All Forum Posts by: Peter Giardini

Jay,
Great question... My mentor had a very simple approach to cash management.

It goes something like this... "get your cash/revenue as fast as you can, keep your cash as long as you can, and the accountant never makes the rules"

This philosophy has served me very well as a real estate investor and small business owner.  And, I drive this concept home to my clients at every opportunity.  

I hope others will join this discussion.
Pete

Gerardo,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets... you are in the right place to learn and prosper!

Your question is kind of like "what is the meaning of the universe"?  Hard to answer in a post.

I have one thought that goes something like this... "The investor with the most available cash will almost always make the least profits/cash flow".

I might also recommend listening in on a podcast series I am doing on Ensuring your success as a beginning real estate investor... here https://www.blogtalkradio.com/...

Best of Luck!

Pete

Artivous,
Learn how to evaluate these type of deals with a focus on Income, Expenses, Net Operating Income (NOI), Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) and Capitalization Rate.  Once you have a working knowledge of these items then you can move forward.
I would caution however, apartment building take a lot of funds and more than a little cash to get into.  Not always, but 99% of the time and you will find more than a few obstacles to obtaining those funds if you can't demonstrate some experience in this area of investing.  Unless you can bring your own funds to the deal.  Which changes the approach significantly.
Also, any tenant management situation takes knowledge and experience... which can easily be learned in a single family environment.  Multi-units are a different animal and no place to be cutting your teeth.
I would recommend staring out with a few SFRs or a duplex and grow with your experience.
Best of Luck!
Pete

Jennifer,

At the risk of sounding very negative I am not sure where the opportunity is with a deal like this.

You would be upside down on the day of purchase, have to come up with $139K just to get into it (how many times can you do that before you have exhausted all available cash), take 14 years just to repay the down payment, and if you have never done student housing there can be a steep learning curve that could kill your first couple years of cash flow.

You may have other investment objectives that make this a great deal... and that would be fantastic... but as presented I couldn't recommend this deal to an investor.

Best of Luck!

Pete

LaQuan,
Many of these seminars can be and are scams.  I can't speak to any specific program, but consider if they are advertising heavily in your area, it has to be paid for some how.
I look at these events as a means to maybe learn the "what" of a subject and then network and meet new investors.  In your case perhaps meeting the accountability partners that you are looking for.
I would recommend attending... just stay disciplined and don't buy anything unless you are convinced your business can't move forward without it.
I am doing a podcast series on this very topic... you can check it out here if you like... https://www.blogtalkradio.com/...
Best of Luck!
Pete

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carman,
Congratulations on your first deal.  Your lender is not allowing placing the lone in an LLC's name is most likely because the loan is a conventional loan being underwritten using Fannie Mae guidelines.
From an asset protection point of view you and your other assets could be exposed if you are sued.  Having the property titled in an LLC offers protection. 
Given that your loan is what it is... your thought of managing the property through your property management LLC is right on!  I find it best to get started managing your business as a business from the start and in this case it might be less confusing.

Best of Luck!
Pete

Christopher,
Short answer... it depends.  Most managers charge 7% - 10%, plus up to one months rent for placing tenants, plus add-ons for managing maintenance issues, inspections, rent court, and a few others I am sure I forgot.
I wrote an article for BP some years ago on the topic of selecting property managers that might be of help.  Here is the link...  https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
Only way to find out exactly what it is going to cost is to talk to prospective managers directly.

Best of Luck!
Pete

Ozzie,

By definition a short sale implies that the sellers owe more than they can sell the property.
Once they have accepted an offer, that offer than goes to the lender for approval.  In my experience this approval process can and usually takes months with no guarantee your offer will be accepted.

Regarding the solar panels... if they are leased there will be lease agreement that obligated the seller to certain terms.  I recommend that you ask to review this contract to see what your obligations are as the new owner.  Once you know what you are dealing with you can make the right decisions.

Best of Luck!
Pete

Eric,
This is the million dollar question and there isn't a simple answer.
I would recommend continuing to hang out here on BP and also listen in to this podcast as the topic of getting started successfully has been discussed and will continue to be discussed for the nest several weeks.

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/...
Best of Luck!
Pete