All Forum Posts by: Theresa Nicoletto

Well... the beautiful thing about Bigger Pockets is that you can talk with the folks off line, too. I now have 2 properties managers that handle my tenant screenings - @Rhett Tullis (who commented earlier) and another one in a more rural area I invest in. Great property managers are worth their weight in gold. It was the only way to grow.... by focusing in on what I do best, getting excellent vendors and farming out the rest. Luckily, I haven't had to do too many evictions.... the ones that I did do were handled by my property manager. We try to let people that are having financial hardship out of their leases (as long as they have been good tenants and are maintaining my property). If not, we take to court and garnish. I don't want other people to have to deal with bad tenants..... but I also don't want to make it harder on people that are already struggling to survive. (Like a cancer patient, someone that lost their job, victims of abuse, etc. We probably wouldn't be able to collect anyway... and our goal is to get the property rented quickly with as little expense as possible.) 

I'm definitely interested in future events. 

This is a Women in REI Mastermind meeting. The goal is to network, share resources, goals, and accountability to push ourselves to the next level. We will meet 1x per month. This is a Guru, Men and Multi-level Marketing Free Zone.

Great for seasoned investors and newbies alike. Come ask questions and be a resource. This is the place to see how other women are crushing it in real estate. We've got real estate brokers, attorneys, CPAs, professionals, contractors, etc. You won't feel intimidated by us, we operate from a place of abundance. We share what we know, who we know and how we do our business (and how to catch your breath if you are a mom, entrepreneur, and also have a day job! ;-)

@Ryan Easley - Welcome to BP! As a CPA, I'm sure you are used to process and procedure, right? Well, dealing with tenants is process and procedure. You want to take out as much emotion and thought out of the tenant screening and property management experience. (You have to... you don't want to be sued for discrimination.) A proven lease that has been used and tested by a property manager or landlord you trust and then reading Landlording on Autopilot by Mike Butler will eliminate 90% of your problem tenants/issues. 

Also, read The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller. (and of course ALL of the BP podcasts.. ;-)

Remember, location, location, location... determine where you want to play and understand the pros and cons of it. For example, if you want to get great returns, look at mid to lower end neighborhoods... but know that they are usually more of a maintenance issue and may have more tenant turnover. Figure out your process and/or hire a property mgt company, crunch your numbers and determine if it makes sense for you.

Keep a running list of things to make life easier for a landlord when you see it... for example, same paint (and give tenants a quart), show them how to change filters, and "bulletproof" your investments (I do tile floors on slabs if possible, seal every crack, get rid of dishwashers and garbage disposals, get rid of screen doors, encourage tenants to email through your system for needed repairs (I use Buildium) so those $10 fixes don't become $500 dollar fixes. 

Anyway... good luck!

Best,

Theresa

You mentioned that you can't find good buyers... I agree with what most have said about the good deals... when you start to find really great deals, they will come. 

However, I would say... if you really feel that the 12 or so buyers you found are duds.... think about how you found them. Have they said they are buyers or have you had an agent run a report on cash buyers in a certain neighborhood that you target? Have you brought your deals to your local REIA? Have you posted them on the BP Forums?

If you've done all of the above... what has the feedback been? Why no interest? Price too high, bad location, etc. Take what they tell you about the deals you are presenting and learn from it. 

Ask actual buyers, not those that say they are buyers but bonafide buyers (with companies or names that are listed on the tax accessor's website so you know they have bought and are repeat buyers) about deals they have bought and ask why they bought them. 

Take the out to lunch. Pick their brain. Ask them how they make decisions - do they use wholesalers or do they use other methods to acquire properties? If they use other wholesalers, take them out to lunch and try to learn from them.(sorry, it's lunchtime where I am and I guess I am starving..)  Ask what they look for in properties and how they have been successful. What formulas they use, how much their markups are. Always try to be of value to people and they may be open to sharing their secret sauce. 

Think about partnering with local investors that want access to more deals... maybe they can pay for marketing and you can close them. I don't know. Just get creative. 

Good luck!

@Stacia Ranallo - Welcome to BP. The Podcasts are addictive! It's great because you can hear from people who are doing it, crushing it. It's helped me expand what I thought was possible. Very inspiring. As for BP, I've met clients and partners on here. Great for connecting with other real estate investors and learning.

Let's connect. Feel free to connect. I'm always up for coffee. 

Good luck!

Theresa

Welcome, @Brandon Maughan!

