How many rental properties do you own?

General Landlording & Rental Properties

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How many rental properties do you own?

Jeff Gates

Investor · Cathedral City, CA · Member since 2014 · 481 posts · 170 votes

I am a private landlord with two properties. My questions is for private landlords:

How many properties do you own that you manage yourself?

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John Thedford

Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes

11y

I had a goal of 30. Then I realized this was the wrong goal. My goal is now income...not how many doors I own. I reset my goal to the amount of income I desire and gauge my success on how close I am to achieving it. That "income" figures is net income...not gross rents, etc. I also have a goal of being debt free in less than 5 years so that the majority of income stays in my pocket vs paying off mortgages. You can have a huge NOI but pay it all out in debt service!

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Kennedy Mbunwe
Investor · Calgary, Alberta (AB) · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
10y
I own and manage two. Going for a third soon
0 Reply
Assata Moore
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 40 posts · 24 votes
10y
Twelve doors. Self managed. Will have own PM after I quit my 9-5 in a year!
1 Reply
George P.
Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
my website says 28. or 29. not sure . closing on one in 13 hrs.
single family, self manage, full time job as well. 2 monsters, I mean kids, under 5 yrs old.
5 Reply
Carolyn Grawin
Home Stager · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 1 vote
10y
We own three outright in San Diego. Two purchased with cash via short sales in 2011 and 2013. Both were virtually impossible to procure financing and time was of the essence when they came available. I'm not sure San Diego will ever see those days again, at least not for a long time to come.
1 Reply
Chris Sukala
Rockford, IL · Member since 2015 · 343 posts · 95 votes
10y
Jeff Gates we have 2 SFRs as of now hoping to add 2 duplexes this year and managing them ourselves
0 Reply
Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
10y
I have 80, I self manage 8 and manage the manager on the rest.
Podcast Guest on Show #132
Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews
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Kevin D.
Investor · Wilkes-Barre, PA · Member since 2014 · 179 posts · 42 votes
10y
16 units across 7 properties. I manage 1 and have a PM for the other 16. Just made an offer on an 8 unit with a retail space. 36 units should get me to my freedom number, so my goal is to reach that byt the end of 2017.
0 Reply
Bob E.
Queen Creek, AZ · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
3 locally that we self manage.
3 in LLC with college friend
1 In LLC with wife
1 In Self directed IRA
10 notes, 7 performing (one for sale) 3 non performing.
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Jerry W.Pro Member
Moderator
Investor · Thermopolis, WY · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
OK, I own 13 SFRs or so locally in a company that I manage all of them, I have 3 houses in my name I also manage. I have 9 apartments in assorted units managed mostly by a manager but I make all the major decisions. I have one flip in a town 32 miles away I am working on, and 5 other units I self manage there. I have 2 JV houses in Colorado the partner manages, two mortgage notes, I have one house in Indiana and 2 JV houses in Toledo. I also manage a commercial property locally with a few garages, a UPS building and a few warehouses. I think that is all of them. I am full time employed and my wife does all of the books. I do most of the repairs maybe 75% myself, due to lack of help. Did 4 roofs last year plan to do 4 more this year. No plans to add any more units due to a local economy crash. I hope to add about 10 more in 3 to 5 years.
2 Reply
Evelyn Roper
Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 51 votes
10y
Just bought our first one today!
9 Reply
Todd Richmond
Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
10y
I have 3 sfh that I manage myself. Hoping to double that this year.
0 Reply
Alice K.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 306 posts · 211 votes
10y
I'm very lucky that my parents are retired and are managing for me (we talk daily to discuss things as they have considerable experience running RV parks, etc. If they were just "normal" people I don't think I'd have them do this). Currently have 1 unit up for rent. Praying it becomes the home of a good tenant soon.
0 Reply
Alice K.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 306 posts · 211 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Jim C.:

My tenants or prospective tenants always ask me "so how many properties do you have?" My response "1 too many!". LOL
Love it!
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Karen O.
NYC, NY · Member since 2016 · 617 posts · 456 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Chris Field:

