All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Jason Reynolds thank you for your feedback! 

1. Sounds like you got some really solid timing in the midst of all of this. I am happy for you! Would you mind sharing the school or town you are making moves in, either here or in a DM?

2. I have a really solid knowledge base of the town I am looking at with even more personal sources at my disposal. So no concerns for this one but great advice for looking at other locations I am not as familiar with.

3. What has you wanting to continue on the student rental path instead of other strategies?

4. Gotcha, so you see SFR and duplex as an opportunity to supply an alternative to on campus living. makes sense!

Sounds like you have a really solid plan in place and its exciting to hear about

I am interested in hearing opinions on investing in a college town these days. 

For those of you that have rentals in college towns:

1. What sort of impacts has COVID made to your business (good or bad)

2. What pitfalls in general have you seen with investing into a college town (or college area of town)

3. Are you trying to get out of this space, buying in, or holding

4. Do you prefer to operate in SFH and small multi-units or large multi-units?

I would also love to hear from anyone, even you do not specifically have these types of properties.

@Brandon Coleman

Have you considered hacking a SFH? Give some of your friends reasonable rents or rent by the room.

Could you look a little outside your immediate area for a duplex or triplex to hack?

I am a huge fan of hacking and if I were in your situation that is what I would put my sights on. 

I use the 1% as my very first filter when considering leads. example: a duplex is listed for 300k and rentometer has each unit averaging $700/mo. I probably wont spend anymore time on it. But if that duplex were listed for 150k? Now we are close enough to 1% to give me an incentive to dig into the detailed numbers. 

What is your goal for the second duplex? Do you want to hack it (get in and get out relatively soon)? Or will it be a permanent dwelling?

@Cody Godfrey DM me! My wife and I live in York County and are looking for our first property. We may be able to help each other.

@Lee Hines that would definitely be frustrating. Have you interviewed portfolio lenders? I do not have experience there but my understanding is that they are more inclined to loan based on your portfolio than income.

You could also start looking for a partner that is willing to use his/her credit as a value add to the partnership. Show someone that you have been successful and they could be willing to provide funds or credit usage for you!

Work backwards from your goals. And then decide which tools you are willing to use to achieve each step. Debt is a tool but not the only tool. 

Your goal is 40 doors by the age of 47 and 5 years to complete this. I assume you know the income you need to quit your W2 and half of 40 doors (split with your brother) gets you that income number. perfect!

Now that you are committed to that goal, creativity is number one. Debt with conventional financing, debt with private money, using your current equity,seller financing, bringing in more partners in the business, bringing investors deal by deal, etc etc. The options for how you reach 40 doors in the next 5 years are limitless! 

My point being, do not feel like you have to use debt if that is something you are not comfortable doing. Just means you need to find better deals and use more creativity. I personally believe using leverage is a very powerful tool but in no way does that mean its a tool for everyone. 

Now perspective on the flip side, your words read to me like you have an emotional bond with being debt free (which I think is terrific!) and that is conflicting with advice you are reading. If you want to use debt but cant get over that hurdle then we can find a way to retrain our brain. Create your own baby steps for how to use debt. Start small and work your way up. This is the same way you retrained your personal spending habits to get out of debt!

And of course make sure your brother and personal finances are on the same page.

In the end, we are all learning. Do not be afraid of trying something new (acquire a small amount of debt) and do not be afraid to carve your own path (by not listening to people saying to use debt). Best of luck!

Welcome Travis! Good luck on journey!

Hi Alex. Are you going to work with a property management company? I would be asking them if appliances are standard for your market. Call other companies and people posting homes for rent. Will they supply appliances?

As Jim stated, do at least what the normal is, for your market and price point.

I appreciate you asking this question! I am on the East Coast and looking for a multi as well. A lot of properties in that age range in my searches. My initial thought was along the lines of what others have been saying, foundation, knob and tubing electrical, lead paint, old plumbing. 

I also have been asking my REA to get me the sellers disclosure (I do not know how this differs state to state). I read line by line through what the seller does and does not know about upgrades, maintenance, previous and existing problems, etc.

Good luck and keep us updated!