Investing outside of hometown
Stamford, CT · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 9 votes
Investing outside of hometown
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Real Estate Consultant · Whitestown, IN · Member since 2014 · 549 posts · 933 votes
11y@Tom Suvansri I work for a Property Management company in Indianapolis. We deal with a lot of out of state and even out of country investors. I think that the most important thing to consider is having professional boots-on-the-ground people to help you make decisions. With that being said, don't just hand over your money without asking questions and understanding your options. I will give 2 Scenarios.
- We started representing a new owner, an attorney from Hawaii, about 3 months ago. He bought the property from another wholesaler/rehabber/properly management company. We started managing the home with a Tenant already in place. I did the initial inspection & documentation process. The tenants had only lived there for 4 months and the home was in quite a bit of disrepair. As soon as we started managing the home, the downstairs bedroom ceiling had caved in, there were several safety/code violations, and even problems with the home that could cause problems in the future (like missing gutter downspouts). Unfortunately, these tenants were already behind in rent and we had to evict. When I did my vacancy inspection created the project, we quoted the owner $6,500 to get the home back to rent ready condition. (The entire home needed repainted, tubs glazed, install new garage door, rebuild basement stairs, etc) He had a fit. He sent us over an invoice showing that he had spent $29k on rehab 12 months earlier. He paid $40 for the home and it was only valued at $62k. We reviewed that invoice and were stunned. While we didn't know the extent of the original condition of the home... our best figures were about $16-20k for the complete rehab. The home itself is not in a very desirable neighborhood and doesn't even have central air (out of several hundred homes we manage, we only have 4 w/out C/A and we are pressing to get these installed.) Basically, he used a single investor for acquisition, rehab, & property management. He would have done much better to use a realtor in the beginning to help him buy a home in the right area with the right amenities. He also should have got another bid himself on the rehab. As far as tenant screening goes, it varies from Property Manager to Property Manager, and it's difficult to be sure that they are doing a proper job. Find a company that offers an Eviction Protection Plan... we do because we stand by our Tenant Screening and have a very low eviction rate from our placement.
- Early this year, we had a newbie investor from Illinois who was referred to us by one of our other clients. He hooked him up with a local wholesaler and our office helped him with the due diligence process (comps, neighborhood assessments, etc) Before he closed on the property, we were allowed to walk through it and give him an idea of the level of rehab and what his options were. He closed on the property and we gave him an official estimate. Before he sent funds, he got 2 more estimates... one was considerably higher and the other one was considerably lower. We let him know that our crews work quickly and know exactly how we like our homes so they can rent quickly. He let us rehab the home and we had a signed lease about 5 days after hitting the market. These tenants have been there for 9 months and the only hiccup that they had was accidentally paying rent twice (the check in the mail was going to be late, so they paid online and had to void the original check.)
The point of the matter is this... use professionals who value your investment. Do as much due diligence as you can (Crime maps, school research, tour the streets w/ Google Earth, etc.) Don't be afraid to validate everything with licensed professionals (RE Brokers, Inspectors, Appraisers, GC's, etc.) As an established Property Manager, our office has the pulse of the local market. I can comp most rents in the city with just an address, bed/bath, sq ft, and year of the home and be no more than 5% off of the mark. I can also generally tell you how long it will sit vacant and what kind of tenants will be interested in the home. We get homes from other PM Companies all of the time. Many of them we turn down because the home is not one that is worth the hassle of managing (nobody likes having tenants break their lease because the house keeps getting broken in to.) Not every Property Manager is going to be as efficient as we try to be, but they are out there.
Hope this helps
28 Replies
- Real Estate Consultant · Whitestown, IN · Member since 2014 · 549 posts · 933 votes11y
@Tom Suvansri I work for a Property Management company in Indianapolis. We deal with a lot of out of state and even out of country investors. I think that the most important thing to consider is having professional boots-on-the-ground people to help you make decisions. With that being said, don't just hand over your money without asking questions and understanding your options. I will give 2 Scenarios.
