All Forum Posts by: Tiffany Alexy

@Ray Rodarte,

I got my start in college.  I bought a condo a few miles away from a large public university and lived there for 3 years.  There were 4 bedrooms total, so I lived in one and rented the other 3 out - even just renting 3, I had positive cash flow after expenses of about $50/mo.  

You definitely need to do your research. Look at properties for sale in your area. Study rents. Read BiggerPockets. Attend REIA events.

But there's also no substitute for experience.  I'd try to sync up with a mentor or someone who has vastly more knowledge in the real estate investing arena.  Offer to help them as an unpaid internship or apprenticeship.  You'll learn a lot that way.  

Good luck! 

Welcome to BP! I too am looking forward to meeting you at our local area meetup! 

Welcome @Clarence Taylor! I work in Durham, it's a great place to be :-)

See everyone there! First round is on us :) 

Hi everyone! I'm Tiffany, the Community Manager for SoloPro.  If you're interested, read more about us below.  Feel free to check out our website at www.solopro.com and let me know what you think! 

ABOUT US

SoloPro is a trusted community platform that enables the ultimate home buyer rebate of 3% for do-it-yourself home buyers by connecting them to real estate agents who offer their unbundled services for a small fee. Hundreds of people use SoloPro every month creating an entirely new, people powered, real estate platform. With a dedicated customer service team, a state of the art website, and a fast-growing community of users, SoloPro is making home buying profitable and offering a new way for real estate agents to earn a living.

À LA CARTE SERVICES

In the past, uneducated home buyers chose to utilize all the services of a real estate broker or none of them at all. On SoloPro agents unbundle their services, enabling buyers to customize their experience by selecting only the à la carte services they need. Home buyers love getting specific real estate services on demand only when needed. Some home buyers need no realtor services at all, while others opt to receive varying amounts of help from professional realtors throughout the home buying process.

FEES VS COMMISSIONS

Realtors traditionally were compensated with commissions even though most professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.) operate on a fee for service basis. On SoloPro, real estate agents offer their à la carte services to home buyers for small fees. Do-It-Yourself home buyers can now purchase only those services they require, and real estate agents no longer have to wait and hope for a possible commission. SoloPro makes it easy for home buyers to connect with agents eager to help.

@Ricky Stafford, this may be of interest to you.

Welcome @Daniel Monserrate! 

@Andreas W. & @Dawn Brenengen:

Definitely! That reason alone is why I always purchase the units with the most bedrooms possible.  The extra rent more than makes up for the slight bump in purchase price.

@Matt Rothwell:

Yes, everyone is on their own lease.  Their parents do not co-sign; I collect a security deposit of a month's rent in addition to their first month's rent upon move-in.  The leases don't all renew or expire at the same time, as I have some students on a 12-month lease, some on a semester lease (there's a monthly upcharge for shorter term leases).  I only have 2 properties at the moment so it's pretty easy to keep track of but I've also started putting all info into an Excel spreadsheet to glance at for reference if needed.

Since I've been self-managing, I've had no issues with damage.  Actually, I had more problems when the property was being managed by a 3rd party property management company (won't mention any names here) - but essentially they didn't get a security deposit and those tenants wrecked the place and half stopped paying rent so I had to evict them - not fun.  I've been self-managing for the past 3 years and it's been working out great for me.  I screen the tenants (background and credit checks) and make them pay for the screening as an "application fee" which makes them have a little skin in the game.  The tenants I have in there now are great and I try my best to keep them happy.

I own a 4/4 in University Woods and I'm on the HOA Board. @Dawn Brenengen is right - Wilson Property Management took over the HOA management about a year ago.  

I manage the unit myself and have learned some lessons but overall I'm pretty happy with what I get cash-flow wise.  Renting out by the room definitely helps that.  Mine was financed through BB&T and I had to put 25% down, but they financed it and it worked out.

Yes, you do have the condo fees to worry about but that kind of helps with self managing - there's really not much I get a call for.  I pick up rent in person so I can have eyes on the property.

If there are any specific questions I can help with, happy to help!