All Forum Posts by: Alissa Engel

@Manuel Koschnieder

What’s your goal? Montana is very large and very diverse. The markets in each of those cities is very different. There’s a thread where some of us locals discuss the markets...if you search “Montana”.

@Ken N.

Agree with previous posts....NONE in a perfect scenario. And NEVER in a hallway.

That said, we just finished a unit that’s bigger than we typically go for. We did LVP upstairs, but the basement would have pushed our budget. We did commercial carpet squares. Looks nice (enough), easy to install, and you can replace one square instead of all the carpet. This isn’t going to be ideal in many situations because it’s not all fluffy and soft. But we didn’t want the basement to be that cozy anyways....it encourages applicants with WAY too many people trying to live in the house. Basement is now more of a family rec area and storage, so in this case, the carpet squares will work.

@Dave G.

I agree that porcelain over ceramic is worth the extra cost and effort!

@Kyle Barger

Failure to register makes me think “money issues”....what other reason would you not register your vehicle? What is his credit like? And how did you verify his income? Personally, I’d want to see his tax returns from the previous year. Contractors don’t have the most stable income and are notoriously flakey (sorry to those who aren’t; just my experience). The FB ranting is a big red flag. It’s not the topic...I don’t care about his political views. BUT he sounds like a hot head who is going to give you a hard time every time he doesn’t like something. That’s a tough personality to deal with when you are a new landlord! Don’t ignore your gut....the right person will come along, and you are better off with some vacancy than a terrible tenant.

@Trent Fisher

Another caution on Eastern Montana. It tends to be very boom or bust dependent on oil prices. Honestly, it’s also harsh and less pretty.

I’ve owned in Bozeman, Helena, and Great Falls. Bozeman CAN have amazing appreciation, but it was WRECKED in the last recession. It took 10 years to recover on my condo, but then it shot through the roof and I did very well in the end. But it’s too volatile for me.

Missoula is pricy, and also on the more volatile side. It’s not as extreme as Bozeman though.

Kalispell/The Flathead is beautiful but they struggle with their economy when the market goes down. They don’t have big industry, and it depends on out-of-state money. My dad owns a lot there and it took a big hit in the last recession.

Helena seems to be a bit of a hidden gem. It’s not as trendy and touristy as the above three, but it has good industry (government, military, and a private college). It’s pretty and moderately priced. We flipped a condo there and did descent, but the prices have climbed sharply in the last year.

Great Falls is my favorite. I’ve been invested here for 20 years. Appreciation is slower, but not a lot happened during the last crash. Values dropped a bit and rent a bit, but nothing extreme. We buy 2-3 units and easily make the 1% rule. Main industry is medical, military, refinery. I was raised here, so it may appear stagnant to “outsiders” but I do see growth and good things happening. Also, the college had a major rebranding recently and seems to be growing.

@Jonathan Edwards

My husband (realtor) and I have been investing in Great Falls for 20 years. IMO it’s a great market. I’ve owned in Bozeman and Helena also, but the numbers in Great Falls have always been the best. Happy to help if you are interested.

@Alex Kehaya

In my market, it will be in the market for 8-12 months before you can really low ball. And at that point you will start to see 1-2 price reductions. That when you know the realtor is talking to them about price.

Also consider that you are asking your realtor to spend 1-3 hours talking with the other side and writing up an offer that they know is a joke. You can only do that so many times before the realtor realizes you are a joke and dumps you. Let her know that you want to be considerate of her time and expertise; ask her for the specific criteria she looks for in your market before putting in a low-ball. I bet she knows.

@Dave E.

For me; it happened when I showed him the equity in a duplex I bought at 18. Then I showed him the retirement account that I opened at 18 and had diligently put 10% of my income in. We were 26 and dating at this point.

Yes, this is a very “big picture” way of explaining it, and there are many variables that I didn’t address. But he’s not into finances or detailed numbers, so it worked.

He saw that I had twice the amount in equity. Suddenly, he understood why I was happy spending my extra time working on real estate. He was supportive but not excited like I was.

After a couple years of marriage and him working a job that was miserable...we hit the next level. He started to see the investment properties as his ticket to early freedom. Now, he mostly manages them, is a realtor, and is just as excited as I am.

It’s a process....figure out what she finds important in life and explain how real estate can help her get there. My husband’s biggest motivator was hunting and fishing....as soon as he saw that he would have more than a one week vacation in the Fall to hunt; he was sold. Now, he works a lot, but he can also go hunting and fishing anytime he wants.

@Jonathan R McLaughlin

I can see this IF he had no idea he was deploying. But he did know. He knew the policy. He knew he most likely wouldn’t make the 12 months. AND he signed anyways.

I don’t know the legal answer, but I don’t feel the OPs question is targeting military by any means.

@Lynn M.

I’m military, and I disagree. The military clause is getting abused by many. I recently attended a 1 year training. More than half my class signed two year leases to get reduced rent....knowing full-well that they would get orders in a year. This is just one example.

The military clause is meant to protect military in circumstances that are literally out of their control. Unfortunately, it’s being abused by people who know (at least roughly) when they will PCS and/or deploy well-in-advance. It sounds like this guy knew his timeline when he moved in, knew he wouldn’t make the 12 month requirement, but is hoping to abuse the military clause to get around the rules.

We take a lot of hits as military members...there’s many challenging, inconvenient, and costly moves and deployments. BUT we should still be held responsible for the rules and should be held to a higher moral standard, which means being honest with intentions and future plans.