All Forum Posts by: Tim VandenToorn

Does this post come across as defensive??? lol 

@Ryan Tongue This is such a great post. I am an Investor, Broker, and Property Management company owner in Grand Rapids Michigan. I would be happy to sit down with you, although I am not sure I could be a mentor in the sense of spending time together in the field.

Without a mentor, or buying an expensive workshop, I would suggest exploring job opportunities at a property management company. This will allow you first hand experience observing what other investors are doing that is successful, give you great local market experience, but best yet, give you industry experience, learning laws, codes, leases, tenant relations etc..

Consider a JV relationship with an experienced investor. You may have to contribute more than your partner but its the same as buying an education while creating an opportunity to be a part of a successful deal.

Pause the degree, and jump into real estate where true wealth can be built. ;)

Here is a quick success story about one of our investors in Grand Rapids Michigan. We are a property management company helping investors find, manage, and sell real estate investments.  We offer a full-service brokerage but also a full-service handyman and remodeling services. 

Our client purchased a property in 2016 for $65,000.  When we took over management, the property was occupied, and rent was $700.00.  When the tenant moved out in 2023 the tenant was paying $1215.00.  A nice gradual increase over the last 7 years that didn't force a turnover. 

When the tenant moved out, the owner asked us a critical question:  What could I sell the property for, and what could I rent the property for? 

We provided him with 3 options.

• 1: Clean up and sell as is for 5k  -We could get a buyer for $149,000
• 2: Lipstick for 15k- I think we could do the bare minimum like the Rent Ready quote you received and sell for $175,000
• 3: Full update 35k- like what I suggested in the video sale price $225,000 I would have to get a contractor over there and I would expect the project to take around 3-4 months.

With some encouragement, the owner chose a mix between 2 and 3 and invested $30,000 into remodeling the kitchen, flooring, walls, doors, etc.  It hadn't been turned over in almost 10 years, so there were a lot of little things. 

Once the project was completed, the owner asked the same question: What could I sell it for now, and what could I rent it for?  The answer was we could increase the rent to $1800-$1900, or we could sell for $230,000.00.

The investor said in order for him to get $1900 in rent in his market, he would have to buy a house between $350,000 and $400,000, so he decided to keep the property.  

After marketing the property at $1895.00, we obtained a holding deposit within two days.  The new tenant will be paying 1895.00 per month! 

I have been asking our investors at every turnover if you could invest 10k into your property and increase the rent by $100.00 monthly. Would you consider that a good investment?  99% of the time, they agree that would be a good return on the $10,000 investment.  

The return is actually more than 12%; the value of that improvement will also #1 reduce vacancy (make your house the best option on the market) #2 increase the property value (he added value to his house by updating it) and #3 lower monthly maintenance costs (we got rid of the old junk which will reduce maintenance cost).  This investor upgraded his property for 30,000 and increased the rent by $500 a month!!!!  WIN WIN WIN. 

The margins are thin especially if you need to hire a manager.  Many managers in northern Michigan charge 25-30% for management.  I had a 3-bed house in Boyne City 5 minutes from the ski hill and a short walk to the water.  I did around 30k annually.  I sold it this year for over $400,000. 

I would love to connect. I am a buyer, broker, and property manager in Grand Rapids.  If you have deals in West Michigan, or partnership opportunities, I would love to hear them. 

Are you saying you purchased a duplex for 70,000 or that you have a duplex and you put 70,000 into upgrades and capital improvements? How long will the flipping relationship last?  Most flippers don't want to give away 20% for very long.  Your duplex although not performing as strong as you want,  it will be around long after the flippers move on. Flipping is getting harder and the margins are smaller in most markets. I would strongly consider holding, and coming up with the cash to invest in the flipping business another way.

@Christopher Young  I would be happy to chat with you.  We have a low monthly flat fee for our agents and no requirements to sell.  If you do help with a transaction you retain 100% of the commission.  We also offer discounted management to our agents who also own investment properties as an additional benefit.  Our brokerage is geared toward investors as we manage almost 1000 properties in West Michigan.  Let me know if you want to chat. 

@Miles Atkins The RPOA hosts meetings every Friday morning at Russ's on Plainfield at 8 am. About 30 people attend that.  They also host a few evenings monthly.  Check out their website and consider joining.  The Metro Grand Rapids Real Estate Investors' FB page also announces several other meet-ups in West Michigan. 

@Matt Schreiber I just sold a short term in Boyne, Michigan.  8 minutes from the ski hill right in the City by the water.  Completely remodeled hot tub etc.  It did 35k last year which was not enough to pay for the expenses, but the appreciation was nice. Boyne City is also looking at short-term restrictions. FYI

@Alicia S.  How did your purchase go a few years ago?  Are you still growing? I would love to hear about your experience and what you learned.