All Forum Posts by: Charles A.

Self professed conservative investor here.

1-2 deals/year since 2011=12 units.

All SFRs and duplexes.

Currently under contract for a 4-unit in Jacksonville and an 18-unit apartment complex right on Lake Erie in Cleveland OH.

That would double my portfolio in one year.

All made possible by dogged determination and principles learnt on the BP 

podcasts while commuting to work part-time as a physician. 

Both deals found on MLS and LoopNet.

Who says the great deals are now only off-market?

Pictures to follow once we close.

@Mindy Jensen,I can talk in detail about this on the Podcast if you want.

#ShamelessPlug

lol.

Alex You came across as pretty arrogant in your previous reply to a user contributing to your post by using words like "stupid" etc. That's no way to get input on BP. Users will just start ignoring your post. Personally, Like others have previously pointed out regarding closing cost,holding cost,HML interest etc,I think you may be pretty ignorant as well. I bet you do not know the difference between ARV and FARV. Pulling random recent comps from across the street means little to an investor looking for guaranteed return on their investment. You may benefit from a little more humility. Please don't take this the wrong way. But it needed to be said.

I did what you are doing 6 years ago.

Left Cleveland and didn't look back.

Now I live in Saint Johns and invest mostly in Jacksonville.

Best School District in all of Florida.

I wouldn't live in St Augustine. It's like living in central Orlando.

Tourist hubs are not where you want to raise a family.

 It's why Miami never crossed my mind either.

I do like the Clearwater area. And it would be my 2nd choice if I didn't choose awesome young golfable St Johns with its endless bike lanes..

@Nikia Johnson

My conservative strategy leaves room for only one "exit strategy":Cash out refy.

I try to buy right,hold long term.

I very rarely sell.

In fact the only property I've sold to date was a primary residence turned rental that wasn't cash-flowing.

To that end,the COC on these deals average only 5-6% at the most.

That does fall short of my usual target of 8-10% and made it easy for me to drop them.

But it's a common return seen now in today's Jacksonville market.

@John Tedford

I don't do HMLs.

Perhaps when I finally hit 10 mortgages I'll take a look at them.

But financing hasn't really been my problem.

It's getting the right deals with the target COC ROI.

I found renegotiating the offer pisses everyone off,not the least the realtor.

And I've had a near 10-year relationship with my realtor.

Need to keep it that way.

I love simple problems. You've been having showings. So advertising is not your problem. Your rent is most likely too high. Have you checked out rentometer? Dropping your rent by even $25 may perform a miracle. Thank me later.✌🏾

I have always been a conservative investor. Seeking a deal,maybe two deals/year. Have been doing that for 6+ years now. But having read many times on BP how people are killing it doing 50-100 deals a year,I wanted to experiment this year. So @Brandon Turner always says "analyze 100,offer on 10,buy 1." I only offered on 4. Now all 4 offers have been accepted. I'm not a syndicator. All offers need EMD or contracts are void. I'm not a wholesaler type of investor and have never assigned contracts before. Not the way I like doing business. I guess I'll just let 3 of the 4 go. For now. It's not like they're screaming deals or steals anyway. Few such exist in good areas in Jacksonville these days. Just thinking aloud into your minds,BP. Haven't posted in a long while. Happy July 4!🎆🎇🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

That is a related observation. The fact that the same thing is happening across multiple markets just confirms nationwide low inventory. When you add that to overpriced listings and cap rate compression in the face of record low interest rates,that has to have you worried. If you've invested across at least 2-3 RE cycles,you can't help but recognize the feeling of deja vu.

7 years ago,if you checked the MLS or punched your favorite filters into Zillow,you'd get tons of results for your search. Then you'd spend hours and days analyzing scores of listings to determine which was a good deal. I've been trying that for the past 6 months in my favorite market. Consistently,search results have been 1 or 2 listings...almost always overpriced and never cash flows or approach anything near the returns we look for. As far as MF is concerned,loopnet is now down to a single page if you're looking for an apartment deal in Jacksonville.Everything on that page is rubbish with 4-5% cap rates. Even my favorite wholesale deal sources have all gone silent. Nothing. It is time to go to cash,guys. The handwriting on the fabled wall is crystal clear.

I'm a hospitalist(look it up.I promise it's an actual job). When I finished training,I knew I'd end up bored to death by waking up everyday working in the same small office. I loved traveling and mixing it up way too much to be tied down to routine. So I quickly became a locum and now work all across Georgia and Florida when I want. That does two things: I make my own schedule,choose my own hours and can view properties while I'm on assignment. It's semi retirement because I block out an entire month if I feel like it. I was in south east Asia all of December and will be in Russia most of June. I don't have 1000 doors. Far from it. I'm like you. Just a dozen or so doors. For now. But BiggerPockets is the reason I'm able to live this way. I wasn't born that way. Nice reading everyone's stories. ✊🏾

What zip code?