I have time, How Can I Help???
Specialist · CHICAGO · Member since 2015 · 680 posts · 650 votes
Hey guys, I'm "momming" for the next few days so I have stepped away from my work and will have the freedom to give a few people who are ready to make moves some personal attention in moving forward with a deal. My goal this weekend is to help at least ONE...no THREE people get an accepted offer on a deal that will work for them.
Please help me achieve my short term goal to help YOU!
I invite any of my other BP'ers who have some time to jump in and also offer help. Can we get three newbies an accepted deal before Monday morning????? Challenge accepted!!!!
@Cole Stoneman In the interest of not hijacking @Meghan McCallum 's thread, I'll message you directly. But feel free to share my insight on this post if Meghan doesn't mind!
Hi Meghan,
Perhaps you can weigh in on this...
I'm an agent in PA and two of the agents I work with have an LLC and are looking for an investor with them for a Mobil gas station in Florida. I wanted to get some opinions on this. They say it will net 100k/year and that the 40k investment I might make would be repaid before any profits are taking by ownership. Promissory note for the 40k. The seller is sick and needs to cash out so seller will finance loan of 37k at 4% interest with 10 year term. The plan is also to expand liquor and tobacco sales and sublease car wash space.
The arrangement would be that I get 30% equity for the 40k and the two guys who run the LLCwould put up 20k. Supposedly, it will net over 100k/year and the money I'd put up would be repaid before any profits taken.They would also manage the store and I wouldn't need to be involved in operations. He tells me the essence is that they have to maintain majority control, the benefit to me that I'd be getting the money back in addition to the equity with quarterly payments. 50k buys inventory and 30k is escrowed with interest by Mobil which supposedly comes back.
I attached the documents he sent me. Closing is supposed to be May 1, and would appreciate any advice you might have. One question I had for you is that I was wondering was whether it is logical, based on the info, that I would be putting up 40k to their 10k each and only get 1/3 equity? And which scenarios might prevent me from receiving that 40k back even if it is to be repaid prior to the other partners taking any profits? Thanks so much.
Here is the data.
| ITEM | MONTHLY GROSS | ANNUAL GROSS | MARK UP | GROSS PROFIT | COMMENTS |
| Grocery | 45,000 | 540,000 | 29% | 156,600 | |
| Gas (Gallons) | 20,000 | 240,000 | 3 cents | 7,200 | Commission of 3 cents per gallon and the gas company pays for all credit card fees for the gas AND C-store sales. |
| Car Wash | 750 | 9,000 | 9,000 | Hand car wash rental | |
| LOTTO – Profit | 625 | 7,500 | 7,500 | ||
| Check cashing | |||||
| Cig. Display | |||||
| ATM | 150 | 1,800 | 1,800 | ||
| Food Truck | 300 | 3,600 | 3,600 | Rental Income. Food truck 2 days per week. | |
| Vending Game | |||||
| Money Orders | |||||
| Rebate 24 hr. | 600 | 7,200 | 7,200 | ||
| Rebate Inspect. | 500 | 6,000 | 6,000 | ||
| Air/Vacuum | 50 | 600 | 600 | ||
| Total | 199,500 |
EXPENSES
| ITEM | MONTHLY AVG. | ANNUAL | COMMENTS |
| Rent | 3,000 | 36,000 | |
| Electric/H20/Garbage | 1,400 | 16,800 | |
| Telephone/Internet | 155 | 1,860 | |
| Insurance Liability | 225 | 2,700 | |
| Sales tax on rent | 315 | 3,780 | |
| Employees / Payroll | 6,500 | 78,000 | |
| POS Ruby | 500 | 6,000 | |
| Misc. Expenses | 100 | 1,200 | |
| Property Taxes & Building Insurance | 1,194 | 14,328 | |
| Car wash expense | Sub-Tenant pays all expense for car wash. | ||
| Credit card fees | Gas company pays all fees. | ||
| Total | 160,668 |
NET PROFIT $38,832 + $24,000 if owner works = $62,832 Total Owner Benefit
@Cole Stoneman, I lived in NM for awhile. Now, lets rollup our sleeves on this. I will start with I don't own ANY mobile home parks. BUT, they are one of the few investments that do well in an economic down turn. That being said, how many spaces already exist? What are they leased for monthly? (I would want to see a rent roll if I were you.) How old is the infrastructure (power and plumbing) and is it Municipal or private (big difference, but its good, because you have already said city utilities). Do you have a plan for filling those 6-8 spaces (otherwise thats just money on the table that you won't be able to capitalize on) and are they already laid out (cement pad and utilities run to them?) Lastly, does the seller own any of the trailers? (you don't want that)
Hit me up with some more info and lets take a look at those umbers harder.
