New Investor Introduction: Advice Welcome
Tom GoforthPro Member
Marshall, TX · Member since 2024 · 3 posts · 1 voteNew Investor Introduction: Advice Welcome
7 Replies
- 1moBrad SeidBusiness MemberLender · Licensed in 28 States · Member since 2026 · 185 posts · 58 votes
@Tom Goforth Hi Tom, that’s an impressive project! 32 units is a big step, and your construction background gives you a great foundation. As you move toward completion and leasing, having the right financing strategy is just as important. I help investors with lending and financing options for multifamily projects. Happy to connect and see if I can be a resource for your next phase!
West Capital Lending5128 Reviews - Real Estate Broker · Atlanta · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 607 votes1mo
@Tom Goforth Welcome to the BP community. With 32 units coming online, I would strongly consider hiring an experienced property manager or leasing professional rather than trying to learn everything while managing the lease-up yourself. Start marketing well before completion, build a strong online presence, establish consistent screening criteria and begin creating a prospective tenant waitlist now.
- Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 538 posts · 311 votes1mo
Tom, I think the biggest thing I’d change in your framing is this:
You aren’t six months away from becoming a landlord.
You’re already in lease-up.
Thirty-two units coming online at roughly the same time is enough inventory that I wouldn’t wait until the buildings are finished and then start advertising. By then you’ve got 32 completed units producing expenses and zero revenue while you figure out a process you could have built during construction.
Your construction background is a major advantage because you already understand schedules, subs, punch lists, warranties and maintenance. The new skill you’re adding is occupancy.
And occupancy has a funnel just like construction has a schedule.
Someone sees the property.
Some percentage inquire.
Some percentage tour.
Some apply.
Some qualify.
Some sign.
Some actually move in.
If you need 32 occupied units, I’d start working backward from that number now rather than treating “advertising” as something that happens near completion.
The first thing I’d build is a very simple website. It does not need to be fancy.
Renderings or good construction-progress photos, floor plans, estimated availability, rents once you’re confident in them, deposits/fees, pet policy, amenities, location, contact information and a very obvious “join the priority list” form are enough to start.
Right now I’d be collecting interest, not promising people an exact move-in date six months in advance.
Construction schedules move. Utilities move. inspections move. Weather moves.
You don’t want 20 tenants with moving trucks scheduled for August 1 because six months earlier everyone felt really confident about August 1.
As delivery gets more certain, that interest list becomes your pre-leasing list.
I’d also resist the temptation to price all 32 units once and forget about it.
You’re going to learn something extremely valuable from the first 50 or 100 inquiries.
Maybe people love the product at $1,250.
Maybe they disappear at $1,350.
Maybe one floor plan gets twice the interest.
Maybe fenced yards, parking, storage, pets or washer/dryer connections matter considerably more than something you spent real money building.
That information should influence the remaining lease-up.
Marshall is not a market where I’d trust a national “average rent” number very much. Current rental sites don't even agree particularly well with each other about local two-bedroom rents, which is a good warning that you need to build your own comp set. I’d track every genuinely comparable rental you can find: asking rent, concessions, size, age, condition, amenities and how long it stays available.
You are bringing 32 new units into a relatively small market. That means absorption matters as much as theoretical market rent.
I’d rather lease steadily at a rent the market clearly accepts than finish the project with a spreadsheet proving the units are worth $100 more while 19 of them sit empty.
If you need an incentive during lease-up, I’d generally rather test a temporary concession than permanently panic-cut the face rent on the whole community. Once you have actual residents and renewals, you’ll have much better evidence of what the property can support.
On software, I would choose it now rather than after the first leases are signed.
With 32 units, I’d want one system handling the prospect-to-resident lifecycle: listings, inquiries, applications, screening, electronic leases, payments, resident communication, maintenance requests and accounting/reporting.
Buildium is one I’d seriously evaluate at your size. AppFolio is also worth seeing if you expect this to become a larger operation rather than one 32-unit project. There are lighter systems like RentRedi, TenantCloud and Rentec Direct that may be perfectly capable depending on how much accounting and leasing automation you want.
I wouldn’t choose based on which one has the prettiest app.
I’d sit down and run one imaginary resident completely through each system:
They find Unit 14 online.
