All Forum Posts by: Nick Yates

Lots of opportunities in Detroit metro but like many have said you have to do due diligence and homework. I also think trusted boots on the ground is needed. We are overseas currently but just closing on our second property in Redford. I also appreciated the posts by Emilio Basa and Christian Hutchinson to give some authentic advice. Yes biased but it gives some balance to all the haters including Josh and the podcast.

Josh Walker thanks for the conversation starter. There is great input from all sides. My wife and I often discuss that Detroit and Detroit suburbs are really huge areas and there are so so many neighbourhoods in between. There are many opportunities for all types of investors imho.

Originally posted by @Greg Scott:

@Nick Yates

Congrats on becoming a new investor!

You can find a good list of property managers for just about anywhere in the US at NARPM.org.  At one point I had single family rentals in 6 states so this site was useful.  In my experience, the ones with more designations are generally better than average.  After all, they have a commitment to the profession.

For years, I have used Richter & Associates in Metro Detroit.  They have been excellent.   

Given you are a newer investor, I'll also suggest what, in my opinion, is the best value in real estate education.   Lifestyles Unlimited helped me turbo-charge my buy & hold real estate investing and I'm easily making double+ what I used to. They happen to be putting on an event this weekend in Detroit.   Check out my posting in the events section.

 Thanks Greg for all the details. Unfortunately we are based overseas and investing in properties so we aren't able to make it to the event. 

Originally posted by @Saul L.:

@Nick Yates to get back to your OP and question- I used Castle for a period of time- (also reached them through recommendations on BP) and they were ok for a while but ended up  disappointing me dismally-  mismanaging a cash flowing sec 8 property of mine into abatement, which resulted in the tenant being permitted to break the lease and leave, and thereafter instead of pulling their weight and turning it around, they simply resigned and left me holding the pieces. Unfortunately I went through 3 different property managers in my time in Detroit and cannot recommend any of them. Self management is an option if you live close enough, and have the time and stomach for it.

 Hi Saul and thanks for your experiences. It sounds like a real negative experience at the end for Castle. Do you still have investment properties in Detroit now? 

All the best to you!

Originally posted by @George P.:

we manage our 40 ourselves. they are in livonia, westland, redford, garden city. i know the owner of Epic personally. I have worked with Castle as the "contractor", did some work for them for one of their investors/clients since i am a builder/GC as well.

managing your own isn't that bad.

 Hi George and thanks for replying and speaking about Epic and Castle. Great job managing 40 on your own! We hope to get to 40 one day but managing from out of town seems a little out of our reach at the moment. We would need the right team in place. 

Hello to BP Detroit community, my wife and I are closing on a property in Redford and wanted to ask for property management recommendations. I have searched previous discussion threads on BP and know that Castle and Epic companies are recommended. So that leads me to my question for personal stories about these companies or others.

Can anyone give first hand accounts of the property management company they use?

Thanks for any and all posts! 

Hello Bigger Pockets. My wife and I are out of state (and country) investors. We are actively searching for properties in two states for our next investment. Does anyone have any real estate agent recommendations in the following areas:

- Cocoa Beach

- Orlando

- Jacksonville

Thanks very much to the Florida community. 

I am still following this thread with curiosity too. 

@Andy Winningham You mentioned two questions in your post above. 

a) betting that an area will increase is speculation. You can speculate on gut alone or on market data and trends. Maybe a combination is necessary? 

b) Diversifying investment locations can be a very good thing. I am not invested with multiple properties in one area so I can't say this for certain. But I would hesitate to say 2-3 properties in one location is ok. If there is a natural disaster in the area then that could hurt all investments. Same with the main industry or employer leaving a small town. My two cents only. 

Hi @Andy Winningham, we are new to real estate investing too and like you we have also been looking at Roofstock. We have always been impressed with their website and communication. Thanks @Ali Boone for your comments about inspection due diligence. It is the one thing that we love and hate about Roofstock. We love that an inspection report there to view straight away but hate that we would rely on it. We too would definitely argue to get an independent inspection. 

My thing with the Roofstock process are the inflated prices. The prices sit well above any comps from any websites you want to use and they sit above the valuations that are given in the diligence vault. The standard Roofstock answer is that the market (buyer and seller) will always determine market value but I don't agree. From an inflated starting point, sellers and buyers can't negotiate the price to an acceptable price for both parties. I think the result is the large number of listings that have been sitting there for months. The other thing about this process is that you can't actually write comments or give feedback. We have put offers on Roofstock properties but none have been successful thus far. To be honest, we are prioritising forming a team to purchase investment properties and not use Roofstock. 

Andy, which area are you looking to invest in? 

Hi 

@Emily Allred - my wife and I are also newbies. We are all learning! IMHO that $1700 is a sunk cost into it and you aren't getting back whether you go through with the deal or not. Like others, check your numbers but it doesn't sound like a good deal from the way you described it. 

My question back to you is what have you learned about your LLC partners? I don't mean about the people but rather the process. I would be interested in hearing more about this and what you may do next time when going in with partners.

From one newbie to another: all the best!