All Forum Posts by: Timothy Ketelhut

Hi Taylor,

Thank you for the information!

Hi Brian,

Thank you for the information!

Hello,

I am in need of some advice.  I am trying to work with multiple realtors to acquire my first rental property.  One of the realtors I am talking to also works for a management property company but seems like a very good resource.  However, this one realtor specializes in a limited area.  I mentioned that I have reached out to other agents so I can get as many "rods in the fire" as possible to expand my search.  When I mentioned I was tryint to work with several agents she sent me this response:

"When you are working with a realtor, you sign an agreement known as a “Buyer’s Agent Disclosure” in which you agree to work solely with that agent. Agents get paid on commission, therefore, you won’t find many realtors looking to do a “dual agency” agreement because of their risk of not getting paid with commission but still spending a lot of time and their own money trying to find deals, especially if they are not on a team or with the same brokerage."

Now I am aware of this disclosure, but that seems to only apply to a person looking to purchase a home to live in.  I had to sign one with my realtor when I bought the house I currently live in.  How do I approach this situation?  Am I legally only allowed to use one realtor?  Help!

In reading David Greene's BRRRR book and Brandon Turner's "The book on rental property investing" they talk about the different types of money making vehicles (cash flow, equity, etc). I am very interested in multi family properties with 2-3 units in them. I am a new investor and I have found numerous rentals in good condition, with long term renters already established (one in particular has had renters for 18 and 9 years), cash flowing anywhere from $400-$700 a month (including factoring in CapEx - 5%, anticipated repairs - 5%, property management - 10%, and a mortgage). A ton of these properties are between $75,000-$125,000 and some have been on the market for 20-60 days. My idea would be to make an offer that included seller's assist which would reduce the amount of cash I would need to put down. However, I can easily make an attractive offer without seller's assist. I know this would limit my equity but give me immediate monthly cash flow on rentals that are already working. I am attracted to this because it would get my foot in the door with very little money, generate a nice monthly income, and allow me to get my feet wet and experience rentals without doing a full blown renovation or needing a lot of cash. My plan would then be to re-invest the cash flow into another property and hopefully pay cash to do my first BRRR property. While this strategy may take longer to grow a mass amount of wealth it will also be a bit more organic as I like having majority if not all of the house paid off rather then have a bunch of loans. Can any experienced investors provide me with some pros and cons of my thinking or strategy?

Thank you Mitch!  I will try that out!

I am a new investor trying to start in the Grand Rapids, MI market. There is a property management company with over 20 years of experience and seems to be unlike anything I have found so far. David Greene talk about his core 4 in the BRRRR strategy and this property management company helps find deals, has a list of contractors that are 1099 that they use and recommend, charge 8-10% (10% to start then drops to 9% with 2-3 properties and some people with large amount of properties are only paying 6%) for property management and do EVERYTHING (market, collect rent, send handyman if a work order is created, evict, 12 month tenant guarantee), 60% new tenant fee, and 20% renewal, have an in house realtor that works with investors like myself. In short, they find deals, have contractors on call essentially, manage the property at a very reasonable rate, AND work with lenders that specialize in working with investors. Does this sound to good to be true? Am I crazy if I don't use all of their services?

I have asked about any fees associated with sending a contractor/handyman to do any work on the house when a tenant is in there and it is $49 an hour which seems reasonable to me. Grand Rapids also has some strict city codes that are difficult to navigate and this property management company has a lot of experience with passing inspection. They even do property analysis for the investor to give ARV, what the unit will rent for, etc.

Lastly, several of their employees are investors themselves and know the business. 

Anybody have any thoughts?  The name of the company is United Properties

What questions can I ask this company?