All Forum Posts by: Ryan Scott Isacksen

The first event had a lot of people out, so a second is being hosted.  I had tried to be able to provide a recording last time and technology didn't work out to make that possible.

How to House Hack in the Bay Area [v2.0]

Sponsored by C2 Financial Corp

House Hacking = the smartest way to buy your first home!

You buy a 2-4 unit building. You live in one. You rent out the others. Presto - other people help pay your mortgage!

This educational seminar offers practical tips, tricks and tactics for financially-minded 1st-time house hackers. You get exclusive information from this top-notch team of experts in Real Estate, Tax Planning, Property Management and Mortgage Lending.

Speakers:

Viral Joshi – Mortgage Consultant, C2 Financial

Erich Huffaker–Realtor, House Hacking East Bay

Scott Isacksen – Investor,Founder of TCI Building Services

Jake Birnberg – EA, Strategic Tax Planning ServicesSteve Edrington - Specialist in Landlord / Tenant Issues

Saturday, June 8th

10:30AM

Better Homes & Garden - Conference Room

2095 Rose St

Berkeley, CA 94709

RSVP: http://bit.ly/househackingRSVP

@Mark Vandzura leveraging the relationship of the property manager typically is one of the great things they bring to the table.  It is still good to make some kind of contact with the contractor where you can. 

The contractors I work with know our property owner's specific expectations and tailor their work to that.  When something detailed is wanted, the owner will often speak directly to the contractor to avoid something being lost in transition between several parties.

The contractor will more likely resolve problems to keep a relationship with the property manager.

I wish I were going to be in town to for this!

@Katie P. hosts great, informative events that are well worth making time to attend.

Opportunity zones is a topic every investor should have some understanding of.  Even not being able to take advantage of the tax benefits, knowing where cities are guiding resources helps build the vision of the path of progress.

@Mark Vandzura did you talk to a few managers about rates?  I feel a full month leasing fee is a bit excessive, but leasing and screening is a bit of work and should come with fees / commissions.

10% is fairly normal for a small portfolio unless you are in a high priced area.  You can negotiate lower rates as your portfolio gets larger.

I work in property management and I have out of state investments where I have a property manager that I really like.  A property manager knows the market that they are in and those with a decent portfolio sees the market changes and what attracts renters more than a sole building owner.

A property manager doesn't do everything for you in a small portfolio like this, they just handle the day to day, paying bills, and resident interactions.  They likely won't know your roof needs to be replaced until it is leaking, so all of the bigger capital projects are things you still need to decide on.

Just as all relationships, not everyone meshes together well and you want a manager that focuses on your class of property.  A property manager that mainly handles B buildings will over care for a C property and a manager that mainly handles C may neglect care you want done on your B property.

The area I am in has a number of city requirements and tenant protections.  A property manager is much more likely to know those laws.  There are people that enjoy working on their properties and are better suited for self managing and should be self managing.

I would say to get a manger if you are purely doing it for the cost savings and find additional investments.

A part time employee could be a good solution since you know your properties.  I would get a membership with a rental housing association and send that employee to classes (and do classes yourself) so that they don't create a problem accidentally for you.  Make sure to look into the concerns that @Peter VanWesep pointed out.  You wouldn't be able to hand over the property to a part time employee like you would a property manager.

In the area I am in, we typically ask the person to post an ad and start showing the unit to try to find someone to take over the lease.  That person is motivated to find someone and get their security deposit back.

Have potential applicants fill out your application of course, but the current tenant can show the unit and hopefully make it a decent situation for both of you.

We would have the tenant still responsible for rent until it gets rented.  It is hard to get much out of someone beyond their security deposit, but a lot of times a unit is rented and we have a new tenant on a new lease.

*Glad to hear it sounds like you solved that particular situation.

Most of what you need is right here on BP.

It really depends on what direction you are looking to go.

Sales pitch or not, a seminar can be a good place to network.

Find a real estate group in your area and go meet people that are currently investing or on their own self-education path.

Best of luck!

How about putting in the washer dryer connection but not provide the equipment?
People that want a washer/dryer can pick one up and put one in the space (without you maintaining them) and someone that wants an office doesn't have to commit to it.

I didn't read all the responses, so someone may have suggested this as well.

This is what the person I work with at US Bank said when I asked:

"Great question on an investment property – yes we do business lines of credit on investment and owner occupied properties. The only caveat to it would be that if there is a first lien position in place, we would need to refinance it as US Bank has to be in first lien position and a 2nd or line can be added behind it, of course if a property is free and clear then the line of credit is in 1st position. The amount of the line depends strictly on the cash flow of the property and maximum lines are $500K."

As Grant Cardone would say, "Pay the price today so you can pay any price tomorrow."

I do agree that owning the rentals with no debt service isn't making use of your money.
That debt is leverage to get bigger property.  You can put more down so the margins are better, but going all cash puts your $ completely at risk rather than having it split between you and a lender.  You also have no leverage, a powerful part of real estate investing.

Read up on: The Wealthy Code https://www.amazon.com/Wealthy-About-Money-People-Never/dp/098270450X

It goes into a lot of details about loans, leverage, and risk that will help you out in making a decision that works for your end goal.

I certainly would go with another agent.

My opinion is that if they are unwilling to draft an offer, which would be incredibly quick, they are going to be unwilling to push when it comes to negotiating on your behalf.  

That is the value the agent brings.