All Forum Posts by: Steve K.

Hey Tony,

Welcome to the community! One thing that I did a lot of when I first started out was analyzing deals. I would analyze deals as often as I could. Since you have a Pro membership you have access to the calculators, so the Rental Property calculator works great for that. There is a video on how to use the calculator, but if you have any questions when analyzing a deal let me know!

Hi Qais,

As others have said, the pro membership gives you access to the calculators (Rental Property, BRRRR, Fix and Flip, etc.). For a long time I was analyzing deals using a spreadsheet and the calculators here are much easier to use and will generate a nice report of the deal. So if sharing your analysis with someone, you can send that report.

I've found that just the calculators are worth the pro membership.

Hi Reagan,

I would contact all tenants and remind them that there is a strict no smoking policy in your building, which is enforceable by the lease. When I bought my first building I had hard-wired smoke detectors put in throughout and they had wired them so each unit's smoke detectors were connected to the others (I eventually talked to the fire department and confirmed I could change this). There was one tenant that was continually smoking in the unit and setting off the detectors for the entire building, which was really frustrating for everyone. I spoke with each tenant and they all insisted they weren't smoking in their units. 

One day when I was in one of the units I found an ash tray in the living room with a bunch of cigarette butts, so it was obviously him. I confronted him, reminded him there was a strict no smoking policy and if it happened again he would be asked to leave. The problem stopped after that.

Sometimes it can be difficult to prove if someone is smoking in their unit, but if there is a smell of smoke in the building they most likely are smoking within it. The next time you are in there be on the lookout for any signs of them smoking. 

Hopefully a stern reminder of the no smoking policy will resolve the issue.

Glad to hear it! Getting comfortable analyzing deals is important and it's free. Once you get into a routine it takes only a couple minutes. Try to set a goal for yourself to analyze one deal a day. Once you do that often you'll feel more confident making an offer when a good deal does come up. When I started it was pretty scary for me at first and it took me a year before I found my first deal. Looking back, I had passed up on several solid deals because I just didn't feel confident enough. Finding a mentor that knows your local market helps a ton, so that's another reason why meetups are important. Just remember you'll likely have to get out of your comfort zone for your first deal, but if you put in the work it will be worth it!

Hey Zack,

I'm up in Maine so I'm not too familiar with the Long Island market, but there are a lot of advantages to investing locally, so my advice would be to buy local and house hack your first deal. When house hacking, you get much better financing terms (less money down) compared to if you weren't living in the property. Also, I know most people start out wanting to buy a duplex, but don't shy away from the three and four unit buildings if you find one that you like. More units typically equal more cashflow. You can get up to four units with an FHA loan.

My advice for getting started out would be to:

1. Go to a local meetup to network and talk other investors

2. Talk to a few lenders at local banks/credit unions and get pre-qualified

3. Find an investor focused real estate agent in your market. They'll get you setup with an email list and should be able to help you analyze deals.

4. Analyze deals every day so you get comfortable with running numbers. When you see a deal that matches your buy criteria, setup a showing. 

5. Make offers on properties - this one sounds obvious but is important. If you are analyzing deals but not making any offers you won't ever get a property! 

What are you next steps to move closer toward your goals?

Finding a good property management company can be hard, so if you are working with one now that is doing a good job, I would continue investing in that market and working with them. If I were in your shoes I'd continue adding cashflowing properties to my portfolio while having a property management company manage them so you can focus on your restaurant business. 

On your next deal you could consider buying a larger building with more units (IE 4-8), as those typically cashflow much better than a single family or duplex. 

Hey Ashley, in this situation I would just politely respond to let them know you've chosen a more qualified applicant and leave it at that. 

Also, I find screening tenants pretty time consuming and it is a task I will eventually hire out. Most property management companies will offer to place tenants for you for half of the first month's rent, so going forward if you decide you don't want to do this yourself that is one task you can hire out.

If you want to know more, this is a great article that explains how to decline an application and has a sample rejection letter:

https://www.apartments.com/rental-manager/resources/screenin...

Hey Hiren,

I self-manage a small portfolio of 12 units and have been using RentRedi for the past 18 months. It has worked great and only costs $100 a year. Whenever I have questions the support from RentRedi has been awesome as well.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you have any further questions about it!

Hi Carey,

I live in Maine, so the cost of heating is always at the forefront of my mind. In your situation what I would recommend is to firstly, get an experienced heating technician to come out service the boiler. Let them know you are having higher than expected heating costs. The boiler may be malfunctioning so they can help with this. Getting the boiler serviced each year is always good to do. 

Secondly, you could have an energy audit done on your home. In Maine there are companies that specialize in this area. You may have parts of your home that aren't well insulated or are drafty, and that would certainly cause your heating bill to rise. Once the audit is done they will give you suggestions on how to make the home more efficient.

Lastly, there are some grants available to help reduce energy costs. In Maine we have several different options, so I'd recommend looking into what you have in your area and taking advantage of them.

Hey Jay!

I think it's amazing that at your age you are interested in real estate! I wish I had that insight when I was 16. 

My suggestions for getting started would be to:

1. Learn as much as you can (listen to podcasts, read books, read the forums here and ask questions)

2. Attend local real estate meetups (this will allow you to build your network and learn from other agents/investors

3. Find a mentor (find someone that is successful in what you want to do, build a relationship with them and ask them for guidance)

4. Call local real estate brokers and ask for a job (there are other things you can do for a brokerage than being a real estate agent)

Good luck and I hope that helps!