All Forum Posts by: Stephen Brown

Honestly I think it comes down to the asset quality. If you have the opportunity for a small multifamily that's in a desirable area then I'd swing for that all day. Turnover will kill you if you have just one single family home. You'll get more experience with the 4 unit and it will jump you into commercial investing sooner, assuming you want to go bigger in the future.

 That is what I've been doing! Thanks for your comment Jackie!

My best suggestion to you is to ask other investors that invest in other markets what their difficulties are and see if that is something you want to deal with. Ask them how fast they can scale and how their property management is and then you can decide if that's a viable route to pursue.

Hey Biggerpockets,

I'm wondering if there are investors that are primarily focused on mid sized multifamily like 20-80 units. I know there are a lot of people in the syndication space doing much larger deals but I'd like to network with those in this space. A lot of people are doing well in this sector here in Toledo and I'd like to hear what other investors are seeing in other markets and if this is a route to pursue.

Best,

Stephen Brown

I know a guy here in Toledo who got started in real estate doing exactly this: buying rehab needed multifamily properties, fixing them up, selling them off to then buy bigger rehab needed multifamily properties, and then growing from there. He now has 1000 units across two cities. I'd say it's a great way to get started because of the power of refinancing on the back end.

Almost everyone is getting outbid right now. If you're going to go on market and get a deal you need to go into smaller markets where the numbers still make sense.

I would scope out your market and find the agents that have the lisitngs in the rental neighborhoods you're looking in and then ask them what kind of returns an investor could expect in that neighborhood. The agent should know which streets are good, which are bad, and what zip codes are the best performing in price to rent ratio and more. Ask them how their other clients are performing. Ask them how many rentals they own. Ask them the basic questions such as rent and after repair value. If they can't answer these questions easily then they probably aren't investor friendly.

Hey! I would say your best bet is to use city-data.com and talk to local agents and pick their brains. They will know which streets and neighborhoods are better. I would also use sites like communitycrimemap.com for crime and greatschools.org for education. Also try using the Bereau Labor of Statistics.

@Account Closed I would say that you need to build up a bit more in reserves before firing away at multifamilies especially here in Toledo. A lot of out of state investors are going the single family route here as the prices and rehab needed make much more sense. Either way I would not use all of my capital for this first purchase. When we meet up we can talk about analysis, using online tools isn't always the best way to go. 

 I will begin putting systems in place. Thank you for the tough love.