All Forum Posts by: TJ Jeff

@Jeremy England i like your deal Jeremy, i would opt to make it uniform in baths and floors and you get two things, better refi value, and my own subjective opinion is a better tenant, if it bugs you it will bug people like you, and there's a bigger reason, you want this deal to be more liquid asap, so at any time a renter or outside buyer can buy it, it's an important exit option to have just in case 

something that helped me was to get a great PM on your side before you pull the trigger (hence promise them your future business), they will keep you out of the wrong side of town, give you realistic area rents and tell you what's trending, meaning what are young families looking for etc...then after everything is in place go the extra mile and spend time locating a local handy man you can pay yourself independently, typically an older gentleman who works for himself, make sure he's not affiliated with your PM, he'll be the guy you send to look at things to make sure your PM is keeping a tight ship, essentially another set of eyes, who can look at the bigger ticket works orders before you order them...so just tell your PM you have a friend who you like to send over to see the bigger issues...for example: i can tell you that i've avoided $4k HVAC replacement orders several times, given some AC people are dishonest...an issue arose at a house they sent the AC people and they wanted to replace ...but I call my guy before doing anything, so my guy goes in and identifies and even fixes a much simpler issue, in 2 cases replacing the Capacitor ...a $30 battery pack that fits onto the outside Unit...that's just one example...cost me $100 all told, these issues will kill your cash flow, and your PM may simply not have time or bandwidth to double check everything etc...

@Travis Raila one thing I learned about getting management for my SFR's, after you hone down your short list of PM's, go visit their premises, do they have posh offices? Is it comprised mostly of RE agents? Principals don't own anything themselves? if yes, those are minuses in my book. If they have a warehouse with supplies, or own investment property themselves, have long term handyman and contractor relationships, can vet workers for their own property first for instance, can quickly give HVAC or Roof replacement est. without calling anyone, then those are all pluses. Seems silly but I want to see a Truck or two on their premises, it shows engagement with workers. Now that I moved to another State, and can't go to my properties on a moment's notice, I see how easy it is to eventually lose my gains on capex if my PM doesn't stick to procedures, can't/won't go themselves to see important issues as they arise, and after they are fixed. Keeping Contractors on course is a constant task. When PM's stop getting their hands dirty, you can start losing money.

welcome!

Dmitriy, 

i'm not in multi, but BP has good experts to guide you, Grant Cardone (Podcast guest) pays more to be in rising markets where he buys large multi's, great question he asks is 'would you be excited to own that deal 10 yrs from now?', geo won't matter as much if you can create value by fixing, increasing rents and exiting, but then again depending on yr goals, you may want to be further on the income side of the income/appreciation spectrum, Ben Leybovitch (Podcast guest) does a good financial analysis of multi's fyi

Ben,

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you're well positioned. Have you considered working with any wholesalers in SA? Anyone in particular you think is reputable?

TJ

Welcome Matthew!

@Andrea E. Thx for the heads up on that Loan, good to know. Let me know if I can help on the STR end, I'm no expert just have some research into it. Good luck!

@Braden Smith  I agree about the area to the left of Leonidas (West?), hence working your way to Cow Bell basically, further from Oak it gets pretty sketchy, but maybe its a good time to get in too, it just seems to me that over time this place is turning, I'd be willing to look at opportunities, I guess it just depends who's next to me etc. I do like the area towards Carrolton more, in fact once I see something in my profile (needing some updating but mostly functional)  it seems to be 'pending' the same day I see it so I've missed some good prospects. I like that whole border zone, about 2 blocks going East from Leonidas, I've been looking for a Double there, something I can homestead and fix up. Question: do you know of any legit wholesalers working that area? 

Thx for the STR update, does not surprise me, and I think local councils are going to start copying Austin's lead with outright bans if they can get away with it. However the 'Accessory' or homestead/sharing is harder to touch politically, and at least in the article you shared not part of this latest ban. For loan purposes, my cash flow numbers have regular rental assumptions, STR cash flow is icing on the cake for me, of course in Nola it can be a whole lot of icing, so it's part of my approach at this point. Good thing is after 2 yrs of seasoning, the STR income is recognized, according to my lender, so that helps me given my current goals.

@Andrea E.  Glad to hear it. Do you mind sharing who you did it with, was is a local lender? I'm not familiar with 'streamlined', did you pay a consultant for help with managing the 203K? I've never done one but I've never been able to tell if it's worth navigating without a so called gov sherpa. I think the homestead period is a yr, right?

Re STR, you're right, getting some design/furniture going is a big cost. If you want to blow it out, I've done some research and there are great designers who specifically target the 1% earning rentals, meaning they mimic and draw on design elements from top earning Airbnb's etc, then help you do the same, check out Mercedes Brennan on youtube, or go to 1chicretreat.com

Andrea,

@Andrea E.Curious how this all went for you, successfully I hope. Has the area improved after dark? It seems rough to me still. Also, I am wondering why, assuming you will live in one half of the Duplex, if you considered getting an Accessory License to do an STR (vacation rental). The law allows those who live on site to have unlimited days, or 365 basically. You will blow out your cash flow numbers, and you can have others be primary contact (host) if you really wanted to be hands off.

@Braden Smith Great information, advice. How's yr project going? I like some areas around Oak and upper Leonidas, but it's still pretty transitional, I'm trying to figure out who's your best buyer profile, do you think families are ready to buy there? Successful Millennials?