9 now, constructing 15 more next year so I'll be at 24. I have a bunch more in the works I'd like to hit 100.
100 at an average rent of $1,700 per unit is a nice income.
It is. Though hopefully, the expense per unit is significantly less than $1700.
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Daniel Consalvo
Rental Property Investor · Lunenburg, MA · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 16 votes
10y
5 units currently. Managing them is a breeze. I had up to 14 units as well as a 40 hour Corp job. That was a bit of a challenge! For me anyway. Everyone has a different threshold for work. If you find yourself not enjoying Owning the properties it's a good indication you need help/PM or less units.
1 Reply
Ryan Pyle
Multifamily Investor · Toledo, OH · Member since 2008 · 296 posts · 308 votes
10y
I own and self-manage 213 units. 34 are SFH, 10 apartment buildings ranging in size from 5 - 64 units. The larger the building, the easier to manage.
I have one full time maintenance man. He has a crew of up to four laborers that he brings on as-needed for unit turns or as extra hands. I have a regular sewer guy, electrician, roofer, etc that I call as needed.
At my larger buildings I have live-in caretakers who, in exchange for free rent, handle all of the service calls, mow the lawns, clean the hallways/grounds, and shovel the walks. They are also my eyes and ears. It's wonderful....I get hardly any tenant phone calls from those buildings as the caretakers are trained to take good care of the residents.
I do all of the leasing, accounting and customer service myself. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a glorified call center! I use Appfolio for tenant management (CRM) and Quickbooks for accounting.
I was once told that one can handle up to about 20 units before they need to hire a PM. Of course it was a PM who told me that. I have found that as long as I screen carefully and choose my tenants well, there really isn't that much to do. Think about it, once a unit is filled, unless there is a maintenance issue, what is there to do? I work maybe 20 hours a week on average. Most of it is spent bookkeeping (which is my favorite part of the business...yep) and delegating. Right now the rental market is good so I'm on wait lists at all my buildings. So I'm not spending much time on vacancies. This past October through December, however, I had an unexpected rash of vacancies (about 15 at one time) and I was working crazy hours showing apartments and screening applicants. But that's how it goes. I was thinking about this yesterday, the rental business is one of the few where when things are "slow" that means you are doing well!
Congrats and good luck to all. This is an interesting thread!
12 Reply
John Morgano
Fort Mill, SC · Member since 2014 · 48 posts · 13 votes
10y
3 SFHs. Looking for more now...
0 Reply
Robyn J.
Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2012 · 97 posts · 23 votes
10y
5 with PM in Ohio (all for sale) others are in my home state TX I SM. I prefer notes that is why my rentals in Ohio are for sale.
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Michelle T.
Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 205 posts · 74 votes
10y
1 SFH, self managed, looking to add another 1 by the end of this year. Full time job and two active kids.
1 Reply
John Warren
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
10y
Not enough.... Currently own one fourplex, but looking to purchase more! We self-manage.
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Bill S.Pro Member
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Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
Not sure of the purpose of this thread. Is it bragging or sharing what is possible? I grew up in a very private family. We never told anyone how many cows we owned and it was considered rude to ask. I realize that may not be the case for everyone so you really want to know send me a PM and I would be glad to let you know.
My response when tenants ask this is, "Too many on the 15th and not enough on the first" In reality, no matter how many you own, you "manage" them all. Once I hit about 15 units I started subbing out the fix-it work (I was working 40 hr w2 job then with a small family). As I have grown, more is subbed out more. As for how much labor you can do yourself it depends on the units and the age of the property as well as what has been done to the property.
Typically one can manage (tenant relations, leasing and tenant selection, bossing repairs) between 50-100 units. This is the business model of many management agencies use.
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Mike Dymski
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
10y
Originally posted by @Bill S.:

Not sure of the purpose of this thread. Is it bragging or sharing what is possible? I grew up in a very private family. We never told anyone how many cows we owned and it was considered rude to ask. I realize that may not be the case for everyone so you really want to know send me a PM and I would be glad to let you know.
My response when tenants ask this is, "Too many on the 15th and not enough on the first" In reality, no matter how many you own, you "manage" them all. Once I hit about 15 units I started subbing out the fix-it work (I was working 40 hr w2 job then with a small family). As I have grown, more is subbed out more. As for how much labor you can do yourself it depends on the units and the age of the property as well as what has been done to the property.
Typically one can manage (tenant relations, leasing and tenant selection, bossing repairs) between 50-100 units. This is the business model of many management agencies use.
It provides context for the BP community on who they are sharing advice with and supporting. It's also a way to share success in a forum outside of family and friends where it may appear self-centered. Not my thing either but it's helped me get a feel for the community.
1 Reply
Ryan Pyle
Multifamily Investor · Toledo, OH · Member since 2008 · 296 posts · 308 votes
10y
@Bill S., I think the entire point of this community is for people to share and learn. I am an open book with my successes and failures. When I was first starting in this business I wanted so badly to see numbers like those shared in this and other threads so I could get an idea of what real investors were doing. I got my start by doing the books for free for a very large investor. That gave me the opportunity to see the real numbers of a real investor. I try my best to give my real numbers to the BP community when necessary. If that's seen as bragging then so be it.
4 Reply
Dawn BrenengenBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
5 that I own and manage myself, and I manage about 60 more for other people.
Podcast Guest on Show #101
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Jay Raught
Investor · Newark, DE · Member since 2015 · 248 posts · 178 votes
10y
I just acquired four notes yesterday to add to the three I already own. These four are in Ohio. The others are in TX, NC, CT. TX is performing now, NC is in legal, CT is also in legal. It was an exciting time when the wires went out!!
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