All Forum Posts by: Zachary Kruse

@Jay Kadlec maybe you didn't see that I'm in Minnesota? If not, you may have been misinformed. At least I haven't heard of that regulation yet but I'm pretty new at this. Sounds like a dumb rule put in place to protect the big hotels though!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Grand Rapids.

Purchase price: $180,000
Cash invested: $43,000

We negotiated a four plex listed for $240k down to $180k, ended up putting 20% down and fixed up a bunch of smaller problems, are currently on our last inherited tenant but otherwise have been able to raise rent. We also decided to put the top unit on Airbnb and have made quite a bit more. We hope to maybe turn it into a boutique hotel in the future depending on how the Airbnb market trends.

Hey guys! Thanks for the replies. Sorry, I have been sick the last few days with a terrible cold...love it! lol hopefully it will be gone shortly!

I would be interested in attending a meet-up. I have never done one before, but it sounds like it could be a good idea.

@Alfredo T. Absolutely ask for it, the worst they can say is no. If they do, and the numbers don't work for whatever reason, don't be afraid to renegotiate a better price or walk away. Perhaps you could do something like lowering your offer and fix it yourself. EVERYTHING is negotiable. Just make sure you aren't stepping over dollars to get to pennies! Hope that helps!

@Adam Crocker good to see you starting out so young! I wish I would have started right out of high school!

What I did was I got my RE license and work part time doing that. You will learn the ropes, and you can use it to make fast offers on places in the future if you don't enjoy the retail side of things. Start taking on property management and learn for when you have your own units.

Also, READ READ and READ! Then read some more, and apply it! Listen to the podcasts, learn all you can, and use your free time wisely! If you are handy, you could buy a fix and flip to do in your spare time too.

Anyways, thats what I have done. I'm only up to 3 units, but its a start!

Best of luck and push through the struggle!

@Tariq B. sorry to hear about this experience! Being an agent myself, I get irritated when other agents won't act like adults and hear each other out to come to an agreement or walk away in peace lol.  It's business and people shouldn't be offended by what the market prices bring.

If it were me, I would give it a few days and have your agent call and explain the situation. If they aren't willing to work with you, then tell them good luck selling the property and you weren't trying to offend them. Then walk away, and you may get a call in a month or so with a changed attitude when they realize they can't sell it for more.

From how you describe it, kinda sounds like you'd be doing them a favor buying it.

Best of luck, and I appreciate the fact that you aren't giving up on a town you love!

Hey all!

I live in Grand Rapids, MN and am looking for people to meet up with, buy them coffee, and talk Real Estate Investing. I have had a tough time finding local investors and would like to meet some to get/give advice and hopefully start a mutually beneficial relationship with some people! Looking to expand my rental portfolio of SFR's and Multi's and would like to start learning about Apartment Complexes too.

I am open to travel to Duluth, MN and Brainerd, MN etc. or anywhere in Northern MN. Thanks!

@Account Closed thanks for the advice! I think I just need to get out there and work harder to find the deals. I've just never done it before so not sure where to start. I'm an agent, and the MLS is void of deals which is where I used to find them. I need to start hitting up craigslist etc like you mentioned for sure.

I feel your pain...part of me wants to buy, the other part of me wants to save for the correction but I don't want to wait years.

Hey guys! Pretty new to Bigger Pockets and wanting to get more involved than just listening to the podcast albeit great!

I feel like I have hit a road block in my investing. I jumped in and bought a 30k SFR in 2012 with not knowing much but just tried it. It has cash flowed fairly nice around $250/mo with roughy 20k in equity now. Next in 2015 I bought a duplex for 93K that cash flows about the same per unit after a few fixes to the house with roughly 25-30k in equity.

I have about 20k sitting here (along with reserves) and I feel stuck. Not sure what the best next path is, having a hard time finding deals in this market and not sure how to go about even getting them at 20% lower than market (the first two feel like luck). Should I lower my cash flow expectations? I would like to get a multi and house hack as well, but they just don't come up much in Grand Rapids, MN. Should I be looking in other towns like Duluth, MN? Maybe I should wait for a market correction?

Just not sure where to turn next and need to figure it out! Would appreciate any advice to help me break through the next level in my mind and as an investor! Sometimes others can see more clearly from the outside!

Thanks all!

Thanks! @Brandon Turner  weird talking to you haha its like meeting a celebrity! Huge fan of the podcast and all your your help! You guys got me into investing and taught me how to do my first (but not last!) deal, and keep inspiring me! Keep up the good work! It is much appreciated!