All Forum Posts by: Rick Versace

Hi Nick - I would say our main focus above all else when implementing email marketing strategies is to ADD VALUE! We take the stance that you can never send someone too many emails if you are sending them a targeted, relative message that provides legitimate value to the recipient.

Great answers above! To add to some of the above strategies regarding off market commercial deals, you could try marketing directly to other "professionals" in the industry that might have relationships with property owners, and have an insight as to whether some of their clients may be interested in selling their property. For example:

Accountants

Real Estate Attorneys

Estate Attorneys/Bankruptcy Attorneys

Property Managers

Many of these professionals will know when their client is hoping to / needs to sell their property and can be a good resource for finding motivated sellers.

Hope this helps! Good luck!!

We are currently investing in the Southeast along with many other investors. Assuming you are comfortable with investing out of state. Southeast (Florida, GA, NC) are not too much of a hike for you to travel to. 

One of the most important things to keep in mind is to make sure you are very knowledgable of whatever market you choose to invest in, as well as the submarkets within that market. We typically start by choosing areas with significant population growth and job growth (along with other economic factors) and start to do our research based on that. Once you start putting together your team in the area, they will be able to help you determine where the best areas in that market would be to invest.

Hope this helps! Good luck! Let us know if you decide Southeast if there is anything we can help you with!

Not sure if someone mentioned this, but I would be sure to look at other similar properties in the area and make sure implementing RUBS is a viable option. You don't want to plan on that being extra income if it's not something other properties in the market are doing. If the current rents are what they are because of all utilities included, and you try to increase AND make them pay for utilities you could end up having a hard time getting the units leased up. 

Good luck! Hope all goes well.

@Will Holmes Long term is a great way to go, no matter what experience level you are at. 

In regard to arbitrage - I wouldn't say it is more risky. On the contrary - there is very little downside if you position yourself correctly and make sure you factor in all of the expenses before moving forward. 

The upside to arbitrage is that new investors that do not have a significant amount of capital for a down payment, or the relationships to bring in investors, can begin generating monthly cash flow for relatively low upfront investment. Your main capital outlay is in furnishing the units, and deposits to the property owner. Obviously the downside is - you are not building any equity. 

That being said, I would encourage you to focus on one strategy at a time, especially when starting out. A lot of investors (myself included) can fall victim to the "shiny object syndrome" and pursue too many avenues at once. If long term is what you want to start with, I would say go all in on that and eventually once you have more of a foundation you can start exploring different vehicles. 

There is no "right way" in regard to strategy. If you are an apt investor, you will make any of them work. But it is important to establish yourself in one area before diving into others to ensure that you are as focused as possible on generating great returns on that specific strategy. 

Good luck! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way.

@Will Holmes Boston is one of the best places for Airbnb, especially in the summer! If you are interested in house hacking, try running a few models using short term rentals. This may allow you to get into a larger property starting off and really hit the ground running on your first deal! Airdna.com is a great website to get short term rental data.

Also - there is a unique opportunity in the market right now in Rental Arbitrage. Essentially leasing an apartment or house from someone, and offering it on Airbnb at a premium. Boston is one of the best places to do this currently as well. Here is an article to give you a little more detail. Could be great way for you to continue building ash flow.

https://www.airgms.com/airbnb-rental-arbitrage/

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions. 

@Andrew Caton Hey Andrew - Looks like your going about this the right way, you just need to find the right person/people. If the properties you are looking at are truly deals, you shouldn't have a hard time finding a sponsor (especially in today's market) - assuming you are looking in the right place! 

Here are some suggestions that you might want to try out to start meeting the type of people who would have the track record to help you take down a larger Multifamily property. Full disclosure - a lot of it comes down to being willing to go out and network at different events. BP can only take you so far!:

Some of these I am sure you have heard of, but the reason you have heard of them is because THEY WORK!

1. Real estate investing clubs - If you do a simple google search you should come up with a few options for local REI clubs depending on your area.