They ask a question.
They schedule a showing.
They apply.
You screen them.
They pay the deposit.
They sign.
They move in.
They pay rent.
Six months later their garbage disposal dies.
They submit maintenance.
You dispatch somebody.
The work gets documented.
Now ask yourself where information fell out of the system and ended up in your text messages, email inbox or head.
That’s the software test.
Your Google number is fine as a front door, but I would avoid building an operation where every resident and prospect ultimately funnels directly to your personal attention. Thirty-two units is enough that “just call Tom” becomes a system remarkably quickly, and not a good one.
I’d also build your tenant-selection criteria before you begin taking applications.
In Texas, landlords have specific rules around making tenant-selection criteria available when applicants are given an application. More importantly from an operating standpoint, written criteria force you to decide what your standards actually are before you have three applicants in front of you and start improvising.
Income standard, credit criteria, rental history, background screening, deposits, pets, occupancy standards — determine the policy, make sure it complies with Fair Housing and Texas law, then apply it consistently.
That protects you and makes leasing much cleaner.
The other thing I’d build now is the maintenance operation.
You have an unusual advantage here because you’re a builder.
Before residents arrive, decide what happens when somebody reports no AC at 8:30 on a July night.
Who receives it?
Who decides whether it is an emergency?
Who gets dispatched?
What can they authorize without calling you?
How is the repair documented?
What happens if it is warranty work?
Construction people tend to be very good at fixing things and surprisingly willing to let the process for reporting them remain chaotic.
I’d solve that before Unit 1 is occupied.
And because you’re building all 32 units yourself, I would document every major component by unit as it goes in.
HVAC model and serial number. Water heater. Appliances. Flooring. Paint. Fixtures. Warranty information. Install date. Shutoffs. Panel information. Anything you’ll eventually wish you knew while standing in Unit 27 three years from now.
You have access to that information today for almost no cost.
Getting it later is archaeology.
If your goal is to be full around completion, I’d probably think about the next six months in phases rather than setting one magical “advertising launch” date.
Build the brand, website and interest list now.
Start showing the product when there is enough physically there for prospects to understand what they’re renting.
Begin real pre-leasing when your delivery window is dependable.
Then measure the funnel every week.
How many inquiries did we receive?
Where did they come from?
How many toured?
How many applied?
How many qualified?
Why did people who toured not apply?
If 100 people inquire and four sign leases, the answer probably isn’t “we need more advertising.”
Something farther down the funnel is broken.
That is probably the biggest opportunity I see in your situation.
You already know how to manufacture 32 housing units.
Now you’re building a second machine whose job is to turn 32 empty units into 32 performing leases and then keep them performing.
I’d put as much thought into designing that machine as you put into the buildings.
It will still be there long after the punch list is gone.
- Marshall, TX · Member since 2024 · 3 posts · 1 vote1mo
@Michael Eskenasy thank you very much for this thoughtful reply. It has been very helpful.
- 1moDrew SygitBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
How much time do you want to take away from your construction duties?
How well do you really know how to screen applicants - especially with all the current rental application FRAUD?
Maybe you have a lot of free time and are a quick learner.
If not, you may consider at least hiring a property management company (PMC) to place tenants.
- We do NOT recommend hiring a real estate agent because 95%+ of them are TERRIBLE at screening tenants and there's no way to hold them accountable.Whoever you hire for placing tenants, be sure you ask a LOT of questions about how they screen applicants.
- Many just pull a basic background check for a minimum credit score and look for income > 3 x rent. VERY BASIC!Of course you could also just hire a PMC to handle everything and focus on your next construction project.
Logical Property Management4.9465 Reviews - 1moDiana KhanPro MemberAttorney · 10451 Mill Run Cir #755 Owings Mills, MD 21117 · Member since 2024 · 622 posts · 212 votes
@Tom Goforth, one thing I’d think about now is not only how to get all 32 units rented, but what happens when those leases start coming up for renewal.
If most of the units are leased around the same time, you could end up with a very busy turnover season later. I’d work with a local property manager or attorney to think through a lease-up schedule that helps spread that out where possible.
You’re not just filling 32 units. You’re also setting up the rhythm of how this property will operate for the next few years.
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