All Forum Posts by: Randy Bloch

@Jay Hinrichs

I definitely agree with Jay on this one...I buy properties that are cash flow positive and highly likely to appreciate...am not killing the cash flow, but these properties have great tenants, limited upkeep and low turnover and demand is much larger than supply, and the macro trends look like this will hold for awhile. And as Someone else mentioned I am paying them off.

It is not worth the work to manage all the properties for larger cash flow...if u want to got this route you need to think scales. Go big and get a good PM.

BTW, I now see you are in Phoenix market. I lived in Tempe for awhile so am familiar with the area. I see Phoenix as very boom/bust market, it seems that people come and go quite quickly depending on the economic cycle. There were definitely times where you could have found condos and market dynamics similar to what I was talking about in old town, Tempe town lake, midtown and maybe downtown. I don’t think they would cash flow now so it is not right time in the cycle, but there will come a time in the future when abnormalities will exist again.    

@Mehgan Moore

As like most things in real estate it depends...I started out with duplexes and class C level. I have busy W2 job and it didn’t mix well. I have specific neighborhood where there are only condos and supply is very low. I have purchased 5 condo that cash flow positive....not great cash flows, but appreciation has been very good and believe will continue to be excellent. In my neighborhood it cost min 400 per sq ft to build new condo so none are being built for more than 10yrs as most existing is 280-350 per sq ft. I don’t see what will stop sale prices to going to 400 per sq ft as long as demand continues. These are class A condo and are quite easy to manage, tenants are primarily professional. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending how u look) prices are rising faster than rent and I cannot find more properties that fit this model. I found abnormality in the market and was able to exploit it and now it is gone...this is how money is made in real estate.

@Clark Harris

I wish they had mobile app as well...but I found their website to be very mobile friendly so I just put a bookmark app on my phone of their site and it almost behaves as if they have a app

Is there any other benefits of Tellus over cozy?

@Willard Blair

Most features have been touched on already....I also use the document management and upload key document like my state landlord handbook, signed lease and damage deposit and any other key documents required by law. I find this very helpful to stay organized and ensure that both me and my tenants have the same documents and everything is time stamped in case there is every disputes.

I also use hellosign (like docusign) for all

My corespondent with the tenants that need signatures. It is very convenient, professional and also time stamps everything.

Between these two tools I have very Efficient management process.

@Dan Stewart

I was raised the same way where my dad fixed everything possible and was very handy. Unfortunately, I am not as handy....but I felt I should do everything myself as I raised this way. My W2 career is very demanding and combining this with doing everything myself for my rentals became very stressful. I read some book/podcast about stopping to do things you don't like and getting rid of 20% of life that is troublesome. I moved into a condo that requires very little upkeep, hired someone to do my lawn-care at REI, got a maid, a handyman and evict my tenant that was worse problems. These were some great decisions on my part....I have much less stress and am Able to focus on my W2 job and have scaled my rental business more I also got serious about automation with tools like cozy.

it is mind shift thing that you need to get past if u want to scale. Or u keep your 1-2 rentals and do everything yourself. No right or wrong answer, but scaling and DIY and W2 is hard to pull off at the same time.

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 Thanks Michael. Very helpful!

Thanks for confirming my worries :)  part of me wants to be very conservative and just dip my toe in syndication and wait for this economic cycle to play out.  I have worked hard to get to this point and don’t want mess it up now.

Frank, I am interested in further clarification on your quote "i would not put all your eggs in syndication?  I am big fan diversification so would not do this anyway....but do you mean not with one deal?, one sponsor?, one sector, or one city? or just overall?

The reason i ask, I am working on exiting W2 job and my active real estate investing. part of my strategy was syndication. my net worth breakdown will be when i exit (40% cash, 30% 401k-stocks, 25% NNN as it will be 1031 and 5% personal residence). i was thinking of take the 40% cash ($1m) and investing it 10-15 syndication deals across various sectors. Any thoughts? I have a lot to learn about due diligence before I do this. Im also pretty leery doing it at point in the economic cycle. My worry with syndication is with interest rates so low are exit cap rate reasonable.... what if interest rate rose a bunch? seems the assumed returns on syndicated deals could get crushed.

@Ian Ippolito

Hi Ian, I am interested in what you think the best crowdfunding sites are for an accredited investor.   I have read several of your posts on crowdfunding and you have wealth of knowledge on the topic.