- We started representing a new owner, an attorney from Hawaii, about 3 months ago. He bought the property from another wholesaler/rehabber/properly management company. We started managing the home with a Tenant already in place. I did the initial inspection & documentation process. The tenants had only lived there for 4 months and the home was in quite a bit of disrepair. As soon as we started managing the home, the downstairs bedroom ceiling had caved in, there were several safety/code violations, and even problems with the home that could cause problems in the future (like missing gutter downspouts). Unfortunately, these tenants were already behind in rent and we had to evict. When I did my vacancy inspection created the project, we quoted the owner $6,500 to get the home back to rent ready condition. (The entire home needed repainted, tubs glazed, install new garage door, rebuild basement stairs, etc) He had a fit. He sent us over an invoice showing that he had spent $29k on rehab 12 months earlier. He paid $40 for the home and it was only valued at $62k. We reviewed that invoice and were stunned. While we didn't know the extent of the original condition of the home... our best figures were about $16-20k for the complete rehab. The home itself is not in a very desirable neighborhood and doesn't even have central air (out of several hundred homes we manage, we only have 4 w/out C/A and we are pressing to get these installed.) Basically, he used a single investor for acquisition, rehab, & property management. He would have done much better to use a realtor in the beginning to help him buy a home in the right area with the right amenities. He also should have got another bid himself on the rehab. As far as tenant screening goes, it varies from Property Manager to Property Manager, and it's difficult to be sure that they are doing a proper job. Find a company that offers an Eviction Protection Plan... we do because we stand by our Tenant Screening and have a very low eviction rate from our placement.
- Early this year, we had a newbie investor from Illinois who was referred to us by one of our other clients. He hooked him up with a local wholesaler and our office helped him with the due diligence process (comps, neighborhood assessments, etc) Before he closed on the property, we were allowed to walk through it and give him an idea of the level of rehab and what his options were. He closed on the property and we gave him an official estimate. Before he sent funds, he got 2 more estimates... one was considerably higher and the other one was considerably lower. We let him know that our crews work quickly and know exactly how we like our homes so they can rent quickly. He let us rehab the home and we had a signed lease about 5 days after hitting the market. These tenants have been there for 9 months and the only hiccup that they had was accidentally paying rent twice (the check in the mail was going to be late, so they paid online and had to void the original check.)
The point of the matter is this... use professionals who value your investment. Do as much due diligence as you can (Crime maps, school research, tour the streets w/ Google Earth, etc.) Don't be afraid to validate everything with licensed professionals (RE Brokers, Inspectors, Appraisers, GC's, etc.) As an established Property Manager, our office has the pulse of the local market. I can comp most rents in the city with just an address, bed/bath, sq ft, and year of the home and be no more than 5% off of the mark. I can also generally tell you how long it will sit vacant and what kind of tenants will be interested in the home. We get homes from other PM Companies all of the time. Many of them we turn down because the home is not one that is worth the hassle of managing (nobody likes having tenants break their lease because the house keeps getting broken in to.) Not every Property Manager is going to be as efficient as we try to be, but they are out there.
Hope this helps
- Stamford, CT · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 9 votes11y
@Ross Denman Thanks a million for your response. Completely agree with your assessment on having the right boots on the ground to help. I'm definitely considering using a property management company but my sense in talking to others is that it will be hard to do especially as I will only have a small number of units to manage. I hope to grow in the coming years but at a steady pace initially.
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Do you strictly manage or do you sell properties as well?
I have wrote many posts on the exact same theme that one looking to buy out of state would be best served contacting a management company FIRST then working it backwards management knows the good areas and the areas they won't manage etc.
But its important also that management is TRULY neutral for the out of state investor to get a good read and not steered into one of the PM's turn key deals.
All the mid west towns have such huge amounts of SFR rentals compared to the east and west coast its just a different animal there
Your stories are not unique of these investors who had trouble its so very common really I have a client form AU who bought turn key in INDY house has been stripped 3 times in 2 years.. Its just a tough go in those markets no matter who is managing.. If you buy in INdy say north of 100k you mitigate that anything under your rolling the dice in my experience there in INdy again does not matter who the PM is its the market itself. Disclosure I did 300 plus HML for various TK operators in Indy since 2005. So this was my personal experience there.
