All Forum Posts by: Scott Allen

@Kyle Kivinski I love going down to Charleston at least once a year to visit (community, beach, good weather). Please keep us posted on how your first deal goes there and what you end up getting into. 

@Ricardo Cervantes Welcome to BiggerPockets! There are many people of different backgrounds on here that are investors, just starting out, or very well seasoned - some are broke, rich, dumb, and poor - doesn't matter. Give more context on what you're looking to do/your background or you'll just be told what to do/ignored. If you don't own anything yet, then look into house hacking a duplex or fourplex in your local market to get started.

@Celine Besson

BRRRR's are great but they are not always the best fit for someone just starting out - especially if you're out of state and have not done any deals in that market yet. There will be more pieces to stay on top of and your contractor can easily screw it all up with low supervision, how quickly can your PM get the unit/s filled, which lender do you plan to use to do your refi with being out of country?

I always recommend to look for something that is more turnkey to start with, get a better understanding of that portion first, and how it will be managed. Build your core four of an agent, lender, property manager, and contractor first.

@Keegan Darby

Flipping single family's is a competitive game to play in - you have know what's trending, what's selling, and how to comp them for when selling. More houses on the market means more competition. Price to competitive with what's in the neighborhood. 

You're in Arizona so I can't see winter being an issue there as much as in Ohio but spring is usually when things speed up in the midwest. Obviously holidays can affect selling too. Putting a house up before Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's is not always the best time to attract everyone that might be actively looking or buyers that will be looking when its warmer out. 

Since you own it out right, you could just fill it with a tenant, refi and get majority of your money back to move on to other deals - cashflow might be pretty thin though. 

@Paloma Wodehouse I have heard that California is not the most landlord friendly state. Look into states that are more landlord friendly. 

Squatters - you have to stay on top of your properties when they're vacant/don't let them be vacant too long, call the cops if people are in a unit that shouldn't be there if it's supposed to be vacant, bring a pack of vicious German Shepherds or pitbulls with you to get them out. The squatters are usually more scared/run when they realize an owner or manager comes by a vacant property.

To get rid of a tenant - that you don't want to renew their lease on, always pays late, or always has complaints or maintenance request - give them a 30-60 notice (You can let them know you're the manager and the owner wants to have the unit renovated).

@Mario Morales

Value to be expected - deal flow in what you're looking for both on and off market. Deal deep dives so that you have a better understanding of the deal before inspecting it (pics, vids, ages of mechanicals, current and market rents, sale comps). Many multi-family properties are not always listed on the market because the owner wants to keep it a private sale from the current tenants living in the units. 

Ask the agents how they source their single and multi-family deals and how they'll be able to put them in front of you. Ask if they own any deals or invest themselves (if they don't own any yet, they might be newer - does not necessarily mean they're not hard working but they might not be the best with ownership understanding questions/understanding of renovating/turning units). Write offers on the deals that work for you or at the price point that can make it work for you. 

I'm sure there are agents with money who like to cherry pick the deals they buy when they're a buyer or investor but I'm sure they run out of money at a certain point and still sell deals too

@Alex Hall It sounds like you are going to have to teach the seller how to find a sub2 deal if he is ever going to be able to buy a house now. Just give him the details of what he needs to look for specifically.

Other options - refi into DSCR, connect seller with a credit repair company so he can get a conventional loan eventually, or sell

The A Class properties in my market are typically cashflow negative for the first 2-5 years until they start to breakeven with market rents. B Class can breakeven/barely cashflow. C Class can cashflow but comes with the territory. Seems like the easier the deal would be to manage, the more negative the cashflow is going to be. @Drew Sygit do you have a way to differentiate the class of neighborhoods in your market? Do A Class neighborhoods cash flow where you're at?

@Erika Andersen I have a real estate license and am very active with it still with both buyers and sellers. I used a buyer's agent last year in my own market when buying a deal off-market that he brought to me. That agent represented me as the buyer and the seller chose to self-represent themself. The deal was so good that I agreed to let my greasy buyer's agent make the full 6% on the purchase instead of trying to spit it with him. 

Do Colorado sellers not pay the buyer agents out there to sell their houses for them if they're sitting? Why would you have to pay an agent by the hour when this is meant to be a performance driven industry/don't sell me a house - don't get paid. If you understand the buying process from buying previous purchases, why even use an attorney or an agent? Just go to the listing agent and make them show you the house - they can prep the offer for you/tell them the changes you want in the contracts, and tell them you're fine with them representing the seller as their client while you be the customer and self rep yourself (remember, they rep the seller and their best interest/not yours in that situation). Just do your own due diligence

@Steve K. Crypto prices are much more volatile and move much more quickly than real estate prices. I don't know what your real estate portfolio consist of, how you manage it, or what type of equity you have in it but, diversifying your investment strategies is never a bad thing to do. Instead of selling all of your real estate - consider selling the properties you don't care for or like as much - diversity that money into crypto/stocks that you've done your research on. 

I've made good money in crypto before. I liked it because it felt similar to gambling/little to no research with drunk luck just months later. 

I personally think it's good to diversify your investments and not be too heavy in just one. You have to speculate. I would say with crypto investing, you should only invest what you're comfortable with losing.