All Forum Posts by: Todd Powell

@Edgar Ehrsam my man, take the full ride. Dont get me wrong, I am a self made man and it was NOT my college degree that got me there, but you cannot measure what college struggles and classes can help shape you. Yeah, the degree is for sure the “social” norm but that is not what I am referencing. I do not like massive student debt to begin life with, but if you really have a full ride, you would be crazy to toss it. While you go to school you can be planning and still working on RE goals and steps. Also, my degrees have helped me secure great W2 while at the same time working my flipping and rental holds. That is how I have built a net worth and increased my cash flow. My W2 pays the bills and my RE has made my digits. Some on BP will disagree, but both of my sons had academic and athletic D1 scholarships, and it would have made zero sense to throw those away. TAKE THE MONEY!

@Sharvita H. You are spot on. I goggles my name and city and the first item is BP and second is Facebook and within mere seconds you know where I work and the phone number. Kind of scary.

@Jay P. Regrettable, I have. I am a nice guy but tightened up the belt more on backgrounds, and also make sure when I buy a run down property to get seller to get bad tenants out BEFORE I close. That is also one key, on flips as well.

@David Shiling your title says “first” rental so I will tell you about my first one back in 2007. I had no great paperwork, did no formal background checks, and merely met with the people and went off of my gut. Yup, wrong answer. My wife said “this college girl is going to be trouble”. Wife is always right, and turned out to be a party girl, but the worst part was exactly one week before she left on her lease and graduation, I strolled by the neighborhood and saw her smoking on the porch. I clearly did have that part in my paperwork that one could not smoke in or on the property, and I saw massive butts on my porch and charred black marks where she put out her cigarettes on my cedar shake siding. I said, “Amanda, we only have one week left, and this is a real fire hazard and you could cause a fire.” She said, “Oh, my bad.” Guess what, exactly, one week to the same day and nearly the same hour, she called me screaming saying my triplex is on fire. Yup, she admitted while in shock that she had caused it due to her cigarettes. 5 of the 6 fire departments showed up and saved the building, but she caused $25,000 of damages! Yes, my very first tenant. Since then, I have had to evict two tenants using attorneys, which were very costly, one tenant stabbed two women and went to prison for 8 years, one tenant beat up an elderly man, and one seemingly bubbly woman committed suicide and i had to deal with family out of state who could not get along, and a few tough other scenarios. But, overall, I have had wonderful tenants and I have worked hard over the years to vet properly and do background research. I would rather have a unit vacant than get desperate, and although I have seen some tough stuff, I have had smooth sailing with tenants. No matter how nice of units you have, people and life gets messy. One thing I would strongly advise, is do through paperwork up front. People are friendly, but forget a lot of what is discussed when they start renting and eventually move out. Written documentation is much stronger than verbal conversations. Lastly, as I stated, wait for the right tenant and do not veer from your rental policies. Getting desperate only costs you in the long run. I am a fair guy but not everyone else is when it comes to money.

@Albert Ng you were much smarter than me. I am a open and honest person probably to a fault.

@Tim G. Wow, thanks for sharing! I am sure it was obvious for awhile of my RE interest, coupled with struggling car business and profits, and then COVID hit. But, the woman who campaigned against me hated landlords and any type of perceived success story. I was not commented on BP to brag, but to encourage and also solicit opinions of what time frame I should leave my job. So, when my owner could see that, it made it easy to part ways. I used the term “fired” but it was really laid off, and we departed ways on wonderful terms. Good news, I made it real clear of my rentals and flips, and the CEO and President said they loved it. I am my own boss and I am tied to my production and sales levels. They made it easy to say yes, and Aug 5th I begin and they have a brand new 2020 Ford F150 waiting for me. Its a wonderful company and something real estate related, so I am really for the challenge. That FM hater did me a favor, but it did teach me a lesson about what we post can come back and cause trouble, no matter how positive of your intentions. I have zero regrets and have seen many people targeted with hate recently via social media. Luckily, I dont talk politics and religion, just real estate! Ha

@Joe P. Thanks for the input. I agree with many points you made. First off, I WAS the manager and did report to the owner directly. I also had all positive reviews and was never told of any issues. It was a small dealership where many had “free” or “down” time in commission sales. There were moments where I did take a call, but I was not hourly or salary guy. Its a small town of 50k and I have lived there 53 years and when tenants ask me where I worked, I probably should have not told them. Only a handful would ever show up, but it was ackward a few times. When I mentioned I was caught off due to the pandemic I was not trying to make my situation seem more important than others, so I think you misunderstood there. What I was trying to convey is, that it changed my plans of leaving my W2 a couple years earlier, and the fact that some may not pay rent. That was also the subject in which I was addressing when someone tried calling out my post due to eviction theories. Some are and were jealous and when you have 8 salesman and two owners you get closer than you want. A BP post some could assume I was in a big corporation and reported to managers, which I did not. It was hard to walk away from $175k a year, a free demo and insurance, but I am glad it happened. I also to people in sowing and reaping. I think you had some good insights on my situations and probably some misunderstandings. In the end, thank you for you comments. Cheers !

@Julie Marquez I was in the car biz for 31 years, right out of college. Wonderful to me for 25 years in management, but no love loss now. This new position is created title called, Business Development Manager. I will follow up new and past customers, and seeking jobs from $500 to $50 million plus. They want to grow into a $200 million company a year and have a great reputation locally for decades. I am looking forward to the new challenges and based out of Corvallis, Or.

@Aden Brust avoid bad debt, build some credit, save some cash and live below your means, get pre approved, and pull the trigger when you find the right deal. Follow these basic steps and you are ahead of 99% of your peers.

@Matt Camilliere when I buy and hold, its always for 1 and 2. Both. Although hard to do, its worth the wait and always a off market deal as MLS does not provide either one very well.