@Stephen Biggans Hmmmmm...this is an interesting case. Give me a little time to read it all over (after bedtime) and let me see what I can come up with. I did look at buying a gas station once in MD so I have done a little looking into this type of thing. I am in NO WAY a gas station investor pro! Ha. I bet there are a few on here though. I'm hoping we have some other members jump on here along with my input for you.
@Stephen Biggans what is the address of the gas station? I would want to know what kind of traffic there is AND I would ask for the past two years of P&L from the current owner before I went any further. You can message me the address.
Thanks Team-
| Rent Roll | ||||||
| 4 plex | ||||||
| unit 1 | $ 175.00 | |||||
| unit 2 | $ 250.00 | |||||
| unit 3 | $ 250.00 | |||||
| unit 4 | $ 200.00 | |||||
| Spaces | ||||||
| 1 | Own | $ 500.00 | 9 yr occupancy | |||
| 2 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 3 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 4 | Do not Own Trailer | $ 300.00 | ||||
| 5 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 6 | Own | $ 495.00 | ||||
| 7 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 8 | Own | $ 495.00 | ||||
| 9 | Own | $ 495.00 | ||||
| 10 | Do not Own Trailer | $ 175.00 | ||||
| 11 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 12 | Do not Own Trailer | $ 500.00 | ||||
| 13 | Own | $ 495.00 | ||||
| 14 | Own | $ 595.00 | ||||
| 15 | Own | $ 600.00 | ||||
| 16 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 17 | Unoccupied | |||||
| 18a | Own | $ 600.00 | ||||
| 18b | Do not Own Trailer | this trailer was abandoned and is that theirs | ||||
| 19 | Own | Vacant | rents for 475 | |||
| 20 | Own | $ 600.00 | ||||
| 21 | Own | $ 425.00 | ||||
| 22 | Own | $ 500.00 | Possibly vacant | |||
| 23 | Own | Vacant | rents for 475 | |||
| 24 | Own | $ 600.00 | ||||
| 25 | Own | vacant | rents for 475 | |||
| total | $ 8,250.00 |
Hopefully this helps.
@Jeremy Baker first question...how do you afford NYC!? Ha! But for real, where are you looking to buy? My best deals were found because I talked to people. No, I'm serious. If you are looking to buy and live in a multifamily in NYC...sheesh...I'd have to recruit some help on that one. If you are looking to buy in other markets and looking for cash flow thats a different story. What do you want? What is your end goal. Once you know that I can help you strategize better. Sorry for what feels like a brush off, but without some more personal info...I could talk for days.
What are your:
Goals
Resources
Tolerance for Pain
Desire to be hands on....
This is a start of questions you should ask. Better yet, why do you want to invest in real estate?
@Jeremy Baker I don't want to reinvent the wheel so here is a great explanation by Joe Fairless
http://joefairless.com/?s=property+classes
You should check out his podcasts...you can search on his website for topics you'd like to hear about.
@Cole Stoneman In the interest of not hijacking @Meghan McCallum 's thread, I'll message you directly. But feel free to share my insight on this post if Meghan doesn't mind!
Hijack! Hijack!!! This is about giving people some focused attention! Ben would love to learn from what you have to say! We all can!
@Meghan McCallum - your generosity and energy are awesome. Wish you were closer, I'd love to take you out for lunch/drinks/coffee/Memphis bbq. :)
@Meghan McCallum I love your enthusiasm!
