All Forum Posts by: Ben Riechmann

1. Know that investment properties that we don't live in are different interest rates than those that go for homeowners.  I am amazed at the number of agents that don't know this.

2. Know what rents go for in an area and don't try to upsell how much a place will rent for.  I farm an area before I have an agent help me go look.  I know what places will rent for.  But I will ask an agent and if they tell me a place will rent for much more than I know it will I run away from him or her.  I am looking for a person on my team I can trust.  I will also ask the interest rate question as well.  If you say you work with investors, I expect you to know some basic things of how things are different for investors than for regular home buyers.  Otherwise, I think you are more interested in making a short-term sale than building a long-term relationship with me.  

3. Never tell me a seller will never take my cash offer.  If you are working with me as an investor, and you have earned my trust, don't be trying to get me to buy everything for the most money so you can get the best commission.  Realtors that have worked with me have made more money off me than just a homeowner buying one house as I am going after multiple properties.  You treat me right, you are going to make commissions on more than one property off of me, and not have to chase down a lot of different buyers.  It is always a mistake for a realtor to tell an investor this, as most investors make a lot of offers on more than one property, and if they get a no, they decide if the counter or move on to the next deal.  They don't want to hear from their realtor that is a bad offer as they are looking at a lot of properties over and over again.  I have proven more than one realtor wrong on that.  Sometimes they don't take the offer, but that is not a big deal, as we are still moving foward.

You want to be upfront with the landlords on what you want to do with the property and think of things that would also benefit the landlord about you running it like one.  Otherwise, they are likely to think of just how much possible damage or other things could happen to their property.   You want something that shows it will be mutually beneficial.  I do this with deals and workers and end up having them find me more deals and I reward them for it.  Let me know how it goes!  Hope this works out for you!

I agree with Will.  While the addition might make the property value go up a little more, appraisers and lenders will still look at the manufactured part the same.  I don't see how you would get around that.  There are some pros to manufactured homes in terms of rentals, in terms of tenants staying longer and lower cost.  But I worry that if you try to throw money onto the home to make it something it isn't, it will be money you are throwing out the window.  I would make the most of the pros of having the manufactured home and try to minimalize the cons.  I would take the money would take to try and change it into a different kind of dwelling and put it into another investment deal altogether.

This may sound like something only a regular homeowner would do, but I have had luck finding people on the next door app for finding workers that are reviewed in my area.  Worth a shot John since I don't know your area.  I also like to go into local hardware stores and ask who they think is good and who they would run away from.

There are some great Bigger Pockets youtube videos to learn from on youtube and great videos on here.  I like the rich dad poor dad series of books you can get cheap from abebooks.com.  Congrats on getting started!

I haven't added any units on mine, but other investor's friends have added on theirs.  Generally, it pays off the work and profits way more.  Haven't seen a case where it has not been worth it, although I am sure there is an example where that is true.

Know that you have to go through a lot of Nos to get your Yes.  You want to figure out what the percentages are going to be of different marketing so you don't get discouraged by the nos.  When I was going for deals, buy and hold not wholesaling, I would offer often less than real estate agents or others thought people would take.  But I was doing cash offers, which are more likely to get a yes than a no.  However, if you are offering lower offers you are going to get a lot of nos until you get that yes.  You have to not be bothered by that and you have to not be pressured by people that tell you what you should be offering.  Often I wasn't offering low just to offer low, I was doing it on places that needed work and I knew how much work there was to be done.  When you wholesale, you are trying to get deals where people are trying to just get rid of a place either because it is too much work, or they are investors tired of investing.  I get deals from wholesalers all the time in which I give nos.  But it doesn't bother me as I understand it is the nature of their business.  Some will not be so nice in the way they say no, but you just move on to the next one.  The important thing for you is where you will be getting money to buy these wholesale deals.

I have had real estate agents not tell me true things and property management companies.  It is important to do due diligence.  I would not buy in an area without going and seeing that area myself and scheduling to meet up with some real estate agents and property management companies beforehand.  Research what kind of question you want to ask.  I like real estate agents that also invest.  I also like to see what rents are in an area so I know if a real estate agent tells me a place can rent for a lot more than other similar places in that area, I know that person will not be a key person in my team.  For property management, I want to make calls like I am a tenant with an emergency or want to rent a place.  I remember when I used to rent so long ago and some I would call would never call me back.  Even if there are no places available, I want a property management place that will let me know, and also may put me on file for future vacancies.  I just saw on here a poor investor that was investing out of state and the property manager would not answer the phone and no one would answer the 24-hour emergency phone.  The tenant had water coming through the ceiling!  I think it is really important to meet all these people in person and check out the area yourself.  Don't let someone tell you a place is in a great area because they want to get rid of it, as they know you have never been there.  It is good to diversify and invest in other areas, but make sure to take the proper precautions.

Welcome my friend to bigger pockets!  Zillow may not be the easiest place to find off-market deals.  If you know of a spot on there, let me know as I would love to catch something I am missing.  I lived in Indianapolis when going to U of I.  Love that town.  You may want to check out a website called LoopNet.  Investors post a lot of deals on there.  I think it's worth the money to get more listings, but others may have had other experiences.  

You have the right attitude for this.  On managing contractors, it will be getting some together when so many are busy in this crazy market.  Fear not, a friend of mine did this south of Youngstown Ohio in a popular suburb, so I am sure you can pull together a team in Indianapolis!  The key element seems to be finding a point contractor that has friends with others that want more stable work that you can offer and prove that you can offer it beyond what is going on right now.  You may want to go to local hardware stores and ask who people like to get things done and see if that contractor ever works with others or is a loner.  The guy who put together the team south of Youngstown, they are selling houses as fast as they can build them, and I am sure I don't have to tell you how much building materials have gone up.  Finding that point contractor and building a good relationship will be key, then on to some happy investing.  Maybe offer something more than pay, like a percentage if he can pull together a team for you and keep them going that would just be between you guys.  Getting those projects done and on time will depend a lot on that team.  With a percentage, he also may find deals for you.  I had guys that did that in which I rewarded them for finding me deals.  Happy investing my friend and welcome!

My grandparents used to live in that town.  Make sure whoever you use you talk to them about Umbrella insurance.  I miss thunder on the ohio.