I also wrote an E book on the Do's and Don'ts of out of state investing specifically the mid west markets that I give out for free to BP members who ask me for it.. I am sure it covers most of what you would recommend as well plus some of the other behind the scenes activity only a HML like myself would know :) Remember I see the actual HUD's LOL
- Stamford, CT · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 9 votes11y
Thanks a lot Jay. I'm looking to buy and hold my first property. I got interested recently and am trying to absorb what I can quickly but also do want to become paralyzed by all the data/information. I'm trying to buy "right" but what I'm finding right can mean something different for each investor. I really like the idea of meeting with some property managers in the area first to identify the right areas/neighborhoods that are most appealing. I did connect with one in my area and they weren't overly helpful.
I'd be very interested in your ebook you reference. Would you mind sharing it with me?
Many thanks!u
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
send me PM with your e mail and I will send it right over.
- Real Estate Consultant · Whitestown, IN · Member since 2014 · 549 posts · 933 votes11y
@Jay Hinrichs
The company that I work for only manages properties (we will recondition homes (Paint, carpet, mechanical/appliance repair & install, etc), but not usually full gut/rebuild/rehab jobs. For instance, we almost never move or remove a wall or build a garage, etc.) We have a few local owners who also wholesale & rehab. We only recommend properties that we would manage (based on rent range, desirability of area, etc) and makes sense financially... if a deal doesn't make since, we won't pass it along. Everyone in my office is tired of seeing wholesalers hyping up bad deals. I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the countries, but I wouldn't touch 85% of the wholesale deals I see (and I'm on most every list in the city.)
Personally, I'm looking to do another rehab early next year and we have some current out of state owners that are looking to expand their portfolios so I will probably rehab it and sell to one of our current owners (although it will probably be for less than market value.) It's a time vs. money trade off.
- Registered Nurse (ICU) · San Jose, CA · Member since 2014 · 496 posts · 332 votes11y
I am fairly new to investing and just purchased 2 properties in Infianspolis. I live in San Jose Ca. According to our research the hot spot for cash flow properties is in the Midwest. We are focusing on Indianapolis and Kansas City. Being an out of state investor we used a turnkey company to help us. It was a great experience. Of course they get there piece of the pie too but in the end it's a win win for everyone. Cash flow is good, they completly renovated the homes, found me tennents, and will be managing them as well. I think investing away from your home can be a great idea as long as you do the research and find the right people to help you.
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
it always kills me when sellers offer to sell for less than market value.. the reality is what your selling it for IS MARKET value if it was worth more you would sell it for more .. that's the American way and simple capitalistic logic.
Sounds like your moving into TK status.. wish you the best with it... there are some new players In Indy... The gal and her husband that just left Aaron Adams company Alpine they started their own gig .
You have Mike D argio I was on his radio show he does a nice job from what I can see.
Most folks that own these are happy the first year or so.. its the 3 to 7 years of ownership that will really tell if they got what they thought they wanted or bought..
Folks need to remember those houses as you say that need 15 to 20k of rehab are what your nice rental will look like down the track once its been a rental for years. Some won't but most will.
The inventory that is bought in Indy that needs full rehab comes from Landlords that failed and the majority are out of state and country.. again not all but most.
Poor homeowners that got sucked into sub prime and lost or walked from their homes, that inventory has been cycled the current inventory in All mid west upper mid west deep south markets that is 70 to 80k and under has come from failed landlords.. I know I have foreclosed on over 300 land lords in the past 8 years. people from LA that just did not know what they did not know..
I always tell folks in these markets buy north of a 100k and your in much better shape long term you get the much better tenant.. house is better ( of course as long as the TK company did not totally rip you off selling you a 60k home for 110k LOL).
But people are wiser these days.. so hopefully less of the gross profit taking which happened over the years and was predominantly inflicted on CASH buying foreigners is over.
- 11yMike D'ArrigoPro MemberTurn key provider · San Jose, CA · Member since 2010 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Thanks for the support. We need to get you back on the show again.
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Mike you bet I have seen your Indy inventory and its in the bracket I would suggest.
