All Forum Posts by: Noah Droste

Quote from @Richard Lambert:

Quote from @Noah Droste:

Mile, I know we we talked earlier, but I figured I would share this on BP so others can see it as well. The 616 Real Estate Investors is another group, local to Grand Rapids, that meets monthly. Our November meetup is as follows at Brewery Vivant on November 21 from 7-9 PM. 

 Noah,

How big is the group?

 Typically its 6-20 people, depending on the day. Small enough to have personal conversations, large enough to meet a variety of different investors. Come on down!

Quote from @Sam Smith:

I want to keep this post as short as I can so here it goes... I am currently in the USMC and I will be separating come next summer(2024). We (my wife and I) are currently living in Maryland but we are planning to move to the Grand Rapids area of western Michigan when I leave the Marines. I am planning on working for the local police department which doesn't pay the best at first but progressively gets better relatively quickly. We currently have a little over $40k available to be employed in our real estate ventures in the future. Here is where my question or rather request for advice lies.

What would be the best way to employ that capital and make it go the furthest? My goal is to retain as much as possible for as long as possible as to 1. keep an "emergency fund" of sorts in case there are unforeseen expenses that I would not necessarily be able to cover with my police officer pay and 2. Be able to redeploy it into multiple deals and grow my portfolio. Being former military I am looking at using the VA loan which to my understanding has favorable terms and 0% down which would certainly help me retain a larger portion of my capital. I have already found an agent who is assisting me in finding properties. I have been looking pretty exclusively at small multi-family properties so as to house hack but with that being said I have some questions.

Is this the best approach? 

Should I continue with this approach and look at potential BRRRR opportunities within this scope of property? Or focus on more "turn-key" type properties if possible?

Would buying a single-family home, living in it for a year and then renting it and repeating work better with my situation? 

Any advice and/or tips would be appreciated, thank you!

Theres no best approach and your approach depends on your goals - do you want to move quickly with more work involved or do you want to acquire one property per year for the next 10 and slowly pay them down?

BRRR deals require significantly more work, but you will likely gain significantly more equity which in turn via re-finance or heloc can be used to purchase additional properties. You mentioned your goal was to redeploy into multiple deals and grow your portfolio. It seems like finding something where you could force some equity would be your best bet.

If you purchased a SFH home, performing a "live & flip" may be easier because you don't have to deal with any existing tenants and you can upgrade the house right away. There are typically more SFH homes available so it may also be easier to find one where you can force equity. Multifamily typically have better cashflow, but you may not get the same appreciation.

My agent, Conner, also invests and can help answer some of your questions if you're interested.

Mile, I know we we talked earlier, but I figured I would share this on BP so others can see it as well. The 616 Real Estate Investors is another group, local to Grand Rapids, that meets monthly. Our November meetup is as follows at Brewery Vivant on November 21 from 7-9 PM. 

Quote from @Nick Staley:

@Alecia Loveless

Thank you for your response. I will absolutely start going to local events here in GR.

Hey Nick, if you're interested, I attend the 616 Real Estate Investors meetup every month. This month we're at Brewery Vivant in East Hills on 11/21/23 @ 7:00pm. It super chill and most attendees are in the 0-5 deal range.

Its hosted by Conner Anderson whos another investor friendly agent in the area. 

Hey Nick, I attend the 616 Real Estate Investors meetup every month. This month we're at Brewery Vivant in East Hills on 11/21/23 @ 7:00pm. It super chill and most attendees are in the 0-5 deal range.

Nice @Brent Raedeke ! If you don't mind me asking, what neighborhood did you purchase in. I'm currently living in East Town. 

Hello BP Family, 

I am quite conflicted right now and I was hoping to gain some perspective by sharing my story. 

Currently, I am a licensed Professional civil engineer in the State of Michigan and I currently work for a consulting firm. My team administers construction contracts for clients. I'm fairly well compensated for my age (24) and with this firm, I feel I am on an accelerated track for career development. 

I also have a few passive investments in real estate. I own my own house, that I rent, and a 12-unit apartment complex. A relatively high net worth mentor advised me that the big money is made in real estate by syndicating large deals. This made me question my current path and how difficult it is to scale by working at a job and trying to purchase real estate with my savings. I enjoy engineering, but I wondered why I am essentially living a double life? Working as an engineer by day and investing by night. Would it not be more prudent to work in the real estate space? 

This thought led me to reach out to many different real estate investing firms in my area. I believe I will be given an opportunity to work for one of them. I think short term, my earning capacity will be smaller but long term it will be exponentially greater. I would go all-in working, learning, and adding value for a multifamily real estate syndicator. I envision myself building trust and working to eventually become a partner or branch off on my own. This is a scary thought because ever since I graduated high school I have been building skills and work experience in the civil engineering space. I know I have abilities that translate, but by making the transition I will be counterfeiting the vast majority of my network, credentials, and skills. 

My skills/abilities: Managing Complex Projects, Attention to Detail, Financial Analysis, Effective Communication (I'm an extroverted engineer, go figure), & Problem Solving. I'm a doer and I drive change in my business and within my company. 

Current financial situation: I'm single, living with my dad, I have low expenses, and my assets cover their own cost. 

My vision statement: "To achieve financial freedom and flexibility by creating a diversified real estate portfolio that provides passive income streams and enables me to pursue my personal and professional goals, while providing the best possible education and lifestyle for my family."

Please share your experiences and let me know if you have any advice! Change can be scary!

Quote from @Adam Martin:

At this point the damage is done and I doubt it will get much worse.  I’d sent out a notice to everyone in the building reminding them that the units are non smoking and you will enforce it.  I doubt people will stop especially in the winter.  For tenants smoking I’d raise rents slightly above market on your next round of increases.  Some will leave and you can turn when you are ready and you will be compensated more for the others.  After you have your reserves non renew the rest.

Another route you could take since the damage has already been done is to just allow smoking.  Very few places do and you could probably charge a premium and reduce turnover plus when someone leaves it’s not like you have to completely renovate it if you get another smoker.  My only concern is fire risk but I’m curious if anyone else has gone this route.  

 I like the idea with allowing smoking and charging a premium. My primary concern would be the neighbors. We would almost have to make one of the 6-unit buildings a smoking building. Thanks for your input!

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

You need a paper trail.  Give written notice.  Tell them if they don't stop, that they are in violation of the lease and will be evicted.

 I like this thought. If I am going to send a warning, I need it to be documented. Thanks Theresa!

We purchased a 12-unit apartment complex in a town with around 4,000 people. This is the cheapest rent in town and the existing tenants were paying between 450-500. We've raised rents 10-12% and are rehabing units that now rent for 650. Our budget for this year is running low and we only would like to turn 1 or 2 more units. After doing our furnace filter changes we're noticing that several tenants are smoking inside. We self manage and I was l looking for advice on handling this. 

What is a good way to handle this? Should we send written warnings? Perhaps a phone-call would be best? We could also send 30-days, but we really don't want to turn that many units this year. 

If they agree to stop smoking the first time, but then we find they are still smoking should we proceed with a 30-day?  Looking for guidance on this issue and wanted to see how others handle it. 

Side note: this is our first purchase and we got in for 375k in a great little town that's commutable to two major cities in Michigan. Its going really well so far and I think we'll have most of the rents 1.25-1.5x within the next year or so.