Don't bid unless you can belly up to the bar!

I had a bank that would lend for up to 10 properties, but I just got an email saying they went belly up.

I have looked at a subdivision where the builder went belly up and the whole subdivision is for sale, with the exception of a few sold properties.

There are probably dozens of "quirks" within the system, just like this one, that may never the light of day... except for the developers going belly up.And as noted... it is only starting.

Nothing like a bunch of people there at once to get the competitive juices going.

Unless that builder is belly up and new construction is on hold or the lender owns the project-and unless that home owner has a serious hard ship (Job loss, missed payments, applied for a loan mod etc under Fed bail-out rules, No short sale can take place period!!

It says to go LONG on Pork Bellies and Pork Barrels!

Those big multi families suck alot of juice and fuel,,not to mention water from multiple faucet drips and hidden stool running thru HUGE amounts quickly.

The level of management needed will depend on the age of the property and what type of repairs have been completed along the way.If you buy a property with deferred maintenance getting it turned around the first 6 months will take a ton of time.A manager should be compensated for the extra work in that case.A 10% fee simply will not cover or make worthwhile all the work involved.There will be eviction,court dates,trash outs,re-conditioning,advertising,tenant apps with criminal and credit check,ongoing repairs with tenants that are staying,etc.For all of you that want to manage other people's properties you need to check with your state's real estate commission.In many states including mine you will have to hold a license with a brokerage or be a broker.Some exceptions is if you are an employee of the company etc.I think often times investors have a high expectancy of PM work.Simply it's like owning a restaurant and having an 8 hr worker.To expect that worker to be just as excited and diligent about the business when they get nothing but a small check is a pipe dream.If I pay 100 for a steak then I demand service.If I go through the drive in at Taco Bell I expect the food to be correct and nothing else.Managing 100 properties yourself without help is the exception and not the rule.This is based on my experience dealing with apartment owners.One had about 210 units over 10 buildings all within a few miles of each other.Vintage stock and unit mix was all different ages.They ran it themselves BUT had a full time leasing manager,bookkeeper,and about 3 maintenance guys.There is no way without the help they could run them selves.I have seen basically one person locally could handle up to about a 20 to 30 unit by themselves.After that it becomes really difficult.Many investors buying in this range are not purchasing a new building.These are older buildings that need constant upkeep and have problems.Typically the mechanicals,plumbing,electrical all start failing at different intervals.I have a 20 unit and have a live in PM.It lets me focus on my real estate deals and I check in with them every 2 days or so to see how things are going.I don't want to do 10 hr work when I can make hundreds per hour selling real estate for my clients.If you want to invest out of state you could do triple net leases for mail box money.The CAP is about 7 to 8% where I am at right now.If you want higher returns then usually you have to take on more problems and risk.

think z's and then z's with roman numerals attached to that and then things will start clicking.Rich dad is good stuff to get the mental juices flowing but by no means a "guide"I do play his board game almost religiously with my older children, I think it teaches great basic "mental" fundamentals.you can read all the books in the world but it won't compare to 1 ounce of real life experience.