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All Forum Posts by: Steve Theobald

Steve Theobald has started 24 posts and replied 126 times.

Post: Looking for real estate investors in Utah

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

The Salt Lake Real Estate Investment Association (SLREIA) has regular meetings in Davis county.  I am a member, and I strongly recommend you rub shoulders with some great people who have been doing this for awhile.   Every market is different, and the info in the books will probably get you 75% of the way to your goal (if you apply it!).  The locals will take you the other 25%.  Check out  http://slreia.com/

Post: Looking for help in Ogden, Utah

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Hi Nate.  I am an agent in Salt Lake, but I just started looking at flips and rentals in Ogden because of my clients' requests.  I am sure there are some other agents in that area who are on BP.   I am seeing some great numbers in Weber county compared to Salt Lake for sure.  

Post: Looking for Buy and hold investment opportunities in SaltLakeCity

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Cindy, Aloha!  So you want to "make a SMART investment for long term income."

Candor is one of my strengths.  Uh...  weaknesses..  uh ???  

I have given away a lot of my secrets to investors.  Let's see if I can do it again... 

Nobody can go see all the possible great rentals that hit the market each day, and the only sane thing to do is make some assumptions to narrow the search field:   (1) Rents are consistent by bedroom count for each neighborhood.  (2) A rental rehab costs less than a flip rehab.  (3) If done carefully, single family homes and multi-family units CAN be adequately compared side-by-side for return potential.  (4) Everyone wants the same deals, so you have to move FAST.  (5)  The market is extremely tight right now, but there are still some needles in the haystack.  (6)  To find the very best deals, always do your own marketing to find motivated sellers, but continue to work with wholesalers and agents who can send some deals your way.

As a Utah realtor I have the best Utah data at my finger tips, and nobody loves the data more than me! (Yes, there are a few other crazy data hounds out there.) I currently use over 1600 rental data points each day to try to pinpoint the top Single Family and Multi-Family rentals in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Tooele counties. (Sorry, no Park City, since that is on a different Realtor board). Yes, most agents can get the same data, but few can last more than a few weeks with all the numbers floating around or program a simple spreadsheet adequately to extract the golden nuggets. But they are out there! Until you master your own deal finding, and since 80% of the deals are on the MLS, I recommend you work closely with an agent. At a minimum, an agent can set up multiple "hot sheet" searches to find rentals that meet "The 1% Rule" (monthly rent must equal 1% of the purchase price).

The second step after determining potentially good rental spreads is to get a close estimate on rehab costs. If there are pictures on the MLS, then you are off to a great start. For a flip, I recommend $10 per square foot plus $10,000 as a rough guide. For a rental, you can cut it in half. Older properties need more $$$. You will confirm your numbers later.

Third step. Once you have a few properties that are interesting to you, you need to compare them side by side. At this stage, you can do a blind offer, or you can make the seller and the listing agent happy and actually go SEE the homes to refine your numbers. (What a concept!) Unless you just love Property X and must have it at all costs, I am guessing you are trying to get a good, stable RETURN on your money. So as you compare, don't forget taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, and property management. Once you are confident you have all the data fairly accurate, then look at the Cash on Cash Return for the first year. If you want to, you can also figure a cap rate, the gross yield, and the Internal Rate of Return, which is like the CCR but uses 5 to 10 years using the annual cash flows. But the CCR is usually adequate to get started.

Four.  The market is HOT right now.  You either must be willing to pay close to full price or just wait for a few months.  Is it too hot?  Is is overpriced?  Not in Salt Lake.  But there are some great returns in other states, in other markets too.  Since you are in Hawaii, you should look all over.  Once you decide to make an offer, don't get caught up in the multiple offer game.  Decide your max offer and then stick to it.  There will be other deals.  The "newbies" who "must get a deal" will not last long in the market.  Take your time.  Be a professional.  This is a business, not a hobby.

I have heard people accuse investors of always chasing the highest return to the exclusion of safety and prudence.   Perhaps they are suggesting that deferred maintenance is not always factored in, or something else.  For example, the roof on a 4 plex that already has two layers is going to cost you at least 3 months of income WHEN it needs replacing.   Hmmm.  Will that be year 3 or year 7 or 12?  There are certainly lots of variables to consider!  

Few agents will ever try to convince you to NOT buy a house.  Please find one who is not afraid to explore the downside dangers with you--one who wants to help you buy five houses and not just one--one who is doing enough business to not ever send any sales pressure your way.  The deal must always stand on its own!!!

Whew!  . . . I think that is enough candor for one night.

Post: Utah Investor Meetup

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143
@Jeff Rappaport:  Jeff, it was amazing.  Thanks so much for putting it on.  Brian Pitcher and I were the last ones to leave after 9:30, so I was there for over three hours for me just getting to know people.  I made some great contacts and learned a few things.  I think there is a time for education for sure, but I loved the network-only format.  
It was noisy because of the other patrons and the TV's, but to have food is good too.

Unfortunately, Adam paid $18 for wings and a drink.  While not crazy expensive, it still may be more than some people want to spend.  

So I've got a solution for both problems:  Anybody in this real estate meetup group have a conference room at work or a big family room at home?  Then, everyone brings $5 for food and we have a few subway 6 footers and some other munchies.   Next time we cater Cafe Rio.  Next time after that The Pie Pizzeria shows up 30 minutes into the event.  (Just thinking out loud - since you asked).  

-Steve

Post: Any Provo, UT Multifamily investment groups?

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

I have not seen as many good deals in the Utah County area in the last 6 months compared to Salt Lake, Davis, and Tooele counties. Of course there will always be the needle in the haystack, but as an investor you want to maximize the ROI.

The Wasatch Area Real Estate Investor Association now broadcasts some of its meetings, and I would get on their radar.

http://www.wareia.com/

The benefit of the other associations is the networking.  But BP is the best I have found in this regard.

Post: Utah Super Rentals

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

20% returns? Good day! Every morning I put on my hunting hat and track down the very best return SFR and Multi-family rentals within 90 minutes of Salt Lake City. If you are a serious buy and hold investor (or even if you are just thinking about it) then let's talk asap. I factor in all costs and still find great deals with 15-20% returns. Tell me what you are looking for at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/SUPERSteveHomes

Thanks, 

Steve Theobald, 801-903-3753

Post: Utah Investor Meetup

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Sounds like a great event.  See you there.

Post: New member in Utah

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Post: New Member from Utah

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Welcome to BP.  I am fairly new myself but find very helpful ideas and great people.

Post: Best way to get a Utah real estate license.

Steve Theobald
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Posts 132
  • Votes 143

Also, now is also a good time for you to start interviewing a few brokers. If you have talked with at least a couple before you take the course, you will have a better frame of reference as you go through some of the material regarding broker/agent relationships.