All Forum Posts by: Tom A.

Welcome Ben!

And in the Detroit suburb we're building in. The numbers only work in my area if the new builds are selling for at least 4X or more than what you have to pay for the house you're going to knock down. Inherently then, you'll have blocks with houses that sell for $100K or less next to houses that sell for $400K or more.

I put the event up on my facebook page as did @Jeff Rabinowitz . Jeremy from RDI asked me to put it up on his REIA page as well and we already have 13 "yes" and 5 "maybe" RSVPs. There should be people there no matter when folks are able to show up.

@Aaron Yates , that really stinks. Hey, who knows, maybe they'll change plans again and undo the afternoons.

OK, spoke to the manager and we're all set.

Wednesday, November 13 at Copper Canyon Brewery & Restaurant starting at around 6:30 p.m. and going until the last BP'er leaves. You don't need to be there right at 6:30, if you can't make it until 8:00 or 9:00 I'm sure we will be there.

This is a casual, non-structured meetup aimed at helping local investors meet other local investors. No formal pitches or anything, just friends and future friends hanging out.

People with any level of real estate investing experience or inexperience are welcome. You don't have to be a BP member (though why wouldn't anyone join this great forum - thanks @Joshua Dorkin ) so feel free to bring buddies, partners and spouses.

We will be in the section of the restaurant to the back and left, with the raised floor. Don't be shy, I know a number of the attendees and we're all friendly and happy to meet new folks.

Copper Canyon Brewery is just off Telegraph Rd, North of 696. If you take 696 to Telegraph north, turn right on the Northwestern Highway service drive that runs parallel to the Lodge expressway. It's just past the car dealerships and the New Seoul Garden restaurant.

Copper Canyon Brewery

27522 Northwestern Highway

Southfield, MI 48034

coppercanyonbrewery.com?

Google Maps - Copper Canyon

I called and left a message for the manager. I'll post again when I actually speak with her and get this officially locked in.

I remember his posts and his blog. Great "from the trenches" commentary. I'd love to listen to a podcast.

After visiting a project of ours, @Jeff Rabinowitz and I did a "dry run" at Copper Canyon this afternoon that wasn't actually all that dry. :-)

I spoke with the manager there and they'd be happy to have us in any part of the facility. There's a cigar room, a bar area, and a raised area with tables on the left that would work great. I don't know how many cigar enthusiasts we have so perhaps we ought to aim for the raised area on the left this time at least.

I have the manager's number so once we have a firm date in mind I'll give her a call to set it up. Either Wednesday or Friday are fine for me, but Wednesday would be my preference.

I'm thrilled with the response so far. I'm sure the date won't work for everyone but if anyone has to miss this one rest assured there will be others in the future. No matter which day we settle on for the first one, we'll be varying the day of the week on which we meet so that those with scheduling conflicts can make some of the meetups.

@Chris F. , taxes in Michigan are not based on a property's own sales price. If they were it would be very easy to game the system. Michigan uses comparable sales primarily, until you get to larger multi-family properties.

I don't know how familiar you are with the property tax appeal process in Michigan but you can appeal your assessment each year with the local municipality, and if not satisfied, take it to the state tax tribunal. That may take a year or two to get resolved but it's not too expensive and you will get refunded any overpayments back to the date of the original appeal.

Do you mind sharing what city the property is in? There are a few "suburban" areas that have a bit of a Detroit feel, but if it is indeed in a nice white collar area the price is almost too good to be true. While the rents sound very good given the purchase price, there's a lot more to any investment than those two numbers.

Welcome from West Bloomfield, @Tom Wooderson !

In addition to the professional organizations you are involved in I'd recommend you check out some of the local REIAs. They're a good place to meet fellow investors and increase your knowledge.

I'd recommend these three in the Oakland County area:

- Michigan Real Estate Investors - Great REIA run by Wendy Patton of Lease-Option fame, meets in Troy, http://www.michiganrealestateinvestors.com/

- Renegade Detroit Investors - Another great REIA. Smaller, no selling from front of the room allowed (no guru pitches). Meets in Berkley. http://www.facebook.com/DetroitInvestmentClub

- REIA of Oakland (County)- Grandaddy of local REIAs. Meets in Madison Heights. http://www.reiaofoakland.com

I'm a member of the first two and used to be a member of the third (a good group, more guru pitches than I like but worth checking out).

Also, @Aaron Yates and I are going to be putting together a local BP meetup soon, probably in the first half of November so keep your eyes and ears open for that. You can set up keyword auto-searches like "Detroit" or "Michigan" if you like.