All Forum Posts by: Ali Boone
Ali Boone has started 26 posts and replied 6252 times.
Post: AirBnB vs Traditional rentals
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
I love everything Jon said, and I would just add two major risks to AirBnB, which both drive me to a major suggestion if you decide to go that route...
The first risk is if AirBnB gets outlawed where you buy. I live in West Los Angeles and it's now illegal here. And then the cities that aren't banning it, some have ended up putting restrictions on how much you can do it, etc. So literally the city/county could stop it cold under your feet (risk of that happening depends on where it is).
The second risk is, hello 2020... all vacation travel stops for an extended amount of time. No AirBnB-ers to rent your place.
People will always need long-term rentals and cities will never ban that. The mitigation to these risks is to run the numbers on the property you plan to AirBnB as a long-term rental and see how those shake out. So that way, worst case, you can covert it to a long-term rental if something were to happen to AirBnB-ing.
Post: In state or out of state to start out?
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Would have to know what the deals near you could profit to be able to say if turnkey or out-of-state is "less profitable" than what's near you. I'd compare the entry prices for both options as well as the cash flow for both options, and see what you come up with.
Post: ATL market, who closed on GREAT deals?
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Depends on what you mean by a "great" deal. I would argue Atlanta generally doesn't have "great" deals anymore. That was years ago. But there is still cash flow (not huge amounts, but it's there) and there are still deals.
Post: Can someone please tell me what the catch is with turnkey!
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
The "catch" to turnkeys is that they aren't perfect. The formula suggests they should be, but they aren't. They are still rental properties. They require due diligence on the part of the interested investor and some oversight.
The other downfalls to turnkeys, none I would necessarily consider "catches" as much as just the fact that they aren't perfect:
- you're buying at market value without room to force appreciation outside of what the market itself can push for you
- they tempt a grave misunderstanding of how hands-off they really are... they are arguably the most hands-off way to invest in a rental property, but for some reason that phrasing has triggered people to also be brainless and not stay in charge of their own investments
Otherwise, those things aside... if you understand they aren't perfect, you learn how to do thorough due diligence on them (as you should), they can be great! I have all my originals turnkeys I ever bought and yes I absolutely learned some hard lessons, but I'd continue to buy turnkey today if I were investing right now. Hands-down.
Yeah, what's this app? Never heard of it.
Post: Can someone please tell me what the catch is with turnkey!
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Darius Ogloza:
Some great advice here. If you do not have the time, patience, knowledge or inclination to get your hands dirty in real estate, but still want real estate returns, buy a publicly traded REIT and avoid unexpected repair bills, non-paying tenants, slow-paying tenants, evictions, and insane drama from time to time.
Of the millions of posts on this amazing website, I have yet to see someone show in actual numbers a positive 5+ year return on a turnkey investment. Certainly nothing to suggest you will beat the 9-10% you will get on a publicly traded REIT. Happy to be corrected/instructed on this point if anyone is game.
I've been knee-deep in turnkey world since 2011, both with my own turnkey investments and working with people with them more or less full-time, and in all that time and with the hundreds of turnkey buyers I've worked with, I've never seen any of the ones who have good experiences hanging out on BiggerPockets after they buy the property(ies). No reason to... they got what they came for--knowledge and connections. Then they go back to their lives. It's, I think, why there are so few reviews on turnkeys providers, no one talks about their turnkey properties, etc. They just aren't on here anymore because they have no reason to be unless they start looking into a different strategy.
Post: Experience with turn key
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Kyle Nelson:
I will put in a good word for @Ali Boone, she is very helpful in educating people on turnkey properties. She has a lot of good articles on BP published as well. Definitely join her turnkey rental properties group on Facebook if you have interest in that type of investing, I’ve learned a ton and for free!
Ahhh, thanks!! Appreciate the shout-out and super glad to hear it's all been helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Post: Turnkey Investing in Birmingham AL
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Greg Shell:
@Ali Boone
All that you mentioned and just overall poor management. One property has never had a stable tenant the entire time I’ve owned it. The first tenant placed only paid two months rent and never paid again. The eviction took the better part of a year to complete with excuses from Spartan that “it wasn’t their fault...” so I got on the phone and called the courthouse and found out that what they were telling me wasn’t true at all. There is more to it but my point being as an owner from 800 miles away I shouldn’t have to be the person to figure it out and bring it to their attention.
I operate my own portfolio in Florida so I know the challenges in the business but what is going on there with Spartan is unacceptable. I’ve been speaking with other PM’s and brokers in Birmingham and am hearing that there are know problems going on at Spartan.
Ooof. I don't like hearing that about any turnkey provider.
Post: Turnkey Investing in Birmingham AL
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Greg Shell:
@Ali Boone
I second that. My Spartan properties have been an epic fail. Overpriced and a -$20K net profit after 4 years. Happened to be looking for new property management when I saw this.
Ahhhh man. So sorry to hear that! I don't like hearing that about any turnkey... turnkeys can be so good, but then some provider does something to make everyone think they're terrible. Is the -$20k net profit because of repairs? Vacancies? What's been the crux of the problem?
Post: Anybody there investing in San Diego? Should I go somewhere else?
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Sakib J.:
@Ali Boone what mkts are you in these days?
I am seeking to enter turnkey ppties. Any recommendations?
I'm all over the place :) Yeah, hit me up. I have a turnkeys Facebook group, turnkeys YouTube channel, work with lots of markets/providers, etc. Happy to help.
Post: House hacking in San Francisco
- Real Estate Coach
- Venice Beach, CA
- Posts 6,500
- Votes 3,174
Originally posted by @Charles Jackson:
I am reading the posts in various forums but i am still at a loss as to what house hacking actually is. can someone take the time to explain it to the newbie.
I live in Toronto, Canada and am just educating myself and preparing to enter in the to wonderful world of real estate.
@Minna Folkman @Blake Edwards @Ali Boone @Arlen Chou @Abhishek Banerjee
hope someone is able to help me understand what this house hacking is.
Thanks,
Charles
Sure. It's when you buy a property with the intention of you living in a portion of it while renting the rest out to tenants. It could be a multi-family property where you live in one unit and rent out the other units, or it could be a single-family house where you live in it and rent out the other rooms of it. The idea is to have tenants help you pay your own mortgage, lessening your own living expenses while having an investment property.