All Forum Posts by: Kimberly Kesterke

@Reggie Rearden- Its good to connect with fellow W2 investors! Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience. 

I would say rent. Keep it in your portfolio and go buy another one.

@Corby Goade. Absolutely. I had worked with a few agents in the past that were so slow! It got to the point where I felt like I was bothering them when I was actually bringing business their way. To me there is a gold mine for agents working with the right investors. 

@Sean McDonnell. I agree with sharing the valuation exercises with the investors- meaning the need to take a shot at analyzing the deal as well. 

If purchasing properties off the MLS seems to be the next logical step for you- then you need to network and find an INVESTOR FRIENDLY agent. I emphasize investor friendly because you need to work with someone who understands investors. A standard retail real estate agent who has never done an investment deal and who has never worked with an investor will not understand where you are coming from. They will start to look at your system as a nuisance, not a sound strategy.

First off, expect to be making multiple offers on a lot of properties. A retail agent will typically spend too much time writing up formal offers and then complain of time wasted. An investor friendly agent will text or call-in offers to seller’s agents and get a verbal yes before writing up a formal offer. A retail agent will spin their wheels showing you around town to multiple properties, with little to show for the time. An investor agent will advise you to visit the properties you are interested in the form of a drive by first- and will pull the rent comps, local neighborhood comps and run cap rates for you on the ones that pass your drive by test. Then they can narrow it down even further with the data they collected. This allows you to drill down from 20 possible properties to 3-5 really good properties that meet your criteria- which will save you and them time when scheduling showings.

So how do you find these agents?

Be prepared to do a lot of interviewing. Start with your local real estate investment groups. There are always forums that you can post for names, recommendations from current investors or direct messaging from agents themselves. Here are some initial questions to ask:

How many investors do you currently work with?

How many offers on average do you submit with each investor?

Do you invest in rental real estate? If so, how many properties do you own, have flipped, etc?

What kind of data do you provide to your investors to assist in making the wisest decisions?

Do you have a process to share new deals that have hit the market with your investor list based on their criteria?

Do you assist with calculating ARVs? (this is essentially a comp, and yes every agent does this, however using an investor term, After Retail Value, will help you identify if the agent speaks the investor lingo).

What are your comments? Any other questions that would be helpful to the group? 

@Michele Z. @Kimberly Kesterke - Hi! We're headed to the area later this year from Brooklyn, NY. Would you consider sharing (either here or by dm) which area of Augusta you've had such a great streak of renters in? I'd love to know if it lines up with the picture of the city I'm putting together from afar. Thanks for sharing your story and Happy New Year!

Feel free to DM me. Happy to share some input.

@Llewelyn A. Just like you, I almost ALWAYs advertise the apts before purchasing it, even though I did not own it at the time. It's really pre-marketing analysis.

Very well said. I think this is a key investor hack that many people don't consider when acquiring their properties. This one task literally saved me a possible 1 month vacancy. It also helps mitigate the risk of investing in the property. Especially for the risk averse investors or beginners, pre-marketing can help build confidence. Let me ask you this- what other types of pre-marketing analysis do you do on your properties? Any specific criteria you look for?

@Tom Kaz @Jane S.

Jane had a good point. You are a business not a charity. Would your mortgage company allow you to pay the mortgage late? No.

Remind them that rent is due the 1st

Late fee of 10% is applied the 2nd

Pay or quit letter goes out 4th

Eviction proceedings start on the 7th ( or whatever you decide)

Do not take a partial payment. This will delay the eviction ruling. It will honestly delay you another month. Plus it sends a message that you take late payments.

Good luck!

@Steven Clark text counts in my opinion. Just save the screen shot in your files so you have a date and time stamp- some sort of proof.

Depending on what your lease states, a 60 day notice should be fine. Check your local state's landlording rules (just google your state and landlord handbook and it should pop up). They will give you the proper guidelines to break a lease.