All Forum Posts by: Ravi K.

Folks! I am exploring installation of roof top solar panels to 

a) reduce the utility bills (Owner paid utility situation), 

b) to replace an old roof part of this deal so it can be depreciated quickly!

Of course, it's going to cost a lot and need to financed this transaction, but I did the math and it seems my monthly net cash out is almost zero (I.e, Utility bill savings are offsetting the cost of installing the panels and financing charges!). 

With the above I would be able to achieve following...

1. Able to put $100K roof, free of cost (as it's part of the solar deal and financed).

2. With accelerated depreciation (Note that roof also get's depreciation, other wise you can not do this!) I can get more than half of this investment $$'s on year1 (60% of the investment on year1 with depreciation, rest in remaining 5-6 years) combined with potential tax benefits (30% Federal tax benefit on Solar).

3. ROI is approximately 6 to 7 years, so any utility savings after that is a gain...I really don't care after 6++ years as I may not keep the apt, so it might be a value add when selling [also NOI would be better after smaller utility bill]. Key benefit might be able to maximize total return on whole investment (apt + solar), with out this solar option the returns are going to be based on just the investment returns on original apartment building.

Here are my questions...

1. Does this really make sense or I am being too optimistic?

2. Any one deployed solar on bigger apartment complexes (50 units or more)? If yes, what are your experiences and thoughts around doing some thing like this.

3. Are there any gotchas? and/or what to watch out?

All / any relevant analysis and/or experiences are welcome. Especially, love to hear the analysis of people with finance background (ex. CPA's etc).

Thanks in advance.

-Ravi.

@Erik Nowacki, I ended up doing cash-out refi with WellsFargo, so never paid any thing to any broker and/or originator. To my surprise most conservative bank WellsFargo re-financed my deal that typical Fannie / Freddie could refi with the terms I wanted!!!

I am syndicating another apartment deal and would definitely explore Freddie-mac program as I found that to be the best option out there!

Thanks @Dan Soper, I will have them demo the inspection piece one more time to understand if they have done/doing any thing about it in latest releases. I am having the WIFI connectivity installed in the property, hopefully that might help a bit if the range supports.

Hello BP, I am in the process of finalizing the AppFolio as the PM software for my in-house PM team (100 unit MFR) and wanted to hear any negatives from others who have implemented this software very recently (Ideally 2015 or late 2014; Note that they have added lot of functionality very recently including Alerts/reminders etc).

I think Appfolio is the best cloud based solution that I found so far with fixed monthly all-inclusive fee ($200/month, yes bit expensive for 100 units today!...I am fine with this as I would be buying another 100 in next 6 months!). I did attend demo's for Propertyware, Rent Manager, Yardi - most of these are not that user friendly although they are bit more flexible in-terms of providing custom functionality, but get's expensive with all those optional modules! Appfolio has all what I need including various Rent collection methods, dealing with maintenance work orders, mobile inspections, applicant tracking, vacancy marketing etc as bundle package. 

I want to know if there are any major negatives with AppFolio if you have deployed this very recently so I can revisit my decision before I sign-up in the next couple of days and spend more time evaluating other software (potentially Propertyware/Rent Mgr...Any others?).

Thanks in advance.

PS: It does not look like there are any special offers / discounts with this software...Looks like just pay $200/month + $400 one time fee to get this done...Any tips on this area? 

-Ravi.

Thanks @Joel Owens

I just learned that Lender engaged good companies Partner Engineering and Science, Inc (www.partneresi.com) for property inspection and Colliers International (www.colliers.com) for appraisal report.

I think they would cover most of what I needed (including 10% of unit inspections), except an engineering report (they do check structural cracks etc high level)...so, I am wondering if I should ask them to do that as well for extra cost....Any input on this? 

Thanks in advance, Ravi.

Thanks @Craig Barnthouse

Hello All,

Looking for commercial inspector recommendations for multi-family property inspection...Appreciate any recommendations in Jacksonville, FL or near by area.

Lender's team would inspect the property to generate their appraisal and environmental reports...Does it make sense to have my own inspector focus more on structural / engineering report and check few sample units (assuming inspecting every unit may not be possible on a 100unit building) for problem areas? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

-Ravi. 

@Drae C.

It's very hard to find any decent Multi-family deals in TX...I could not find any thing meaningful with 15% returns and personally I ended up expanding my focus area beyond TX. I just bought a multi-family building in JAX and going through the loan, due-diligence process...hoping to close the escrow early part of Dec!

Good luck in your search.

- Ravi

MFR Investor from Austin.

@Larry T. , I agree with you and I felt the same way. It seems he through some credible references in his video and I am sure he is trying to sell some course or something of that sort (who is not these days?)...Just was trying to see who else watched this stuff and what their thoughts around what he is saying and of course, important question is what (if any) is really applicable to RE world! Thanks for chiming in. Ravi.

Hello BP'ers!

Just read few VERY interesting articles from Jim Rickards... Not everything we read / listen on the web is 100% accurate, but to some extent his pitch might help people understand what's happening on global scale to think through and adapt/adjust their investment strategy if necessary.

Any thing that we could learn and apply as a RE Investor? Would love to hear from experienced RE Investors on their opinions (Especially multi-family apartment investors as that's my interest area!).

Below are few links OR you can Google his name to find lots of stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYW5OGWfqJc

http://jimrickards.blogspot.com/

Thanks in advance,

Ravi