All Forum Posts by: Eric W.

Just want to back up what everyone is saying in absolutely request a breakdown and you are not wrong to keep requesting it and verifying the itemized bids yourself. Who cares what your PM thinks of you for asking, its your asset not his. And when you management agreement is up, shop around at least to keep him on his toes.

Maher Bateh, Every state is different in regards to their laws regulating a real estate licensee. In general, a new licensee with no prior active real estate license will most likely have to be affiliated with a broker. That being said, of course you can actively invest in real estate while being open to listing other properties for sale. Many investors do have their licenses and use them to their advantage. However, I would say that many more licensees do not actively invest in real estate than the ones that do.

Also, make sure you do your homework on the costs that go in to having a license. Make sure those expenses make sense to your investing and/or real estate goals. And there aren't too many properties listed on the MLS in any region that are not also listed on the countless other listing web sites that everyone has access to.

Jordan Sizelove, I'm pretty sure I used RealestateExpress to get licensed in CA several years ago and I had a good experience with them. More recently, I used OnlineEd for Oregon and I found their online format/software and materials were really good. I'm not sure about the price difference though. Good luck!

Welcome to BP Justin Sloan. Sounds like you've got a great system in the works.

I do not personally know of a property manager or company in KC, but if all else fails you could look up companies located there on the IREM web site directory. Good property managers, both large and small businesses, are often members of IREM. KC may also have a local apartment association where managers belong to.

Prashant P., That's a good point. I failed to mention that in addition to the alternatives I listed above, in this situation I have to feel very good about the applicants character. Another red flag is that she lived with the gentleman she was taking care of for the past 4 years, meaning that she doesn't have great references or recent rental history. I'd pass on this as well.

Whenever someone is unemployed but rest of their screening checks out ok we require a the applicant to provide bank statements showing enough of a balance in their accounts AND a co-signer who also meets our sreening requirements.

As far as accepting $50 less, that is up to you and the situation of your market. Personally, I wouldn't do it especially if the tenant already does not meet ideal requirements. It turns out to be the "give a mouse a cookie..." scenario in my experience.

Brandon Turner: Yeah, for the most part properties in Portland area require a larger down payment to cashflow, which of course diminishes the cash on cash return a little. Plexes are a little more favorable. The good thing is there people not in the real estate industry who are looking to get a better return than bank accounts and cds are providing, and want to diverisfy out of the mainstream stock market. Even the returns in a market like Portland work well for the right people, especially when partnerships are formed. That is mainly my focus.

Hello,

I am a new member of BP with a good deal of experience in real estate (not sure how I've managed to never join BP before...)

I was previously a property manager for 125 high end units in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles as well as 80 not so high end units in East Los Angeles area.

I was a consultant for and assisted in the development of 2 multi-family buildings in the 2 years leading up to the bubble bursting in 2008.

I also have a formal education in real estate finance, although being the entrepreneur that I am I do understand that is definitely not required to succeed.

Anyway, I now live in the Portland, OR area where I actively seek out opportunities for cash-flowing residential properties while I operate a few other businesses I have created. I am looking forward to contributing my knowledge and experience to this site as well as learning for others.