All Forum Posts by: Nate Chucta

I use A Fix For, Inc. (https://afixfor.com/).  They communicate really well and are quick to handle maintenance requests.  They are pricey, but I've decided its well worth it.  I've tried a couple other handymen in the area and have ended up needing A Fix For to re-do the work.  

They handle all my city inspections too, which is great.  They did three houses for me this past summer and got them all approved without any issue from the City.

If you have enough equity, then pretty much any bank will take care of you. That said, I personally have a HELOC at Horizon Bank. I'm not sure where you're located in Kzoo, but their office is off center st in Portage so it's pretty convenient to get to. Jeff Wojick and his team are awesome - I always recommend him to anyone looking for funding help.

Hi @Changseok Kim Welcome to the investing community! Your situation sounds pretty similar to mine. We had some equity in our house and opened a HELOC in 2016 for investing purposes. We're now up four houses so the HELOC was definitely the way to go for us. We only use it for down payments and major repairs (that our reserves from rent won't cover).

All four of our houses are located near WMU.  I love the older homes and working with the college kids so its perfect for me.  

Do you plan to landlord your first property yourself? If you aren't house hacking, then I'd personally recommend a small SFH to get your landlording feet wet. It simplifies the learning curve as you build up a contractor team, figure out a rental software, get a grasp on tracking expenses, etc.

The MFH market in Kalamazoo is really tough. From what I've seen, if a property gets to MLS then its either overpriced or in terrible condition.

If you have any questions, then feel free to reach out directly.  Good luck with everything!

Hi @Stephanie Diemel Bartlett!

I live in Kalamazoo and have two student rentals close to WMU.  Like most places, the market is pretty hot right now.  The homes that are in good shape go fast (and for a pretty penny compared to 5 years ago).  The listed homes that don't sell within a week are overpriced for their condition.  

Its very difficult to find a small MF for sale right now close to WMU.  You can find them a little further away that would require a car, but those don't seem to be as popular with the students.  They want to be able to walk/bike to class.  With WMU expanding their graduate programs, many investors are taking advantage of the increased 1 or 2 bedroom apartment demand and aren't unloading the MFs.  

I don't have much to offer regarding GR's market, but I can tell you that Kzoo is a great place to invest.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about Kalamazoo.

Good luck!

My niche is student rentals near WMU and Ive found that the Eastwood area is a bit far away to take advantage of that market.  

Most students want to be close enough to walk/bike so the only way you'd be able to lure them away is to have really cheap rent, which wouldnt support the cost to build new.

If you do build on the lot, then I think you'd have better luck marketing to the medical workforce.  There are a ton of hospital employees out that way looking for affordable, yet very nice, housing.

Good luck!

The prices have definitely jumped near WMU and K College in the past few years (a typical 3-4 bedroom student rental in the Vine neighborhood would have gone for $30-40k in 2011... that same house is now being listed for $80-90k without any major updates or renovations).  That said, there's still money to be made.  Downtown Kalamazoo is booming and the rental market is hot.   I've purchased two student rentals down there in the past two years and both are performing very well (we're getting 1.6% net monthly rent/total investment).

Couple words of caution...

1.  Be aware that many of the neighborhoods near WMU are in a historic district, which limits your options regarding upgrades/renovations to said homes.  I.E. You can't replace old windows with new vinyl or fiberglass.  Can't replace old wood siding with vinyl.... etc.  

2.  The older homes require a lot of maintenance.  I've found that many landlords down there act more like slumlords than a landlord that takes pride in their homes.  This gets passed on to you so I'd really bump up your R/M budget (I set mine at 17% with a 10% cap ex on top of that) when you run the numbers on these homes.  If you're not comfortable with that high of an R/M budget, then I'd definitely go the turnkey route as @Christopher Neeson mentioned.

If you have more questions or want more details, then just send me a PM.  I'd be happy to help.  My wife is a WMU alum and I've lived in Kalamazoo for over 20 years so we're both pretty familiar with the area.  Good luck!

If she has a debit card, then she can pay you directly with square cash. I've found people prefer this over setting up another online account. It's free, instant, and very user friendly.

I use Matt Rogers plumbing for plumbing and hvac (https://www.mattrogersplumbing.com/). He's from otsego and is starting to scale up his business. He's been a life saver for me over the past year. Affordable, fast, quality work....someone I truly trust. Just know that it's a small time company and you may need to communicate with them a tad more than a big time company. Cost savings is worth it for me. I use Keith lalone contracting for roofing and general repairs around our rentals (we currently have 2). He's booked out a bit (like any other good contractor right now), but if you can give him a heads up, then he'll definitely take care of you. Again, fair price and good work. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for help. PM me for their contact info. Let them know that I referred you and they might ump you up on their schedule? Good luck!

I currently have two SFR in my portfolio and am curious if anyone has experience using digital staging software? Is there one that you would recommend? I have good tenants, but I don't want to use their decorative "taste" in my marketing photos and I'd rather not have to stage a house if I can find an easier (and more affordable) way. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Little background before my question....We have a house under contract that is a student rental (closing date should be around 4/7/2017).

The current students' lease runs until 7/30/2017.  The seller has a new group of students lined up and is going to have them sign a lease that starts 8/1/2017 and runs until 7/30/2018.  We are asking the seller to hold off so that we can screen them ourselves, but he is  refusing.  He doesn't want the sale to fall through and then have his new group of students sign elsewhere.

We are putting in a clause that allows us to back out of the sale if we don't approve of the new group of tenants.

Now the question:  Do we have to honor the new lease (which starts 8/1) if the new tenants do not pass our screening?  Would it be possible to return their security deposit and sign someone else since the new lease doesn't start until August?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!