- Rental Property Investor · Fishers, IN · Member since 2013 · 381 posts · 69 votes11y
@Jay Hinrichs I understand what you are saying about whatever you sell the property for is market value, but to play devil's advocate:
If comps show a 3 bed property in a certain area of Indy could sell for $50k on the open market, but is sold for $40k off market, it would be sold under market value, no? Maybe a better way of putting it isn't so much that it's sold under market value, but rather that it is sold with equity built in? I'd like to read more of your thoughts on this if you don't mind. - 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
this is what cratered the industry back in 08 false values. sucking investors banks and others into thinking they really had equity when they did not.
I know the appraisal game In your markets I did well over 250 loans on Indy buy and holds.
the reality is if your sitting on a property that is worth 50k that you can, like any west coast property or prime east coast simply put it on MLS sell it in the average DOM time for 50k why would you make some super special deal to some out of state investor for 40k.. Its counter intuitive and the only reason is its for marketing purposes and to compete with other turn key companies because they all market the same way.. Instant equity if you buy my house.
YOu would never see that on the coasts. When I have a new build to sell I sell it for what its worth plus the ONLY properties that sell off market in Prime markets are properties that are in need of huge repairs and are not financeable.. so a rehabber here on the west coast try's to buy direct and wholesaler rehabs then puts them on MLS to get retail. they don't do all that work then try to sell it for less than true market value.. and True market value in my mind is what a local person is willing to pay for it . Not a out of state investor who really will never understand how values work there.. I know it took me years and a lot of head scratching to figure out nothing sells for appraised values in the mid west even high end stuff. unless the buyer fell off the turnip truck.
Its only in the mid west turn key market that the last step is not done. you buy wholesale you rehab and you sell off market by luring in out of state investors that think they are getting some great deal with instant equity when in fact they have no instant equity they could never sell the property for 50k as you allude to on MLS... why would anyone pay 50k when they can buy the same home from you for 40k all day long or any of the other 10 turn key guys in INdy.
where this gets foggy is appraisers will use homes that are true retail ready to establish comps but rentals are not retail homes.. and there is very little Owner occ buying in 50k neighborhoods bordering on really Zero that market is all held up by TK companies and investors supply and demand chain.
- Rental Property Investor · Fishers, IN · Member since 2013 · 381 posts · 69 votes11y
@Jay Hinrichs Thanks for the response! I understand what you are saying. Maybe I haven't been around long enough, but I don't see a lot of turnkey companies here in Indy marketing the instant equity part, mostly just cash flow or cash flow and appreciation projections. I could see it as a good marketing play, sure, but I also think it could be a good business strategy for a TK company to sell them for less than they could. Sure, they'll make less money in that one sale, but hopefully the investor that bought the property got a good deal and will want to come back. So it sacrifices a little profit up front for a long-term relationship with several purchases.
- Real Estate Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 43 posts · 16 votes11y
As someone who lives in a hot market right now, I’d like to offer some points to consider from my own observations.
While I know there are reputable turnkey and nearly-turnkey companies out there, I want to stress the importance of trustworthy, local boots on the ground. I’ve seen situations in my local market that seem to work great for out of state investors until…well…until they don’t.
It’s not too difficult for someone to say they are going to take care of everything for you and send you the rent checks. You start getting checks and everything is fine for a few months or even a couple years. Then, a city worker calls you about a code violation your property manager never informed you of. Or, when there’s a turnover, your property manager suggests you may have to drop the rent this time because “the market’s saturated right now.” While that can happen, it can also mean the PM didn't do a good job of getting it rent ready or the property is deteriorating because he/she is slacking. I've seen both of these situations and more.
I definitely see the advantage of buying turnkey but it involves more risk because you only have one team. If you build your own team and acquire properties from an agent or wholesaler, get bids from multiple contractors and have a separate PM it is more likely that someone along the way will alert you to potential problems.
I’m not saying you shouldn't use turnkey services. The point I want to make is that due diligence is not just for properties, it’s for companies and individuals as well. Find find someone local you can trust to give you good referrals and/or out of state investors who have held property with the same turnkey company for at least 2-3 years.
Best of luck to you as you begin your real estate journey! Keep us posted.
- Stamford, CT · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 9 votes11y
Thanks for the reply and great advice Vicki. I've considered investing out of state in markets with better economic prospects but am leaning towards finding something close by that I can manage myself. Even if the returns are not as good, I'd like to be close to my first property and utilize it to continue my learning.