2. Real estate investing meet ups (Bigger Poclets events and Meetup.com)- Both BP and meetup.com have a ton of opportunities for real estate investing and just networking in general. The REI meetups have a mix up both new and seasoned investors. If you make it very clear to everyone you talk to that you have deal flow, and you are looking for a sponsor and your willing to take less equity to get started you shouldn't have a problem finding the right person.

3. Ask some members of your team! If your plan is to acquire a larger multifamily property, you most likely have a team in place for when that time comes. (Broker, Property Manager, RE Attorney, Accountant etc.) As a new investor, you should be looking to put together a strong, experienced team to help you side step any landmines you are bound to run into. That being said - if you have put together an experienced team they will have other relationships in the real estate investing community. Leverage their relationships for a warm introduction! After all if you get the deal done, you are creating more opportunity for everyone involved!

4. Real estate investing Conferences/Expos - These are a great way to completely immerse yourself in real estate investing for a couple days, and be surrounded by like minded people the entire time. Some of them can get a little costly, but look at it this way - if you are able to get 1 deal done from going to that conference it pays for itself 100 times over! Check out bisnow.com or multifamilybiz.com for a list of different conferences all over the country. Or simply google search multifamily conference near me and see what comes up! I would suggest if you are going, do your best to find people who will be attending also and prearrange meetings with them. Nothing too formal, just a quick coffee chat. By setting up meetings beforehand, you ensure you are getting your money's worth out of the event, instead of just hoping to run into "the right person" on the exhibition floor. 

5. Lastly - Bigger Pockets is a great resource, and I think this post will help you find some people who are interested in partnering! I know I am interested in hearing more about your deals you have been looking at! 

Hope this helps. Getting your foot in the door is tough, but as I am sure many investors will tell you - the first one always takes the longest to get under your belt, but after that it gets much easier!

DM me if you have any specific questions and with some more info on what types of deal you are looking at.

Thanks

Great area to have some long term properties in! If you are still buying down here check out Pompano Beach, great area up and coming. Message me if you want me to put you in contact with my property manager down here.

As for the Airbnb day rates, they can drop off as much as 50% from peak of season to summer down here. That being said, still great cash flow even after all of the abnormal expenses that come with Airbnb. 

Good luck! Let me know how it goes!!

Hey Will - we are based in South Florid (Boca Raton, Delray Beach area) and we are seeing some success with converting long term rentals to Airbnb short term rentals due to probably the same factors as you - close proximity to the beach, A/B neighborhoods, etc.

We were hesitant to use one of these high cost Airbnb management companies as well, as they really dig into your cash flow. What we have opted to do instead - is utilize a relationship with a local real estate broker who also has his CAM License. We pay him 7% on gross revenue from Airbnb/Homeaway and he is responsible for managing the listings, contacting the tenants, arranging cleanings and stocking the property etc. It has been a great way for him to make some extra cash, and get an education on Airbnb investing that he can hopefully put to work on his own properties in the future.

I will add a disclaimer and say that we have a prior relationship with this broker and trust him and the work he has done over the years. I wouldn't suggest just finding any random broker to try to do this for you. That being said, if you have someone you know and trust, that has some form of property management background - it might not heard to float the idea to them. Airbnb expenses can add up quickly, and to essentially cut your management fees in half can make it a lot more appealing.

Hope this helps!

I think given the current state of the market, it really depends what kind of investment strategy you intend to deploy that will determine where you should invest.

For example, we are based in Boca Raton, FL. Our typical strategy is to buy value add Multifamily in B/C neighborhoods and hold them for 3-5 years while we make improvements to the property and increase the NOI. That being said, South Florida has been so overheated for the past few years that finding properties that match our return criteria with this strategy is very difficult.

Although our standard approach to multifamily will not work down here, we have found an opportunity in converting smaller long term rentals to AirBnB rentals in areas like Delray Beach and Pompano Beach. 

In regard to our value add strategy of increasing rents, we are investing in other areas in the Southeast. Tallahassee, FL specifically as of late.

Hope this helps! Message me if your interested in talking more.

Thanks

Rick Versace Jr.