All Forum Posts by: Pinaki M.

Thanks for sharing that @Jim Cummings

A question to you or others (without the intention to hijack the original thread).

1. Say I get an application from someone who satisfies all the criteria listed, but there is a bad vibe which makes me think they will be a problem tenant and I don't want to rent it to them. Can I do that?

2. If I deny someone (which could be because they didn't meet a certain criteria that was listed, or due to #1 above), can they ask me for an explanation? And if so, am I obligated to give them one?

I'm a new landlord and came across this thread, and it made me think about the above questions. Thanks. 

 Reviving this 2 year old thread...

I am in a similar position and trying to decide whether I should have a coach. I have already done some buy and hold type deals (that were found from MLS or similar sources), but have no experience with wholesale, etc.

@Jeff Joachim - Can you please explain how exactly you did this - "I went to work for a real estate company that taught me how to wholesale."? Are there brokerage companies that actually do wholesale type deals? How do I find them?

Secondly, do you recommend getting a RE license? Looks like what you suggested involves getting a RE license and then working for a company that does wholesale deals. Lately (before I came across this thread) I have been seriously thinking if I should get a license too. But I also have some seasoned investors (including the person who is offering the coaching program that I mentioned above) saying it's actually better not to get one if you are doing these type of deals.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

@Bryan O.

Would you mind sharing some links from your search? I'm interested to know, especially if there are any free ones (as you mentioned). Thanks!

There are of course programs, but they usually cost at least a few thousand dollars, at least from what I researched for my area.

@Henri Meli

Yes, I had already looked for local community colleges, buy couldn't find any where they offer such classes - at least in my city (I have lived in places earlier where there are such colleges, but unfortunately, not where I live now). I have found technical colleges that do offer entire programs but those are more expensive than what I was looking for. For example, for the HVAC certification program (the most basic program they offer), it will cost over $2,000. Didn't look like they will allow people to enroll in just one or two basic classes, but I will check.

That's a great answer. Thanks @Bryan Blankenship.

Thanks @Taylor Hazard and @Bryan Blankenship. 

Just wondering, is it OK to send emails to a commercial agent/broker to get their opinion even if I don't work with them? I had also heard somewhere that it's a good idea to actually ask property management companies who manage similar properties, but I have similar doubt there as well. I am not sure how well it will be received if I tell them that I don't really intend to use their service (since I am thinking of managing them myself for now), but just looking for some information.

I recently became a landlord and planning on growing. The problem is that I have almost ZERO skills needed for repairs like plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc. Now, I realize that I don't want to do all of this work, especially as I keep adding more rentals to my portfolio. Nevertheless, having some knowledge is always very helpful. That way, at least I can hopefully diagnose a problem and outsource as necessary, or if it's small enough, just do it myself. Where can I learn these skills? I am a busy professional and want to make the best use of my time, so just tinkering around by myself is probably not the most time efficient solution for me. I have been thinking of taking classes. Does anyone know where to look for such classes that cover basic or intermediate level? Or any other suggestions? Btw, I do watch youtube videos from time to time, but I think being in a class will force me to be much more involved and hands on. Thanks.

I am about to buy a couple of commercial properties. They are used as office/retail spaces. I am not sure if the current owner is charging market rates on these. Where can I find info on rent comparables (like price per square foot) for that area? Thanks.

@Kristina Heimstaedt

Umm.. sorry to say but your post is a bit off-topic. Btw, where can I get a commercial mortgage at below 4% interest rate with 30 year amortization? I will be genuinely thankful if you can share that info. I agree with you that life will be much simpler if that was possible :)

@Immanuel Sibero

Thank you very much for explaining this so clearly! The "loan repayment" is the part I was missing, as you rightly pointed out. In fact, I did think that it could be the "capital" part of the payment that is making the difference, but wasn't completely sure (regarding CapEx, my analysis already took that into account while coming up with the cap rate estimate).

This is a very fundamental concept to understand clearly if one is investing, yet I wasn't getting it quite right, so it had been bugging me for a while. I can sleep peacefully now :) Thanks again!

- Pinaki