All Forum Posts by: Nick Webb

@Greggory Scott of course, feel free to reach out anytime

@Greggory Scott Hey Gregg, welcome! For starters, I suggest building your educational foundation in real estate (RE) FIRST. Get familiar with RE terminology, strategies, your local markets, and develop your personal investment strategy/business plan. Write down what you want to achieve through RE, identify the type of property you want to pursue (single family home, multi family, mobile home, commercial, etc) how you will pursue (wholesale, invest, sell as a realtor, GC, etc), strategies to building wealth through your prefer methods, and the time frame in which you would want to accomplish those goals.

If you haven’t already, start listening to the BP Podcasts, literally hundreds of hours of helpful content (start with ep 1). Join in on the weekly webinars, which go live every Wednesday (I believe) at 7pm EST. Access the handful of BP YouTube videos that show in-depth walkthroughs of real investment properties and how-to videos on analyzing those deals. Then practice for yourself; practice makes perfect. Read through the forums, they will become your RE Bible. May seem overwhelming at first, but you will begin to pick up on familiarities. And don’t be afraid to participate in forum posts! It’s a great way to network as well.

There’s a lot of information in the RE world so don’t be discouraged, be open to actively learning!

@Shuo Jiao very creative by the tenant, give them that! The consideration does undermine your screening process but I wouldn’t write off the suggestion just yet. Your current tenant doesn’t have an incentive to find a great and reliable tenant but just a “random” tenant unless there is some sort of referral/finders fee attached to it. If you match the creativity of the tenants suggestion with the referral fee structure, then I feel you both can benefit from this.

For example, if you reasonably raised rents by let's say $75, offer the current tenant $100 or $125 referral bonus (contingent of approval) within a specific time frame of the move out date, then tenant is happy to get an extra chuck of change and you get an extra $75 added to your monthly cash flow.

@Troy Gandee I’m hearing more and more that the delay in timing of deals because of COVID has been the biggest adjustment for a lot of investors. But it sounds like everything just waited for you to come back in June to start back up, lol.

Your experience and ability to analyze the local market sounds it’s giving you more visibility on exit strategy options. What’s your basis for switching up strategies? Is it because capital is held up longer than usual and eats up margins the longer it sits in a deal?

Keep me updated with the REI Central meet ups, I was bummed out that my first REI meetup was cancelled but definitely wanting to participate once things are back up and running! Thanks man for sharing your thoughts and insights!

@John Edwards YES. Portfolio diversity came in handy for you. That’s great you were able to dip into that pocket to provide yourself some wiggle room.

You made a good point about debt and ensuring you don’t over leverage a deal because you leave yourself open to more risk during an unexpecting down turn in the economy/industry. If it can happen, then it will happen...Murphy’s Law, right? Thanks for sharing!

@Jack Martin sounds like you and your business partner didn’t miss a beat during COVID! Offering the rent deferral was an awesome opportunity to solidify strong relationships with your tenants (even though the majority didn’t need) which spoke volumes about your character and intentions as landlord. I’m sure you will see added future benefits (low turn over, higher collection %, less ware and tear on properties, etc ). Such a good idea, thanks for sharing!

@Samantha Gehin-Scott I agree to the point that not all HML are the same. They are usually interest-only loans where purchase price, Reno costs, and exit strategy (how you plan to pull $$ or repay their loan) plays a significant factor. Interest rates vary depending on experience but typically range from 9 - 15%. Points are involved as well and I've heard that some HML require an a cash reserve minimum (4-6 months worth of interest payments). I've also heard some HML only fund through LLCs. I suggest googling and calling one of your local HML and ask what they require. I was able to connect with a local HML and asked a million questions to make sure I understood the process. I still don't have all the answers but that called helped me a lot. I know BP offers suggestion in the network tab as well.

At the End of the day, yes, HMLs are EXPENSIVE but so be it if it allows you to land a profitable deal. They are not meant to be long term options but ways to help get your foot in the investing game!

@Mario Russo In case you need to hear it again in this forum, DON’T DO IT ! Lol.

But for real, I’m not a fan of Home warranty programs anymore and definitely don’t feel they are not worth the landlord expense. The perfect Buyer Beware scenario.

I’ve had a HORRIBLE experience with a home warranty company last year. The idea of a Home warranty sounds ideal, however, keep in mind HW Companies are in the claim business, less claims filed = more $$ in their pockets.

Long story short, broken HVAC at my property during WINTER TIME, had NO HEAT. I filed a claim immediately and requested the ticket as emergency to restore heat in my property (considered inhabitable). For SIX WEEKS they gave me the run-a-round that the part ($2,500) needed to fix my HVAC was being “shipped” but coincidentally never arrived. They could not provide me with a tracking number. I called, no joke here, at least 30 times (on hold for an average 20-30min each call before speaking to representative) demanding updates and answers. Their internal systems are jacked up and departments don’t communicate well with each other. Supervisors/managers were conveniently out of the office and never returned voicemails that I left. I fortunately had the funds to pay out of pocket to get the HVAC part and told them to refund me since I never received the part that they told me shipped. They were reluctant, of course, and only offered to pay 75% of my out of pocket costs. After 5 more calls and several social media posts to c-suit execs, marketing team, and the parent company, they finally did what was right and fully refunded me my out of pocket expenses. Nobody should have to go through the extremes like I did to have services warranty co are obligated and paid to do.

I’m sure not all warranty companies the same but this experience did it for me. No more. I don’t wish this process on my worst enemy. I decided going forward to allocate a portion of my budget strictly for capex repairs that would typically be covered by a warranty co.

Hope this shines some light for you.

@Kris H. Nice! An old High school coach of mine always use to say something along the lines of “muscle through another extra rep, because you will always be that rep better than your competitor that decided to do the minimum”. Not to the point that RE is about ‘beating’ competition but the fact that we should always take the time to find ways to improve ourselves and our current processes. The accumulation of “extra reps” will differentiate ourselves from “the average” and give us that extra edge. Glad you brought this up, appreciate it!