All Forum Posts by: Scott Mac

Some food for thought questions that went through my mind as soon as I read your post:

[1]   Are there other C, C+ homes and apartment complexes in the very near area?

       Maybe go visit them and see what they have to offer interior and exterior, as well as age of the units, as well as grounds keeping, as well as parking lot condition (Alligator with potholes, slurried, fresh black top with new paint lines). Also, what do the vehicles look like in the parking lot (Big SUV's, vehicles of the working poor, a lot of junk vehicles that don't run on blocks, etc...) What does complex look like to potential renters regarding these things?

[2]   It's going to come down to tenant selection. Is your offering to the C, C+ customer going to be able to convince them to live there compared to other choices they have in the area.

[3]   What are the local amenities within walking distance that are available to the renters?

       Does the area offer C and C+ Amenities such as clean, physicaly safe fast foods, a major chain supermarket, etc.... Or is it vast wasteland a pawn shops and liquor stores?

[4]   The play ground and (speaking of food for thought) community garden. Are these things known to attract C and C+ renters in this area; What is the possibility that they will become crime areas or areas of contentious fighting over who stole my rutabaga's? Are they willing to pay for space to plant vegetable crops or will you give it to them for free?  Who will plow the ground every spring, every year; Plowing his hard work; Do you intend to provide them with a rototiller- Does the insurance allow you to provide them with a rototiller?

Good Luck?

Well Matt, ( @Matt Settle )

Here are some of my thoughts on risk.

I'm looking at it this way, some investment strategies carry more risk of loss of your initial investment, and possibly if things go wrong making your credit record worse.

Sometimes, (For some people) their experience, knowledge or deep pockets can lessen the risk, but there will always be a continuum of risk.

(Continuum:  A continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct.)

Some people seem to be able to squeeze juice from a stone (sometimes), but you rarely hear about the times when they are left with nothing but a handful of gravel. So is risk.

Sometimes with higher risk comes higher reward, but that can also be a two edged sword.

In this business, low risk investing strategies are sometimes called conservative investing strategies.

It's up to you to decide what the risk of a particular investment is to yourself and to your family.

Good Luck!

I read your post, and here are some of my thoughts posed as questions.

I thought maybe if you could answer these to your best of your ability online here it might help others to be able to help you out a little better.

I'm Thinking if you can answer these questions I might bring you a step closer to your goal.

[1]      How big of a space do you need (Square footage) And do you envision this needing a parking lot If so how many cars? 

[2]      Do you think you need mostly office space, or mostly kids training space--like a karate floor sort of situation or something; But it's soccer so wouldn't this most likely be an outdoor field and not a building? 

[3]      And subletting space to a juice bar is a much different type of rental then subletting space to a gym, What if you could not get a sub-renter, do you have deep enough pockets to cover that.

[4]      What about using space in Community Center type recreational properties that are owned by the city, Either Las Vegas or North Las Vegas whichever you're based in?

[5]      When I read your post it looks like you want to possibly construct something, that may be a higher risk situation compared to purchasing something that is already there.

[6]      How much money do you have to throw at this; Are you basically empty pockets or do you have a cash fund set aside for this?

[7]       Why does it have to be a high visibility place; those places typically cost a lot more then low visibility places? 

Good Luck!

Three questions:

    1.  What is your job title?

    2.  What do you actually do at work?

    3.  What is your degree in?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndjCXG_c9kk

You've been in business 15 years, and the current renters alleged problems include:

•   [1]    Mold around stove,
•   [2]    Old food around stove,
•   [3]    Mold on walls,
•   [4]    Blood stains, 
•   [5]    Dead insects, 
•   [6]    Dust throughout,
•   [7]    Dirty stove,
•   [8]    Dirty Microwave,
•   [9]    Bathroom unsanitary,
• [10]    Windows unclean,
• [11]    Windows missing/damaged screens,
• [12]    General filth,
• [13]    Unswept floors,
• [14]    Showerhead replacement needed.

If it were mine I would ask for picks of each one of these items in the unit. 

1. If there is mold it should be remediated- that might be a quick job. 

2. In my opinion missing screens and damaged screens should have been handled on the turn.

3. A bad shower head is a common easy replacement.

4. The other things on the list look to me as if they would be solvable by an apartment cleaning service, which some owners use when they do a turn.

Maybe it would be easiest, and least expensive to just have the complaint items fixed.

And like the others have said these may be problem renters in the future as far as complaints and holding back the rent for little things- because there are people out there who will do this kind of stuff.

The items on the list seem to me like something that should be fixed before turning the unit.

But rather than words I'd want photographs of all of the problems.

Good Luck!

I would not do this. 

https://www.pestshare.com/cockroaches-in-apartment-law

Good Luck!

Hi @Stuart Udis:

Excellent post.

Of the six conflicts most commonly associated with real estate ownership you posted above, another big one is divorce.

They say up 50% of marriages end up in divorce.

Ending up in that situation, or having a partner end up in that situation can be a tough cookie to deal with.

Math must not have been his strong subject.

This seems like a case of "When the Boss is away- the mice will play".

I'll bet your client sure is grateful to you.

Re: Limited money???

[1]        Thinking.   You might find it useful to think about that statement in a different way, and reword it to something more useful to yourself such as - Not enough money right now to comfortably be able to do this.

Understand that trying to do this with very little money perhaps may introduce more risk of loss of that money.

[2]       Saving.   Once you graduate and get established in your new job, think about getting a second job and stashing all of the money from both jobs if possible until you come up with a larger amount of money, whatever that amount is that you believe you need.

[3]       Sweat equity.    Perhaps learn to be a hammer-swinger type of owner and educate yourself on Youtube about how to do some basic repairs and upgrades.

[4]       Reading.   If you have not already, read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Good Luck!