Sent to @Cole Stoneman :
"Hey Cole! If I read your Rent Roll correctly, most units are park-owned rentals, where the mobile homes are owned by the park owner and rented like an apartment. This is a great deal if you're into having higher cash flows per unit at the cost of additional maintenance. If that doesn't scare you, here's a little run down:
Most "rental parks" trade for 10+ CAP rates, and the quick math on any apartment or rental park (assuming no major improvements need to be made) is a 50% expense load relative to gross income. Quick math indicates an offer price of $540k is about $100k higher than you should be paying, but please understand all I have to work with is a rent roll.
Everything makes sense at the right price, so I'd encourage you to look deeper into this deal to see if A.) the price can be negotiated down and B.) there aren't any major grenades at the onset of purchase.
Feel free to send me more detail and I'll happily provide any help I can. My background is in rental parks just like this, and now I own/manage over 600 units."
Yes! @Ben Roddey is WAY more knowledgable than I am. I thought that price was high for so few lots. ALSO, what little I know about MHP's is that the benefit is not owning the trailers. I don't want to worry about their toilet! The advantage, and the reason I would entertain buying a MHP is the lack of maintenance issues. Hence, less time spending on it. I spoke with BP podcast guest @Account Closed from episode #208 and he really hit home some great points, I will share them with you, and perhaps we can bait him into a conversation!
I was going to consider buying a park, but Jeff told me to focus...so he ruined it for me. (kidding) I have found that large MF's (so I thought possibly MHP's fit my criteria) allow me to hire people to handle the asset (which buys me time) and I manage them. In this mindset you have to have a sold set of policies and procedures to empower your employees to make decisions without you approving their every move. MHP's seem like they need just a little more care and management than a cemetery (those don't have as many utilities). But, if I owned either, I would want just as much time I had to spend managing it. I would take the trailers, sell them to the people living in them (or better tenants) and have the people in your park have a pride of ownership. I mean, a toilet still costs about $100 and $150 to install. Thats a huge amount of money to put into a $5K-20K asset. (I understand some can be much more)
And BPer's I'm not that smart, skilled, or savvy.
I'm afraid for me the accumulation of net worth and cash flow is just a very positive symptom of my drive to learn and actuate my knowledge. The profits are just the proof to myself that I have mastered the education aspect of the investing strategy.
It allows me to help and teach AND LEARN along with every like minded individual I meet.
I want you to educate, take action, excel, and teach others.
@Elizabeth Wilson let's plan a weekend. I'll fly down and you can show me WHY people are LOVIN' on TN right now!
Welcome @Yolanda Armstrong! Above I wrote a suggestion to Jeremy Baker to fill out some information about who he is "as" an investor. I suggest you do the same. There are 1000 ways to skin a cat and 100 ways not to. What will work for you is based on WHO YOU ARE. That is the greatest key to success.
Another tip, put up a picture, and fill out your profile. You will have much more success with people helping you. People think, if you don't want to even spend the time to invest in yourself...then why should I invest my time in you! Get it done! :)
Ok. I am new to this. Please tell me how to do the things you suggested; like sending the photo and doing my profile. Sorry I am not as Savvy as some. I am teachable though.
@Meghan McCallum - You should come down for @James Wachob Memphis in May networking/educational event!! https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/42...
And stay for the weekend! Happy to show you around! and pick your brain about what we can do better as local investors! :)
Hello,
Newbie trying to wholesale in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey. It seems as though the market is extremely tight here. We've spent about $6,000 on mailings and other marketing efforts. We are struggling to find motivated sellers. No one in this area seems to be desperate to sell. Those who do want to sell are looking for close to retail. The few good deals we come across, end buyers don't seem to want. I'm not sure what other avenues to look towards. Any help would be appreciated.
@Jason Timmerman meet @Jeremy Baker so, you guys are looking for the same things. Jeremy, perhaps you guys could partner up on a campaign to find deals. Jason, have you gone to
This may be something to try. I haven't had a hard time finding leads where I am looking...yet. These guys are doing some amazing stuff for RE investors. If I do have a problem in the future, this is going to be my solution.
Give them a try and let me know what you think. Everyone is doing mailers.
My other suggestion is to invest in out of state properties. Network on here and see if you can't partner up with someone a few hours out of NYC.