Thanks,
Tom
- Real Estate Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 43 posts · 16 votes11y
Makes sense. You may eventually decide to invest out of state but starting locally will provide good hands on experience.
Well I'm not a fan or advocate of landlording personally, but if it interests you, go for it. But only do it if you really think it might be fun, rather than because you feel like you have to. I live in LA so nothing around here cash flows, so I've always bought out-of-state and just used a property manager. Works great. Whichever way you go, just don't buy a negative cash flow property just for the sake of being near it.
- Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2009 · 575 posts · 496 votes11y
Just for the record I never worked for Aaron or anyone for that matter since I left my sandwich delivery job in 2005. Ive been an entrepreneur ever since. I did do acquisitions for Aaron and Alpine from 2008 to late 13 or early 14... Great experience. I was able to buy about 500 SFH over those years. Learned a lot! Ive also always had a leasing company since 2005 that advertises, shows and rents houses for multiple property management companies and landlords around Indianapolis. Collecting the data on rental rates, days on market, areas, etc has been priceless.
I think it was early 2012 when I met with you to show you Alpine houses to vet for the TWH model you had back then. I showed you quite a few properties that you weren't real fond of. But I took you to one that I bought on Oak st right out side of Irvington. You really seemed to like it and I think you might have purchased it (or took first position on it..).
I bring this up because as I look through your posts you seem to be not so keen on the whole buying turnkey out of state idea. Which I don't blame you and I 100% completely understand why. I too have seen way to many disaster scenarios that happened because people were buying out of state with little to no DD. But... My wife and I think/know (betting everything on it..) we CAN deliver a product with real equity and cash flow. And appreciation. This deal on Oak is exactly the type deal (numbers and area wise... definitely don't find to many brick houses in this price range) that we are providing to our clients. We are all in for 40 to 45k and sell for ~50k turnkey and it rents for 750 or 800. Could we put this same house on MLS and sell it for more than 50k..? 60k..? Yes I do believe that we can. But it would take 3 times longer to sell and just like what @Rodney Kuhl said.. We are building a customer base. Its a word of mouth marketing technique and its working really really well. One of the things about your typical turnkey company that I know you understand very well but don't really talk about (that I have seen) is paying a marketing company or a seminar company or a sales staff 5k to 15k to sell properties. It can turn a decent deal into a bad deal real quick. Its not needed. I have the demand just from bigger pockets to sell several hundreds of these deals in 2015. We won't though. We will probably do about 80 - 100. Why? Because we aren't willing to compromise on areas. We won't cut corners and start buying in areas that don't have any equity or appreciation. We will gladly stay a small organization and focus on quality over quantity. I think that if you came to Indy and saw our deals you would like the numbers and areas a lot. I really love your perspective on BP, I read your posts all the time. You are very wise and truly understand how turnkey/out of state investing typically goes.. I just think there is exceptions to everything. and In this case we plan on being the exception.
- Rental Property Investor · Fishers, IN · Member since 2013 · 381 posts · 69 votes11y
@Ryan Mullin Great post! I think what you guys are doing is great.
- Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2009 · 575 posts · 496 votes11y
@Rodney Kuhl Thank you! Really appreciate all your support!
- Registered Nurse (ICU) · San Jose, CA · Member since 2014 · 496 posts · 332 votes11y
@Ryan Mullin Amen! FS Houses is awsome!
All investors make great points. I admire Ryan's vision for the future and his company.
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
I recognize that home and yes I bought that one.. and when I sold out of my 350 homes last year it went bye bye.... Sorry I misspoke about you working for Aaron.. It was an assumption on my part although I know your wife did and as you know your wife and I have conversed for many years through all my different iterations in Indy at least 10 years in fact .. From when I started there with Vertucci and Aaron doing HML for their buyers... That model of course is dead and put to bed. to doing 50% LTV non recourse loans for Aarons buyers a year or so ago.
