you know I have a couple dozen clients that pay me a lot of money to help them with their digital marketing, right?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Well, you've asked me for free advice for a couple of years now and you've never implemented one piece of advice. That's kind of insulting and a waste of my time. So, here's the deal. I'll tell you what to do if you buy a round for the ENTIRE bar. Not just our friends BUT THE ENTIRE BAR."

I didn't think she'd do it but she did. Her tab was like $600.

So, I said, "Alright, here's what I would do and you're probably going to hate me for how simple this is going to be."

"You have a property that you are TELLING people is a five-minute walk to the beach. I know it's five minutes. You know it's five minutes. But people don't believe what they are TOLD. They believe what they can SEE. You need to SHOW... NOT TELL."

"Here's what we're going to do... Right after this horror show is over, we're going to take an Uber to your property. Then you're going to shoot a video on your iPhone of you walking to the beach so that they can see it's a five-minute walk. Simple."

After the game, we went to her rental apartment which, while her apartment is really nice, is in a building that is clean but has a very 1960s feel to it... it's really dated for the wealthy area it's in.

Once we were inside her apartment, I told her, "Here's what you are going to do. You're going to bust out your phone and take a video starting in the kitchen, you're going to tell people that you will prove it's a five-minute walk. Then you're going to simply walk to the beach and, while you do, just point out anything that people would find interesting."

Now, keep in mind that she's this tiny little Chinese chatterbox that was still pretty drunk but she did it.

Stumbling down to the beach, she pointed out the burger joint, the tennis club, the fire department, and a bunch of other things.

And when she got to the beach, she declared, "Look, it took 4:58 to walk to the beach... and I'm hammered!"

Knowing that she might get scared by posting it, I posted it to her listing right away and locked her out.

The next day, she had three bookings! And she's been booked pretty much every day since.

Plus, she has one of the highest rates in the area to which she'll even admit, "I wouldn't rent my place because there are better places that cost less per night."

But her competition doesn't know how to market their listings.

Example 2: This kind of answers your question as to "Why Lynchburg?"

Well, first of all, I was thinking Lynchburg, TN and a tie-in to Jack Daniel's. And I thought Lynchburg was closer to the Great Smokey Mountains.

Wrong on both accounts, I guess!

But the real answer is that I don't really invest in areas. I invest in helping and partnering with people that have the drive to become successful.

There are very few parts of the country where there aren't phenomenal opportunities -- The only place I've refused so far is the Salton Sea area because it's like a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

For example, I'm partnering with a guy I met here on BiggerPockets just four weeks ago that's in a little town in South Carolina that I've never heard of.

He was convinced that this little town had no possibilities but I just jumped on Google Maps and started looking around to see what this little town had to offer.

That's when I saw an equine therapy ranch that helps people deal with emotional and psychiatric problems like child abuse, PTSD, etc. It had a 4.8 with like 120 reviews.

I was drawn to it because I've helped the Helen Woodward Animal Center here in San Diego to market their non-profit.

Then I jumped on Propstream to see if there were any properties that might be available. And I noticed that one guy had recently bought like a dozen properties in the area.

So, I called him and discovered that he bought them through a probate sale. I asked him if he didn't want any of them and he said, "Yeah, there are two on the highway that I don't think I could rent out."

Guess what... these two properties are literally right across the highway. And the seller is probably right about them not making great traditional rentals. However, I felt they could be great STRs if I could market their closeness to the equine center but...

I wasn't sure that this equine center had people coming from out of the area who would need a place to stay overnight or for a few days. Their clientele seemed to be mostly local schools and patients.

Of course, if that's the case, having two properties right across the street wouldn't be advantageous if nobody needs them.

So, I called the center's director and asked her...

"I'm thinking of buying, renovating, and renting out the two houses across the street but I would only do so if you are open to creating a 'camp' or something for people that are out of the area and would need a place to stay overnight. Have you ever considered something like this?"

"Yes, but we don't know how to market outside of our area," she replied.

