All Forum Posts by: Phillip Bradrick

@Nathan Mckenna you bet! Send me a message and I can tell you more about our company’s management process and point you to a couple of other good property managers in the area.

@Aviv Harkov great to hear about your opportunity. I’m an investor and am based out of Durham and know the market very well. Feel free to connect and I’m happy to be a resource and point you in the right directions to get the deal put together and running smoothly.

@Nathan Mckenna. I guess that all depends on your definition of “good”. I think the challenge of online reviews is often the fact that “good” property management companies will sometimes have unhappy tenants because they are enforcing the lease and protecting the owners interests. This can lead to tenant retaliation in the form of negative reviews.

Word of mouth from other investors is the best method for finding a quality property management company. The other factor is getting familiar with the different fee structures. The company that I work with has a flat fee structure which cuts out the leasing commission and makes the revenues from the rents much more stable. It also doesn’t incentivize the PM to have more turn over.

In a post Covid19 world where evictions are much more difficult, proper tenant screening is a vital component of a good property manager and will save you tremendous headaches by weeding out less than excellent tenants.

@Antoine Basquiat great questions and break down of a deal. At the price of under 30k per unit I’m guessing you’re looking well outside of Raleigh. If it’s not I’d look at why it’s priced at that price point... is it due to being in a high crime area where it would be challenging to find stable renters?

I am an investor and work with other investors in a management capacity so have seen a lot of properties in both the low and high end markets. What I’ve seen in the markets with rents under $500 per door is generally your management and repair expenses will be a higher percentage of your total cash flow and can eat up a lot of your profits. Appreciation of rents in the rural markets will also be lower which can limit your ability to create value by increased rents and profits. I would really look at whether you can make a case based on other rental comps that you can draw enough higher rents by improving the property to offset the additional work / maintenance per unit.

As to the question of when to raise capital partners, it seems to be the proverbial chicken or the egg question. In my opinion the key to finding money is gaining credibility and a track record and leveraging that to establish investor relationships. I got started doing just one sizable assignment deal and through that process it caught the attention of one of my friends who expressed interest and eventually became my investing partner. Getting more experience that theory and analysis is a huge key to opening the door to funding. But as it’s been said many times, if the deals good enough the money will present itself.

Hopefully this is helpful. Feel free to connect with me and I’m happy to assist you as you work towards your goal!

@Scott B. You are correct. The area you mentioned is beginning to turn but has been a low income area for a long time. The Traditions neighborhood backs up to it on one side and wake Forest downtown is starting to develop a long Wait Ave. I’m currently working with some developers on a larger project across from the old Wake Electric building. If this project goes through it could be a tipping point for much of that area.

@Scott B. Hey Scott, I’m an investor in the area and have quite a few rentals of my own in Wake Forest. It’s a great spot with good rental demand. Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Happy to help!

@Kayleigh Great questions. You’ve already been pointed in the right direction. There is not a need to have a license if you are the owner. A business entity can also hire employees to manage their own properties. Where a license is required is when property management is done for others for any kind of compensation. I’m an investor as well as a full time property manager in the Raleigh / Durham area. If I can ever be a resource for you I am happy to. Feel free to pm me and I can help you with any information you need to get rolling.

As to the llc question, that’s an attorney’s expertise but I would certainly say you can kick the can down the road on that for several years till you have more volume. Setting up an llc for the properties and quit claim transferring them into that entity would be the first step in my opinion. Hope this helps!

@Nathaniel J Mott Great question. I work in property management and would highly recommend looking for a house that had a full bath for each room. This can really drive up the amount you can rent out the extra rooms. We see this with properties near Duke and NC State student rentals. You will get a much better return on your investment paying a little more for that extra bathroom. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more. I’m right here in N. Raleigh.

@John Baker fabulous! What are you getting for rent?

@John Baker congratulations John. Great to hear a success story and finding a deal in this market is an accomplishment. Is this your first property in Wake Forest? I have properties here as well and they’ve done very well over the years.