With regards to buying turn key out of state.. I defiantly have my opinions and there is a right way to do it and a wrong way.. and of course in my personal experience owning all these houses and lending on a couple thousand more I have seen my share of ups and downs. and I believe it is not for everyone... As much as I think there are good and poor turn key companies I think there are just as many poor investors and landlords.. Who really should never even own rentals anywhere much less out of state.. They don't have the experience to do it.. They don't know what to expect.. they do not assist the PM and in fact hinder the PM many times by being slow on communications being under funded and not able to keep the home in tip top shape etc etc.. So yes I believe many out of state landlords fail because of their own inability to manage the managers and their assets. and I think ,,, well I know that many fail because they choose poorly in the beginning.
My comments you quoted above were simply to let the readers know there was a new group on the block and one that has some pretty deep experience in the space. As I know your wife worked for Aaron for years was the comptroller put the systems together on the back end and ran a company that had 500 to 1000 rentals.. so I think that is a pretty accurate assessment.
And my posts as I said are based on my personal experience's owning hundreds of these and lending on thousands...
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
And I totally agree with you about LA based middle person's taking big cuts off the top for their marketing services and if your deals are better because of buying direct then your product should stand out and shine compared to the same product being marketed on some one's website across the country that has never personally seen any properties and is just funneling people to a TK company that pays the best..
As you mentioned my TWH model that I sold last year.. that was always a huge rub for me.. these marketing guys and gals wanted so much off the top that we just never got any traction there even though we had a pretty neat model that I created... So we did it on our own. We never achieved Memphis invest numbers but we also owned all the houses. So its was a little different and buying rehabbing and putting 10 homes a month into service is a pretty good days work.. some months we hit 20... But for me I am retired from land lording being in the space since 2001 I just do not want to hear about another of my Aircondioner units being stolen or my cooper being ripped out.. And its not all hood properties I had 100k homes in Atlanta that got hit as well.. Just something we don't experience here in friendly relatively crime free city state of Portlandia.
- I just want to say that I truly appreciate these conversations about getting started carefully and selecting quality property and partners. It does seem that a great property mgr partner is huge. I am a Milwaukee Wisconsinite and sometimes it feels like the West coasters lack appreciation (heh, heh) for the flyover states. We do have some nice attributes! Jay you have so many interesting comments. Right now I am considering looking at the neighborhoods with low crime and schools in the 4 - 10 range, or low crime neighborhoods with a 1 high school but 4 -8 rated elementary schools. I would be buying the cheapest, but not totally wrecked property in a safe neighborhood (specifically no shootings and low crime). My target tenant is likely someone who has some financial hardship but still maintains traditional Midwestern values and work ethic. The tough thing is that taxes in MKE are tough, and I'm not sure that I would succeed in getting the assessment (?) reduced. It's sad how expensive the taxes are. I notice in my own suburb that there are vacant homes (just a couple I've got my eye on) btw. It seems the banks are sitting on them and truly that might work out.
- 11yJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
for me personally I have a definite appreciation for Wisconsin I would not be here . My mother was born in Milwaukee lived in Wauwatosa, my cousin live in Brookfield and Pewaukee and Nabobin Lake's I was there last summer.. for the fair... Love the summer many fond memories winter is another story... And I have learned on BP that Wisc. has some laws that other states don't have... I am not familiar with the Ad valorum tax's and or exemptions or how to challenge assessments. But I do favor buying homes you can drive to if need be and be hands on with your PM... At the end of the day RE is not for everyone. Its treated me well over the years. but like all lifelong RE investors there are defiantly ups and downs... I just did a post cast thingee for Joe Fairless and his question was what would you do over.. And my answer SELL when I New I had a Profit... biggest mistake holding on to long and not selling when I KNEW I HAD PROFIT... So you see some of the biggest players on this site.. They buy and sell they may hold a few rentals but the bigger yearly or weekly money is buying and selling for a profit... And that is exactly what I did a year ago in Atlanta I sold and made a very nice profit.. Hedge funds were buying everything in site... And also selling the rest of my 350 SFR's at what I see as market highs right now.. Many markets are back to or close to 06 or 07 highs.. Many markets will never ever recover to pre 06 to 07 highs ( Detroit) because of sociodemographic issues and eroding of the ownership and tenant base.. One needs to be very careful in the mid west .. I know people say its block to block in many of these cities but I have seen perfectly good blocks go Pear shape.. what was a good block 3 years ago is now infested with bad actors and the block goes down hill and your rental goes with it. those are some of the things to think about.
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