All Forum Posts by: Adam Juodis

@Vincent Parello One thing you have to consider in well water homes is the well water pump. Over time these pumps can burn out, especially if the tenant uses a high volume of water for an extended period of time. (Ex: Filling up a pool, running the hose for hours for gardening, etc.)

You do not have to pay for water bills for a well that is already established, but if you're talking SFRs, you shouldn't be paying for water as the landlord anyways. Pros and Cons wise, if you're not paying the water bill, I think normal municipality water is better, since you will not have to worry about the pump, septage tank, and well.

@Atwan Kwan Offer cash for keys, my friend. 

You might think, 'no way in hell am I going to pay a nonpaying tenant to leave my property', but giving them a few hundred to get out will save you big in the long term of vacancy and court costs. This of course is a very easy answer when the tenant's lease is still pending for a longer period, so you'll have to evaluate what the opportunity cost is of each option. Personally, I've never had to evict, but the court might cost you more than 2 lost months of rent.

@Harry Wilson These properties typically are distressed or are being sold by a motivated seller that is trying to rid themselves of the property for whatever reason. You're most likely not going to get 20-30% off market value in a solid market if the house is in good condition and the seller is in no rush to sell you the house.

Like you stated, direct mail to absentee owners or even inheritance lists would be a good place to start. Other than that, driving for dollars and finding properties that are looking run-down. Maybe even calling for-rent signs and finding a landlord that is stressed out and willing to sell you the property to save themselves from their misery.

@John Johnson I would invite them over. Offer them a drink, talk and get to know them first(If you don't). Bring up what their retirement plans are. Maybe they're planning to move soon off to some place warm and tropical to retire- who knows? That will give you a picture of how they feel about their future plan at that residence. From there, I would redirect the conversation to the theme that you can help advance their plans. See how it escalates from there and see if you want to pursue offering them. Maybe if they're onboard throw in that you'll help them move when the time comes as well. It's certainly a touchy subject, but that's how I would approach it.

@Cam Clinger I am a 'travel hacker' and my favorite card out there right now is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This is a personal card, but it's a Visa Infinite card, so if you have a good income, you can get a nice Credit line. (My CL is $24K on that card). The in-branch bonus for this card is 100k UR, which can be redeemed for over $3K in travel(Online bonus is only $50k now). Annual fee is $450, but you get $300 per year in travel credit(Anything from taxi to hotel to flights), so you already next $150 bonus within 1 year of having the card. You need an excellent Credit score for this card though(750+).

If you spend more than $15k a month, I would recommend going with a Business card(High credit utilization % on personal cards will hinder your credit score).

The Amex Blue for business card is excellent if you're spending alot. There are many different link applications, but I will link the best offer out there currently that's harder to find(Via Cardratings.com). On the first year, the first $50k spent will net 2x Amex Membership rewards, first 2k spent at restaurants/bars will net 10X points(Insane), and 10k points for your first purchase(Easy!)

The Chase Ink and Amex Platinum Business(150k MR bonus, and you get mini bonuses for spending increments of 10k, 25k, etc, but this varies per the current offer).

I am a complete nerd when it comes to this stuff. Don't hesitate to ask me any questions!

Amex Blue for Business top current offer:

https://www262.americanexpress.com/apply-card/busi...

Edit: Just noticed this offer ends 2/1, so jump on it if you're for it!

@Joe Partington so that amounts to around $70k per unit(140k per duplex). I would individually analyze one of the properties separately( Income vs all expenses, just for the one unit). If it makes sense for 1 unit, the same should apply for 12, as long as they are similar. The fact that tenant pays all utilities is very nice in a multifamily, and having a garage is a very valued thing in non-SFR properties. I would certainly dive-deeper into this property if I were you. And he told you $1.7M, but he's older and just wants out. I'm sure you could make that decimal point smaller with some negotiation :)

@Harry Wilson Having that many properties showing good returns is a great problem to have :) Go find a few good investor-friendly real estate agents, but don't waste their and your time by trying to view too many properties. Check out the link below on how to quickly screen a property to tell if its a pretty good deal or not worth your time. If it passes that test, run the numbers fully and if it checks out, then contact your agent and go view it with them. This way it'll narrow down the best prospective properties and save you time. Good luck.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/02/15/analyze-investment-property/

@Brandon Turner's Book on Managing Rental Properties is an excellent read. Gives you all the info you need on how to be a successful landlord. Here's a Amazon link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Managing-Rental-Properties-Screening-ebook/dp/B018W8HSP6

@Eric Brasher Welcome to BP! This is an amazing place for networking and asking questions/finding answers to anything real estate. I've read many times that Nashville is a great market for investing. Good luck with your future REI endeavors.

PS: Fill out your profile fully, with picture. You'll have much more credibility, and a much better chance of other investors approaching you to network and partner.

@Sam Stoffels I would personally recommend house hacking. I'm not very familiar with the St. Paul market, but house hacking is the perfect strategy for newbies looking to break the ice with real estate investing. Not only do the tenants cover a majority or all of your living expenses(If you got a hot deal, you could potentially cash flow a good amount while covering all costs), but you get the close, upfront land-lording experience. You mentioned duplex a few times, but you can also go for a triplex or 4-plex. I'd personally target 4plex>triplex>duplex due to better returns. 

You're right there with the tenants, so accommodating the requests of tenants is much less of hassle, and you can build up lard-lording skills much easier. You can also get into a house-hacking multifamily easier in terms of financing. FHA loan only requires 3.5% down, which is very appealing. If you need to do some repairs, you can just roll in a 203k loan, and pay 3.5% for that as well. I would look to see if you could find any triplexes/4-plexes in a nicer area. Even if you're paying 300-400k for a 4-plex, it might make sense in regards to the local rent comps. Good luck!