All Forum Posts by: Kevin Hoag

I do not recommend hiring a lawyer as this will drag out the process longer and most likely cost you more money than it is worth. How much in total damage would you say was done to the building? Also can you tell us exactly what happened to cause the damage? If you are looking for someone to help represent you then hiring a public insurance adjuster would be your best option. These individuals hold a license with the state to be legally allowed to represent you on your behalf to negotiate your insurance claim. I would google search for someone who can do this in your area. Typically, they charge you a fee based on how much your claim pays out. Best of luck

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $81,245
Cash invested: $30,000
Sale price: $225,000

Purchased property with bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and 3 tenants not paying rent. I was able to get all of the tenants to start paying rent, then removed all pests from the property and one by one turned over all 4 units. During this time I was able make all of the repairs and renovations to the property without having to come out of pocket.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Was building a residential rental portfolio

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal on the MLS and bought it the same day that it was listed

How did you finance this deal?

I purchased this deal with cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I was able to get rid of bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and make 3 tenants pay rent that were previously not. I then renovated all 4 units as I turned over each tenant from the property. All of this increased my gross rents and added value to the property.

What was the outcome?

I eventually sold the property for $225,000

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy the worst property on the street and make it the best property on the street to maximize your profits

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, I represent myself as the real estate agent and the insurance agent.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $81,245
Cash invested: $30,000
Sale price: $225,000

Purchased property with bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and 3 tenants not paying rent. I was able to get all of the tenants to start paying rent, then removed all pests from the property and one by one turned over all 4 units. During this time I was able make all of the repairs and renovations to the property without having to come out of pocket. Collected rents was able to cover everything. This property generated market value rents at $2400/month gross rents. The property gained huge appreciation and I sold it for $225,000

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Was building a residential rental portfolio

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal on the MLS and bought it the same day that it was listed

How did you finance this deal?

I purchased this deal with cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I was able to get rid of bed bugs, cockroaches, rats and make 3 tenants pay rent that were previously not. I then renovated all 4 units as I turned over each tenant from the property. All of this increased my gross rents and added value to the property.

What was the outcome?

I eventually sold the property for $225,000

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy the worst property on the street and make it the best property on the street to maximize your profits

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, I represent myself as the real estate agent and the insurance agent.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $54,900
Cash invested: $8,235
Sale price: $89,000

Purchase this single family home off of a couple who lived in the home for 20+ years and took great care of the property. Turned into an excellent rental with gross rents of $950 and monthly cash flow of $300+

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Purchasing residential properties to build a well rounded investment portfolio

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal right off the MLS. The listing agent had made a mistake when putting it up for sale so the property sat on the market for sometime before I found it and bought it.

How did you finance this deal?

I purchased this deal with 15% down conventional financing and had the sellers provide 2% closing cost assistance

How did you add value to the deal?

Property was purchase for around 1.8%gross rent/purchase price making it a profitable purchase in a city with stable tenants and good upside appreciation.

What was the outcome?

Sold the property several years later for 89k making enough profit to justify letting it go. Cash today is worth more than cash tomorrow.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Single family homes can be difficult if you do not have multiple properties. When there is a turn over you start to take a loss out of pocket having to cover your mortgage and holding costs

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I represented myself as both the real estate agent and the insurance agent

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $75,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $176,000

Purchased the property and held onto it for 3-4years. Rehabbed 2 out of 4 units and maintained 100% occupancy and collected 100% since purchase date. Sold the property in 2021 for $176,000.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Was looking to build a residential portfolio.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal on the MLS and purchased it cash within the hour that it went up for sale.

How did you finance this deal?

Purchased with cash and then the property paid for all of its repairs and turnover cost to renovate units.

How did you add value to the deal?

At the time of purchase the property was producing around 3% gross rent/purchase price.

What was the outcome?

Owned the property for 3-4 years collecting over $2500 gross rents. Decided to sell the property while the appreciation and the market value was at its peak.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

When renting to younger individual makes sure to add their parents onto the lease. This saved me throughout 2020 as the parent paid for rent for their child for over a year to keep them from getting an eviction and taking the parents down with them.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, I represented myself as a licensed real estate agent and a licensed insurance agent.

@Cheza M. when choosing a PM company you will want to review the PM agreement with a fine tooth comb. I would also confirm that the PM company holds the proper licensing as there are many companies that do not. Once you have a couple in mind, I suggest creating another post on BP to see what others may have to say. You might be shocked by some of the horror stories people have had with certain companies. There are many PM companies in Cleveland that look great online but are terrible in reality. In my opinion the most important item to look for is communication. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get a hold of anyone and always being sent directly to an answering machine or waiting days to get an email response. If you would like some recommendations on my top picks and the companies to stay away from send me a PM. 

@Kristen Silva Cleveland will always be a great location to buy real estate. Cleveland is one of the top cities for cash flow. There are a lot of great locations that would not put you into a very rough neighborhood or an over saturated market. Just because there is high competition in Cleveland does not make it impossible to get into this market. Yes, it will take looking at a lot of properties and writing a lot of offers however when your score a property in Cleveland you know it will be a profitable investment and will always cash flow. We have a huge rental market that is not going anywhere. 

Short term rental insurance is very similar to long term rental insurance in terms of the coverage items you will want to have. Do you have an specific questions about your policy or the coverage items? You will want to make sure to have several key coverage items. Hopefully this will help you out. 

Property coverage - most likely going to be replacement cost coverage

            Separate structure coverage - if you have any

Personal Property - this is the big difference between long term rentals vs short term rentals since you own all of the items inside of the home.

Premises liability - I always recommend maxing this coverage out on your policy

Landlord Personal Injury Liability- This coverage will be equal to you premise liability

Loss of Rents - carriers offer 12 months, 24 months or a specified amount typically 10% of your property coverage (very helpful if you ever have a claim that result in the inability to continue renting out the property for some time)

Is she renting half of the duplex or did she purchase half of the duplex? If she is renting half of the duplex you will need to purchase a renters policy. This should be pretty easy to get. I know Florida insurance is difficult to get good rates so I suggest reaching out to a local independent agent to assist you.

If she purchased half of the duplex then you will want a homeowners policy. This will include property coverage, personal property coverage and property liability along with many other coverage items. Again a local agent in Florida that knows that market would probably be your best option. 

@Ohad Folman

I suggest getting a quote with Foremost, American home shield, Aegis, American Modern they all tend to have good rate across the country and are top landlord insurance companies. Send me a DM if you need a referral.