All Forum Posts by: Kurt Snyder

This is such a good idea. Regarding the partnerships with rental places, have you thought of or tried any type of concierge service? I guess I'm thinking, is there a way to have your STR tenants have an experience that is above what a normal guest renting from them might get? As an example, could the coffee shop offer them a discount (that you would pay or not) by showing some kind of card? Could the rental places through in some small extra by doing the same? curious if you've played around with this.

Are your tenants complaining? Are you in a rehab phase that would allow you to "double-dip" on this kind of solution?

I had a similar issue on a building where the previous contractor was supposed to insulate the dismissing wall. We didn't realize he had failed to do so until the tenants complained they could talk to each other through the walls. We were able to have a company come in and insulate the walls by cutting small holes into each "bay" of the wall and blow insulation into the cavities this was about $1,700 for our two-story building. Adding drywall w/ green glue, while would have provided more noise cancelation, was going to cost us close to $7,000 as it would have required not only drywall labor but also, paint, baseboards, and touch-up work. So far so good on the insulation... here's to hoping it stays that way.

Great question. The answer is, like most things, yes and no.

Yes, thicker drywall can help, which is why quite rock works, but not why you may think. The sound waves are being transferred mainly through the connection points in the walls so the 2x4's. Increasing the thickness of the drywall means there are at least two areas where the density disrupts the waves a bit more than normal. quite rock qorks because the material makes it harder for the wave to transfer not simply because it is thicker. This is why the solution mentioned above (quite rock clips) works so well. Rather than have the sound transfer along a 1.5in by 8ft piece of uninterrupted lumber you are creating a sound gap where the wave must "skip" through. This is also why you can still hear footsteps but not talking. With speech, the sound wave is created at the vocal cord and then transfer through the air to the drywall lumber whereas footstep noise is created at the connection of the floor. The vibration is created at that point and therefore the vibration is transferred much more efficiently. Keep in mind also that sound from your voice can also transfer through the floor connection at the base of your walls. Another reason insulation has a minimum effect.

Insulating walls will have some effect as waves definitely do transfer through those spaces but again the reason this only cuts down on a small percentage of your sound is because of the reasons above.

There are many ways to cut down on this but one method I've found to be particularly cost-efficient is to have a min 1/2in gap between a double 2x4 insulated wall where the studs are staggered 16in on center ensuring that at no point do the two walls touch. If possible make sure to connect the wall framing to the floor framing before installing any floor sheathing (osb) as it acts as an interrupter for the floor sound transfer. This wall method sacrifices space (Your shared wall will be about 8.5" thick) but allows you to eliminate the costly systems mentioned above. One way to do this on the floor is to apply a poured down underlayment (basically concrete) on the floor above and clips for the drywall on the ceiling below making sure to insulate.

There are many other ways to achieve this but the strategy I just outlined has been the most cost-effective way to achieve that. Again, there are other ways and you'll have to weigh the cost/benefit of each. Good luck!

35k for the first, 0 on every deal after that. If I could do it again I'd do 0 on the first one as well. The power of using OPM while offering them a nice return is amazing.

1. 1. Financial Freedom. 
2. 2. To be able to spend time with my wife whenever I want not only when I can. spending time with/teaching my kids, Serving my Church Whenever they needed it not just went it worked for my schedule, Also to ensure that if something were to happen to me it wouldn't create a burden on my wife and children to lose my active income
3. 3. I wasn't available to my kids/family. They got my leftovers and I was watching the years go by without me. I wasn't happy only seeing my kids when they were sleeping and on weekends.
4. We have a strong marriage so that wasn't being affected but it is much more fun to be with my favorite person whenever I want now.
5. Not having access to MY time when I wanted it. I guess that would be personal problems?
6. That I can't trust them. I've been taken advantage of a few times and it's not fun.
7. Everything just made sense. The promise of financial freedom and the ability to experience true wealth (not riches) was too much to pass up. I only wish I would have started in my 20's

 If you don't think it's worth more than 80k I'd make that offer and be ready to walk. I've had deals that I've offered on at least three separate times and every time the owner says it's too low, gets another investor on the hook, then I watch the deal fall apart wait for it to come back on the market and then make another offer at my "too low" rate, sometimes lower. Don't fall in love with the properties, fall in love with the deals when they make sense.

I agree 100% with @Christian Bermeo Start with the podcast, get the Out of state investing book, read rich dad poor dad if you haven't already, and then just analyze a deal and be ready to pull the trigger when the deal looks good!

Also, realize you are young so making a mistake, even if it seems like it could be a big one, is going to teach you more than it'll cost you. Make sure the risk won't kill you (start small) but remember that if you stick to this, keep coming back here for advice, and continue to buy according to the goals you'll win in the end. You are going to have a not-so-great success story eventually, everyone has one (if they don't they are lying to you and trying to take your money) so you might as well do it now rather than in 5 or 10 years when you work up the courage to do it.

This forum is full of too many people that never attempted anything because they just keep talking and analyzing things.

Hey @Maxwell Wuensch,

I'm curious to see if this thread gets more traction as I've been wondering the same thing. It seems to me there are at least 3 options:

1. Buy (new or used) typical residential Wash/Dry and equip them with coin boxes, cards, or app payment devices. This allows you to control the purchase price pretty reasonably and collect 100% of the profit. It also means you must maintain the unit, collect payments yourself. This option seems labor intensive and if you are concerned about the aesthetics of your "community laundry" this option is probably not for you.

2. There are providers that will sell you nice laundromat level equipment which come with a card reader, coin boxes, or app payment options integrated into the machines. They typically also come with the ability to "cash-out" remotely and manage the machines from anywhere. The downside is this is an expensive initial investment. The profit will be the same as option 1 but the aesthetics, and longevity (they typically come with service agreements) will be superior. If budget is your concern this is going to be a no-go.

3. The last option in my estimation is similar to #2 in that these companies typically also offer the ability to pay zero initial or ongoing costs if you allow them to split the profits with you. This option is great if the primary reason for installing the laundry center is to offer tenants amenities that will, in theory, decrease your vacancies. The big plus side of this is that you don't do anything but collect profit, albeit shared profit but profit nonetheless. The downside of course is that you will sign a contract (1-10yrs).

I'm curious if there is a 4th opting I missing and if anyone else has any actual experience with any of these. Currently, I am leaning toward option #3 for all our buildings as I'd rather maintain our current cashflow and mitigate future vacancies. Looking forward to what you find out! 

I've been doing much of this same research. What I've found is there are some companies that will provide the machine, service them, and manage the profit for you. The catch is you have to split the profit. I like this idea for the first few years of my newly renovated properties as a way to drive initial rehab costs down while still offering a nice amenity to our tenants. It appears you can write these contracts in such a way to allow for a purchase option at the end of the terms if you like.

Has anyone used these services? Any wisdom or warnings as you've experienced them?

Not a bad Idea actually though in this case, our closest neighbor is two houses away (current rehabs on either side). But definitely keep that in mind.

What do you guys do for rehab security?