All Forum Posts by: Michael Tempel

I am looking at sourcing different rebate programs or other for apartment communities.

We have owners from out of state that are seeing significant appliance rebates for toilets, energy star rates appliances etc. in CA and other states, but I am having a hard time sourcing similar programs in Minnesota for market rate communities. 

Does anyone have a recommendation or resource(s) in Minnesota that offer rebates or other programs related to energy savings?   We work in most cities near the metro, so are very interested in city specific programs as well.

Rachel,

We may, we have a lot of properties under management near Humbolt on the edge of Minneapolis.  We can possibly add these in with our current manager if it makes sense for both of us.  Our focus 99% is market rate, so I am not sure if we are the best fit for income based programs.  Happy to offer suggestions either way.

I actually grew up in N. Minneapolis and had a great childhood. I have seen a lot of positive changes and think it will only be a matter of time before Broadway gets redeveloped. It is simply to close to downtown not to. We also manage a portfolio of 41 homes/duplexes on the edge of Minneapolis and are seeing that area improve/rents increase. It is in on the edge near International Market Square so not in the Middle of N. Mpls, still starting to see growth and appreciation. It reminds me of NE Mpls, before it took off, which is fun to be a part of. The portfolio is also within 3 blocks so as a management company it is very easy to keep an eye on and almost treat it in a similar way we manage apartment communities. Boots on the ground and sound management is critical along with managing the paper equity- I see so many self managing owners not maximizing rents and missing the boat on keeping up with steadily increasing rents by carefully managing their renewals! We just started another property that was purchased that has rents that are literally 34% under market (after doing a comp study)! It is tricky to navigate a gap that wide, but something I see a lot of when I have looked at apartment buildings and SF homes. I don't think N Minneapolis is an exception to the rule. There are a lot of hidden gems if you know what you are doing. I focus on market rate, but know there was is a huge shortage of low income housing, so there might be a great opportunity if someone can solve that problem.

Our call volume and rents have dramatically increased this Spring over last year so I am not sure I see a slowdown yet.   We have 7 communities from NE Minneapolis to Elk River.    

I recently put my single family on the market for $250.00 more than 2 years ago and received over 175 leads in 2 days.   

Logic would tell you it should be slowing down, but it isn't what we are experiencing, we cannot keep up with the lead volume and had to hire part time help.  

I second Franz Reprographics in Brooklyn Center.   They do an amazing job with fast deadlines.   

Great goal!   I am going to come up with a similar one now :-).   I think once you put it on paper and really commit things happen.  Good luck and keep us posted!

I setup my company LLC as an S-Corp. You can do most of it online yourself and save some of the expense. For example setuping up an LLC online is around $175.00 on the Secretary of State website, but I have seen services charge $750.00 to basically do the same thing.

You can never put a value on good legal advice and structure though. I normally purchase the LLC directly and then have an attorney make sure it is setup specifically for the purpose of the LLC. A multi member investment group is likely different than a single owner property LLC for example. I let the attorneys figure this out, but do the name search and online purchase to save a little money.

I have been in the property management business for over 19 years.   It is always exciting, challenging and I am yet to feel like I know it all by any means.   In fact, the more I know the more I learn I need to know.  

Putting people first - whether our tenants, partners, owners or team members has proven to be the most effective business strategy I have focused on time and time again.   Above everything else, it makes sense, but I was hoping to get some feedback and ideas about how others have used this in their business.   So many times real estate can be the business of profiting off of other people misfortunes.  I am looking for the good stories, the Win Wins!  

Personally I have found taking the extra time to know and care for our employees is more important than any raise or title you can give them (well....to an extent), that sending cards to residents and taking the time to simply listen can be the difference of a renewal or a move out with a horrible review.

It goes all the way to the top of the line with owners/investors, residents, partners, vendors and even unpleasant events involving compliance or auditing.   Leading with a smile and great care performing customer service seems to light the way through dark or rough patches in this business.

I look forward to hearing some other examples, hopefully ones we can all use and grow as a group.  

What is your way of putting people first in your business?

David,

NE is one of my favorite markets. We bought a 12 unit building and raised rents on a 1 bedroom from $550.00 to $950.00 (2 beds are $1035.00 currently from $650.00 original..) with a 5k renovation per unit/common areas (resident pays heat). This was over 35% ROI in less than a year and still going! One of my favorite buildings we put together.

Highly recommend grabbing anything in the area that is reasonable.

Dan,

You are correct on a lot of the things you mentioned in your original post.  I will say in the current market you will likely pay a large premium to be in or near Minneapolis.   Owning a property in urban areas is perfectly fine as long as the numbers make sense.

I use multiple online tools to find listed, unlisted properties in Minnesota and have properties in and outside of Minneapolis (200 mile range).  Feel free to reach out anytime with any specific questions.  Personally I prefer urban areas if the numbers work since you often have less buyer competition...which will always drive the price up...sometimes even higher than the list price, which is already high in most cases.