All Forum Posts by: Amir Khan

Quote from @Haley Sater:

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $124,000
Cash invested: $40,000

This duplex was the perfect starter investment. We ended up working on it for a whole year before both sides were rented but it paid off and now rents for $3000 a month.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was our neighbor house l, so naturally we cared about how it would look and how well taken care of it would be, so we just decided to buy it. We were very nervous at first that it would be a money pit, and it was for a while but now cash flows $1600 with both sides rented

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Saw the for sale sign go up 😅

How did you finance this deal?

Partnered with another investor who could front more cash and had to get additional co-signers

How did you add value to the deal?

We did a lot of the labor to fix it up ourselves. Rehab on this house included, patching the roof, replacing and tiling the bathroom, sanding, staining and sealing hardwood floors, reframing and drywalling a cutout arch between kitchen and dinning room, fixing some electrical, painting, Rescreening a porch, building a fence, planted walls and ceiling and installing a new kitchen, installing French drain, added insulation and probably more that I can’t even remember.

What was the outcome?

It’s beautiful, we’ve had no trouble getting tenets!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Doing it yourself may take twice or three times as long but then you know what you’re doing and if it’s worth contacting out in the future. Also you just have to take it day by day.

 Congratulations! Great start...

@Tell Szpp sounds like it could be an owner who is tired of being a landlord. You should look for big issues; roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing systems, other than that, most issues are usually curable affordably. 

@ELI MER I have been using Podio for many years. Though, I use Podio for my other (non-real estate related business). As you may know, Podio is web-based which allows custom apps which can be automated by talking to your other web-based applications via Zapier. There are also automation feature within Podio. I know there are a lot of REI using Podio and there are even some custom REI apps within Podio.

@Nathan Witte congratulations on starting early! While you are saving for down payment, keep reading REI books and absorb as much as you can from REI podcasts. Here are few things that will help you get to buying your first property:

1. Make a list of lenders, then approach them and tell them your plan. They will help you figure out how much you can afford based on your income. This will help you figure out how much down payment/closing costs you need.

2. Once you've done above, now you can start researching and looking at markets where you would like to purchase your first property. Even though you are not ready to buy now, this exercise will help you understand REI dynamics of the market and what type of inventory sells for how much..

3. Search for real good real estate broker/agent who works with investors. Someone who does not mind answering your questions. One great place to find one may be at your local REIA.

Hope this helps..

Congratulations! In order to manage it yourself, most importantly know the local real estate laws, specifically relating to tenants. Set up your procedures (in line with local RE laws) for:

1. Screening tenants, lease signing, deposit requirement, walkthrough process (ensure to take pictures)..

2. Maintenance request and follow up process. Who will do your maintenance work?

3. Rent collection process. Ensuring tenants know how you would like rent to be paid, late fee etc.

4. Eviction process. Ensure written out in tenant lease and how you are going to pursue it.

5. Turn over process: Be prepared if/when an eviction is in process, you are ready with your crew to turn over the unit for next tenant.

Hope that helps...DM me if you like to chat for more tips..

@Janette Tarbell you can do it, many of us started exactly like you: scared! This is what I did: I found a wholesaler in my market, who was good at primarily finding SFH and rehabbing them. I figured out the value of the property and value as a turn-key with a tenant in it. I put a contract on his property (with assignment clause), began placing tenant in the property with wholesaler's cooperation. I then found investor who wanted to buy a 'turn key' rental and assigned the contract. However, I did ton's of these many years ago AND, I was always prepared to buy the property myself if I could not assign it...hope that helps. DM me if you need to chat..

@Jesse Dickens I am not familiar with this course. However, by googling I found few reviews at BBB: https://www.bbb.org/us/az/temp...

Congratulations, quite an achievement!

@Sheryl Sitman great post, loved your video!