All Forum Posts by: Ryan Fox

@Valarie Anderson- I would have a frank conversation with them, see if an arrangement can be worked out. If not, contact the landlord through title records and say the tenants are creating a nuisance.

Yes, I think it's possible.  I don't keep my agent busy 100 percent of the time.  In fact, I haven't bought any properties this year due to various health issues. An investor who only wants to buy 1 or 2 properties may be looking for a proof of concept before they decide to invest more.  From the agent's perspective, I think these types of investors would be just as valuable to them as a repeat buyer.  

@Cindy Sawyer- Yes, I use property management.  I certainly had to go through a lot of different PM's before I found good ones.

@Nika Fouquet- You should be able to find an agent who can provide this information without any obligation to purchase a property through them.  

The data you want should be closely tailored to the target property you're looking at.  There’s usually no more than a handful of properties nearby that are are comparable in terms of bedroom count, bathroom count, age, style, and finishes.

@Marcus Auerbach- Yes, I did visit and research each of the markets I chose to invest in.  Most of my investing has been in Kansas City.  There's a lot of high-quality suburbia that doesn't change much from block to block in that market.

@Marcus Auerbach- I have to say I don't entirely agree.  I've been investing in the Midwest from the west coast since 2017.  I have high quality tradespeople who do work at low cost.  My tenants are high quality.  When I need a contractor, I have my real estate agent bring in a contractor she's worked with before and trusts.  They can be more expensive but it's not always the best idea to get the cheapest contractor.  

Maybe I say this because I'm lucky to have partnered with an agent who is trustworthy.  There are certainly agents out there who only want to earn a transaction and do not want to build a business relationship.  My agent has brought forth several connections that have been valuable over the years.  I've bought several properties through her sight unseen.  

The advantage of investing remotely is that it creates far less of a time commitment on my part.  I can still work my W-2 and don't have to go out visiting several properties.  Rather, my agent checks out the property, provides about 40 pictures, and a rehab cost estimate.  I then make an offer based upon the data I have.  

I do agree with you that OOS investing only makes sense if you live in an expensive area and are investing in a much less expensive area.  If you buy a $1MM property in your expensive local market and something goes seriously wrong with it, that's a much bigger deal that something going wrong with a $150k property OOS.  And buying in good neighborhoods OOS is important as well.

@Felicia Nitu- Hopefully investors can figure out how to create new housing under SB 684.  It's a pretty complicated law with all kinds of tenant and environmental protections.  It does only apply to real estate currently zoned as multi-family.

@Naresh Yegireddi- This is above my pay grade but I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal today about how the highest-earning 10% of Americans account for more than 50% of consumer spending.  Those on the lower end of the income scale are more affected by inflation, and companies like dollar stores that cater to them have had a harder time growing sales.  The stock of Dollar General is down 43% in the past year.  Dollar Tree is down 48%.  It's been a tough sector to be in.  

@Zachary Freeman- How do the utilities work on the tiny home?  Are they separate meters from the main home and does it have its own water / sewer lines?

Yeah, this can get kind of tricky.  A couple years ago, a Costco delivery man came to my primary residence and my dog bit him.  The delivery guy told the local animal control.  For some stupid reason, I told our insurance about the incident.  They marked it down as a "claim," even though the delivery guy never filed suit, asked for money, or sent a demand letter.  The insurance ended up non-renewing our policy because of the "claim," and most other insurers wouldn't cover our home because of the claim. 

My takeaway was never to tell the insurance about a loss unless you actually do have a loss.