"Well, I've been in digital marketing for 20 years and I noticed that you aren't advertising on Google. Are you aware that you can get up to $10K per month in free advertising through Google Grants?"

"No. We can?"

"Yes, so here's basically what I suggest. I'll buy those two houses across the street and fix them up to be rented out to your clients. You put together a package for out-of-towners and you mention my two rentals exclusively for at least five years. Plus, I'll help you advertise on Google free of charge. Everybody wins. What do you think?"

Now, she just agreed a couple of weeks ago, so we'll be gutting those two properties starting next week and launching her new out-of-town package -- again, I'm amazed how fast things get done when $700K isn't on the line like here in San Diego.

Sure, I'm taking a bit of a risk -- I can always sell them if she doesn't do her part -- but she strikes me as the type of person that gets **** done and has a passion for what she does. And so does her daughter so I think it's in safe hands for at least another generation.

Oh, and as for the guy I met here on BP, I'm paying him to oversee everything and keep things on track. Plus, we're partnering on some other deals around this little town.

My point with this example is that my partner had a hard time seeing potential right in his own back yard because he didn't see the marketing connection. But because I did, I was able to buy two houses for $10K each -- I'm always blown away that there's not another zero since I live in San Diego -- and about another $20K each in reno.

For roughly $60K, I'll own two STRs that will probably bring in about $3500 per month each. Plus, I get to help a worthwhile charity help others.

Not too shabby!

So, I don't know what's in Lynchburg, VA but I'm positive there's plenty of opportunities for STRs and other investments.

Your contractor should take care of all of the permits but, ultimately, you're on the hook, not them. So, make sure that you call the appropriate agencies to make sure it was done properly.

Also, when you are done with the rehab, rush down to the recorder to submit all of the completion paperwork because California has a stupid law that makes it possible for sub-contractors to put a lien on your property if your contractor doesn't pay them even if you paid your contractor.

I almost got hit with this situation because the electrician called me and told me that he was going to put a lien on my house if I didn't pay him. I told him to take it up with the contractor and he told me that he tried but the contractor wasn't returning his calls.

I rushed down to the Recorder's office and submitted all of the paperwork about five minutes before he walked through the door.

House-hack + AirBnB (STR) + BRRR

Buy a multi-unit property that you can live in one unit and rent out the others as an STR -- depending on where you are in Rochester there are some great opportunities. Or add a granny flat. Or split part of one house if there's a part of the house that could be split off without feeling weird.

For example, a friend of mine got divorced and didn't want to live in an apartment complex that he owned so he bought a house that had a "hobbit hole" basement that's like underneath the main house and opens up to the back yard and pool. It's actually awesome. Then he rents the five bedroom house as an STR that covers his mortgage and puts like $6K in his pocket each month.

In fact, since you're in medical sales, you might have an edge on finding STR properties that are near hospitals or universities. I bought a property in Portsmouth, VA because it's across the river from Norfolk VA Hospital. And my renters are mainly families of military members that are, unfortunately, in the hospital for an injury.

Until I bought that property, I always thought of STRs as solely "vacation rentals" but now I know that there are other strategies.

Well, first of all, I now want a Lynchburg Lemonade!

That's cool that you house-hacked before you knew what house-hacking even was. I was too stupid in the beginning to even house-hack when I knew what it was. That was dumb.

So, what are your real estate goals? Have you looked into STRs in the Lynchburg area? I've been interested in finding some in that area.

So true!

Even though my profile pic is pretty professional, I often feel like your profile pick.

I used to buy into the be professional all the time and don't talk politics on your personal profiles but I hated working with some of the people I attracted because I'm a jokester that likes to have fun.

I now attract clients that don't drive me insane by being total sticks in the mud. And I'm making more money.

So, I don't know if the profile pick makes a difference but I say let those that find you too quirky go work with someone that has no sense of humor.

I'm sure that there are plenty of people here on BP that would be willing to mentor someone that is hard-working and that is the type that likes to help other people. What are your specific goals?