All Forum Posts by: Matthew Mucker

Because of a divorce and my kids changing schools, I'm looking for a house to buy and live in rather than an investment home. Rather than rely solely on an agent, I've decided to do some marketing of my own and am looking for the community's feedback.

I've done a search of the county tax records and found properties that I might want to buy. I've drafted a letter to these homeowners that says, in essence, "hey, if you're thinking of selling your house in the next few months call me before you call a listing agent and maybe we can save each other some money." (I explain why we want to move and the benefits to the homeowner of selling directly to us as well.)

In my intro paragraph, I introduce myself and have written, "That's me, my wife <name> and my kids in the photo that I've included with this letter."

My wife thinks that including a photo of us is 'creepy.' I think that including a photo might create a personal attachment in an unsolicited letter.

What do y'all think? Should I include a photo of the family or not?

My last tenant left my house in need of paint that (in my opinion) goes beyond normal wear-and-tear.

If I do the painting myself, what charges are reasonable for my time? Can I charge the tenant what a professional painter bid on the job?

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Al, I think your advice is right on. Evidence is that the current owner is not a hands-on owner and has trained the tenants that they can get away with quite a bit. I suspect (hope?) that that's the biggest issue with the place.

I'm very ready to make my presence seen and felt on property if I buy it, and to let it be known that there's a new sheriff in town who's not going to put up with the stuff the old owner put up with. Joel, I'm willing to put in the time and have my feet on the ground onsite to protect an investment.

I guess my key question is, if I do put in the time, and make changes, such as evicting nonpaying tenants, deadbeats, and troublemakers; and let it be known that I will provide a clean, safe place to live in exchange for tenants who keep the property in good condition and pay rent on time; and if I'm regularly seen onsite and spend time talking to tenants and letting them know that they'll be treated fairly as long as they hold up their end of the deal; and if I am consistent about enforcing those policies... is that going to be sufficient to turn an inner city underperforming apartment into a profitable investment?

I'm willing to put up with 3-4 months of pain (vacancies, vandalism, evictions, etc.) as everyone learns that the new landlord means business. My concerns is whether or not the pain is likely to persist after the message gets out there.

(I do like the links to the block party and neighborhood watch ideas. Thank you!)

I'm a fairly novice investor, with one rental house (and perfect tenants!) that I've had for three years.

At a local REI meeting, during the 'deals' part of the meeting, a broker stood up and announced that he has a 15 unit apartment building available at what appears to be a good price.

The building is in a low-income area of Dallas. The few financials I was able to get from the broker support his claim that the current owner isn't very good at keeping records.

It appears to me that the building would cash flow well, if managed properly. I have no experience managing tenants in a low income area. I discussed this with the wife and she thinks, "Maybe the current owner is renting to nonpaying tenants because there are no other tenant prospects in the area." I believe that with proper management it should be possible to find paying tenants in any area.

What do I need to look out for when buying an apartment in a low income area? NOI would support the debt service even if I use very pessimistic occupancy and cap rates.

How can I tell if this is a potentially profitable deal, or something to avoid at all costs?

For a while last year I tried marketing to the probate market. I hired a local to go down to the courthouse once a week and do research for me and sent a letter to the person who had applied for probate.

I didn't have much luck, and given the expense I stopped this strategy.

I do think that probate could be a valuable source of deals. I'm curious to know what other successful probate marketers do, particularly with how and when to contact the PR. I suspect that contacting the PR within a week of the probate filing may not have been the best approach. I also wonder if multiple contacts would have been more beneficial.

I'd appreciate hearing how others in this business are approaching the potential sellers.

Thanks, guys! Any tips for determining if a company really monitors credit scores? I suspect if I ask 10 companies if they do this, nine will reply yes, they do, even if they don't.

Can anyone point me to sources of lists of folks who are late on their mortgages?

Paul, thanks for sharing your sample documents.

I'm curious about your letter to preforeclosures. Letters are significantly more expensive than postcards; do you find the added expense is worth it? Also, what's the time period for foreclosures in your state?

Doh! I didn't read; you've already done that. The only thing that comes to mind for me is hiring a private investigator/skip tracer.

The county's tax appraisal district should have an address for the owner of record. You can probably find it for free on the web.