All Forum Posts by: Tyler Kastelberg

@Brian Orr

Brian: I'm not as versed on legal structure, but I can tell you that a number I work with are transitioning their management software to Yardi. They have a solid, easy to use platform. 

Best of luck.

@Ryan York

Good question - If the property is already zoned commercial, you've already passed the first (and sometimes biggest) hurdle. Before you buy the house, check with the current owner to see if the house has a "CO" (certificate of occupancy). Without the CO, nobody will be legally allowed to occupy the property without an inspection. If the property is dilapidated, you'll most likely need to bring it up to code. You'll also want to check with City zoning to see if there are any other things that must be done to the property before leasing to a commercial tenant (think ADA, etc.). 

Best of luck!

@Bruce Warner

I empathize with your interest in leveraging a crowdfunding platform for your deal. Unfortunately, you're going to run into road blocks at every platform unless you have a track record of success. The smallest required track record that I've seen is $25 million.

FFF (Friends, Family, and Fools) is going to be your best bet as a new syndicate manager.

Alternatively, you can partner with a more experienced sponsor who can bring the GP experience required for a crowdfunding site.

Best of luck!

@Ian McDonald

The high-quality market data insight is very expensive, and the free market research sources are quite low quality. If you have a relationship with a firm who has a Costar, REIS, or Real Capital Analytics membership, they'll be able to give you accurate detailed market information. However, I like the following free resources:

1) US Census: Check out population trends to get an idea of growing MSAs

2) Trulia Crime Map: Great visual resource to locate high-crime neighborhoods

3) Apartments.com: Helpful when looking for rent comps -- Costar uses the same data-set in its research

4) National Apartment Association: NAA's annual operating income & expense report provides high level data that can be used with a "quick calc." Their paid reports provide market-level detail.

@Michael Stanley Nino

I absolutely hear you. We'd all love to own our own deals. As you get started in the business, you'll become an infinitely better investor by learning from the experience of an experienced operator. Once you get a couple deals under your belt with professional investors, you'll be able to better assess deals for yourself.

I don't personally know @Michael Blank, but I know lots of folks respect his operation as well.

Best of luck to you!

@Michael Stanley Nino

Exactly. Ultimately all real estate investors are looking for one thing ... good returns. I'd rather invest passively in a deal with greater income potential than as the quarterback of a deal that won't produce as strong returns. 

@John B.

John: As @Jeff Kehl said, this is a local issue.

However, most of the time you can get away with doing work (even unlicensed) if you're the owner.

@Michael Stanley Nino

Do yourself a favor and invest passively alongside an experienced investor who can put you in a much larger investment (100+ units). @Omar Khan is a reputable sponsor and active investor on BP. Consider contacting him to see what he is up to.

Bigger properties lead to:

1) Less tenant risk

2) Better economies of scale (less cost/unit compared to single family or small multifamily)

3) Better returns (see 1 and 2)

@Ted Fall @Ellie Perlman

Ted: You need a good underwriting analysis to help inform your decision making. The key to commercial analysis is modeling the current and future (potential) leases. Based on the leases, you can determine the expenses paid by tenants and the owner. As Ellie suggested, you can determine the market lease rate that can be modeled upon lease expiration on the current tenants. Depending on tenant quality, I like to see anchor tenants with 5+ years on their current lease.

@Brian Wheeler

There is a 99% chance this post gets removed, but my firm provides some free excel models that might be able to help you out. We can also help by providing an experienced team to do the underwriting for you. Best of luck!