I'm an investor on the W side... NW & SW. I currently have 32+ (closing on a few this week!) and have started investing in OK about 18 months ago. I love the SW side for the same reasons listed. I buy very distressed properties, have my contractors put in my hand selected hopefully "bulletproof" products and VERY carefully screen tenants. I'm the opposite of a slum lord... I try to make my units as nice as possible while staying as close as I can to 70% of ARV. I need to be able to live in the house if I had to. I also need to be able to flip it if I had to. This mindset helps me determine location, neighborhood and finished product. That being said, I have to acquire my properties very cheaply in order to make my numbers. That's the fun part. ;-)

Managing the construction budget and finding great tenants is the key to success in my opinion. You can always get folks to lend money if you have a proven track record and are logical and methodical in the way you run your business. One tip I have for you is to get an accountant/bookkeeper early on to get you set up correctly from the beginning. 

Good luck and let's connect!

@Lisa Jines - if you have some good deals - send my way. I'm always looking (and buying!).... but they have to be good and not in the MLS. (I'm a RE Broker in OK & CA so already get those sent to me daily through alerts.)

@Russell Brazil - Nawh... I've lived in condos all my life until I moved to OKC. I was on the HOA board of a luxury building in San Francisco and you would be surprised at how many people will let their dogs pop and pee in the common areas (killing very expensive plantings). But a couple of cameras streamed to the building website with the threat of $$$ fines made everyone behave just a little bit better. (Fun tip: Tenants in those buildings love to narc on each other for sport.)

I agree with everyone that said build a fence - especially since it is your primary residence.

You aren't going to win here. You're dealing with an attorney and a pretty selfish one at that. 

You've discussed it and he's still doing it. It's going to drive you crazy and you've got bigger fish to fry... you're building your business and all the stress and energy you are pouring into this is taking away from that. Share the cost of the fence.  Get and estimate and then get it in writing that he's going to cover 1/2 half the price before it's started.

As for your tenant, let her know what she is doing is absolutely unacceptable. If it persists, have her sign an addendum to her lease for a dog poop removal service so that you can bill her monthly and let her know that her lease will not be renewed. (I checked and there are a bunch of poop removal services in Anchorage.)

@Thomas S.  That might be a "solution", but it's not the dog's fault - it's the owner's. 

Why be mean to the dog? That's pretty crappy (pun intended...) 

Ty Webb: Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You're not being the ball, Danny.

Danny Noonan: It's hard when you're talking like that. 

You want to be an entrepreneur, right? 

That means YOU need to take action and make stuff happen for yourself!!

Your local REIA isn't having a meeting isn't having a meeting until Jan?

I checked Meetup dot com and there are 4 real estate meetups within 50 miles of you. 

The Indiana Real Estate Investors Group has a meeting on 12/13.

The Bloomington Real Estate Investing Meetup has 50 interested members BUT NO LEADER!

Step right up! Take it over - look at other successful meetups around the country and copy them (I hear it's the most sincerest form of flattery!) Don't reinvent the wheel but do execute on vision. The nice thing about leading something is you can organize it according to your schedule.

Another great thing to do is ask people who have started REIAs in their areas how they did it. Where to start... and best practice ideas. You can find those wonderful folks on... wait for it.... Bigger Pockets!!!

 If it seems like too much, ask on BP for someone to help  you with it. 

You need to step up your income ASAP.  Are you a manager at Starbucks yet? That will at least get your income up until you can get something that pays more.

If you are going to go the agent route, try to find a brokerage that will refund your licensing classes upon close of your first transaction. A car that's not reliable is going to be tricky no matter what you do. Uber is a great idea but check with other Uber drivers in the area to find out how much they make on average. (You could be an Uber driver AND something else... actually, if you are looking to move forward working a standard 40 hrs is not going to cut it - you got to be hungry!!)

Go to the REIAs in your town, get to know people and let them know you are hungry. You want to learn and need someone to take you under their wing. Look for jobs with wholesalers. What if you switched from your Starbucks job to being a personal assistant to an investor. 

Maybe look for people who are trying to grow their business but are working full time. (Just thinking of my own personal experience. I would not have been able to grow the way I have in the past year if it wasn't for my personal assistant and systems. She's thrilled because she's learning a lot - and I get my stuff done. Plus she makes a mean tomato sauce, so there is that...)

The thing is, although you don't need that much money to get started, no money is really hard. (I know, duh right?) Being an agent, you are going to need to take people around in your car and you may not get a sale for a while. But if you work hard, you can do it. ... especially if you serve a niche market like investors... or out of state investors. You could be the "boots on the ground" for them if they invest out of state... Think sale, construction mgt, then property mgt, etc.  

If you're going the wholesale route, you are going to need to get aggressive. Drive or bike neighborhoods. Find the crappy vacant houses, look them up on assessor's website for owners. Contact them and see what they are looking to sell their house for. (don't use Zillow it's pretty far off for comps). With no money, you need to get creative. Maybe even partner with an investor - tell them you will do the contacting of the leads and close them and then hand them over. You get maybe every 4th lead to sell yourself or you get a flat fee or % per house that you are able to close and get under contract.

Again... it's just being creative, resourceful and jumping out of your comfort zone.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!