All Forum Posts by: Anna Watkins

BP has grown tremendously just in the 3 or 4 years I've been participating, and as with ANY public forum, there will be newbies asking the same hundred questions that another newbie asked last week (and all answered multiple times the week before that).  Some of those folks will become "real" investors, many more won't.   Not everyone can be a librarian and actually do the research in advance  ;-)   C'est la vie.

I AM getting a LOT more colleague requests from people who don't bother to write a personal note introducing themselves and saying why they'd like to connect. Newbie or not, that's not professional conduct.   Unlike FaceBook these days, Bigger Pockets DOES have the option to include message, and -- heads up people! -- you're more likely to get deleted than accepted if you want somebody's time and connection without exchanging something about yourself first.  And if I take the time to look up the person requesting and see no profile info?  Wham -- in the TRASH.

@Evan Parker -- It's pretty common for investment-level properties.  No disclosure just means that the seller/owner likely has no idea about the condition of the property and its innards, and is making no claim about any of it, for instance someone who inherited a rental property and has never lived there or inspected it personally.   It could also mean that they're hiding things.  Either way, it's "caveat emptor" -- it's on you to find out everything you need to know, via inspection and records research.

Sellers throwing off bad vibes are a excellent reason to bail. And because you took that risk (instead of hanging on when it wasn't right), another, better opportunity is coming right down the pike.  Good luck!

Are the other 3 units rented to students or "regulars?"  You have one long-term tenant, presumably not a student, so at 2 miles from campus the property must attract more than just students.  October isn't deal-killer weather yet, even in Iowa!

Especially at public universities, there is always a smaller group of students starting in January, or coming back from a semester away.  A 2/1 isn't too big for one graduate student, so you're not looking for, say, a group of 5 to move in all at once, just one or a couple.

Start advertising the vacant unit the very first second possible, to get the tax advantages for 2018 and maximize your possibilities.  If it's a great unit, you might find someone willing to sleep on a buddy's couch for 2 weeks in order to get the lease.  This worked out for me -- a student wanted one of my houses for the school year, but the previous tenant wasn't leaving until 3 weeks after classes started.  She rented a bedsitter (1 room with half bath) off my brother's office for those 3 weeks, and hung out with friends until she could move into the house.

@Andrew Cox -- another idea (for a long haul) -- investigate various organizations or groups that might want to lease a rooming house for their clients.  There was a BP podcast a couple of years ago about an investor whose entire niche was specialty properties like this -- transition group homes for developmentally disabled adults,  or "clean living" homes for recovering substance abusers (I have a high school classmate who's lived in a home like this for several years).  It would definitely take time and effort to find a good organizational match, but would pay off in long-term stability.

Does your place appeal to university students?  Make connections with various groups and market to a certain lifestyle interest -- artists, or environmentalists or international students or whatever -- there's a lot of turnover with students, but if you set yourself up with a pipeline, it's much easier to fill vacancies from the same interest group.  @Michaela G. in Atlanta has a community of duplexes, rented individually but all to various creative types (artists, musicians, etc) and the land between the buildings is intentionally meant to be common community space.  As @Lydron P Aguillera said, set up the property so that the common areas pull the tenants together, and you might be onto something that works well long term.

In my experience, startups (buying a property and getting it the way you want) are always relatively expensive.  The rooming house is going through that period now - cleaning, repairs, etc -- , because the inherited tenants weren't part of YOUR program. Don't jump ship yet.  I'd hang in there, get good tenants (DON"T just take whoever you can get to fill the spot. That's probably how the place got bedbugs!), settle in with the PM, and then re-evaluate.  If you do decide to sell, you'll get a better deal with all that in place.  It's one of the things that sold you on it when you bought, right?? 

I don't know the Windsor student market, but I've got a 5-br student rental in Georgia that's rented by the room instead of by the whole house (my son is one of the "tenants"), and I'm just closing out the first year.  Last year was pulling up a house full of carpet, replacing a 32-year-old AC unit, lots of other energy-efficiency upgrades (rent includes utilities), and only 3 roommates for 4 bedrooms.  Starting this month for the coming year, all bedrooms are rented to a good bunch of boys, and I've got better systems and plans in place, and more income to pay for it all.  The first time around the cycle with anything new is more about learning and preparing than anything else.

@Angela Yan - City of Decatur would be great for AirBnb, but you have to know your neighborhoods & the train stations. There are three Marta stations to consider - East Lake to the west (Oakhurst neighborhood in Decatur and Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta), Decatur (right under the Square) and Avondale (to the east of downtown Decatur).  However, Decatur is SO freakin' expensive (but the other areas like Midtown & Beltline are crazy $$ too) that it's not going to be fantastic strictly from the investment point of view.  Balance out your own convenience and comfort when you're in town with the added rental income when you're not, and it may make sense.

Is there not the possibility of a debt ceiling for student loans?  The main issue is the ability to run up astronomical unsecured debt in the first place.  I haven't thought about it deeply, but I could see a rationale for private loans being subject to bankruptcy (they're not unlike credit cards), but not government ones.  At least there's some sort of limit to government loan totals.

 I have two kids in college, with some savings but nowhere near tuition for two. One is in private school with fantastic financial aid, the other is at a 2nd-tier state school living (house-hacking, with roommates) in a house that I bought near campus.  My out-of-pocket costs are roughly equal for each kid (less now for the house-hacker now that he is out of the dorm).

 In our situation, subsidized student loans are definitely in the picture -- it's "free money" until school ends, and I figure this is their "skin in the game" for the college education. If I can assist with repayment when they're done, I will, but no guarantees.  No unsubsidized loans if I can help it, and for sure no private ones.

The total for 4 years is around $20,000, which is roughly equivalent to the cost of a new car, and my own mom-imposed ceiling for the kids' loan debt.  If the college education isn't as valuable as a new car, then they need to quit now and enter the real grown-up world!

@Juan Jackson - Thanks, that's one of the options I thought of.  I also saw that HomeDepot has left and right sliding doors that together are the right size for a 12' space.  I've got a door guy coming this week and maybe he'll have some additional ideas. It's the $$ that's really killing me.  But, steady long term tenants and capital investment . . . probably worth it.

I have a 1957 3 BR/1.5 bath ranch house in the Belvedere neighborhood of Decatur / Atlanta, GA.  The original sliding door going out to the deck may be beyond repair, and I'm looking for ideas on how best to spend $$ to replace it.  The rough opening is approximately 80" x 144" (not quite as tall as modern doors).

Who's had to do this?  The house is currently a rental (let's say B-ish class) but the 10-year-ish exist strategy might be to fix and flip retail, depending on how the market is when I'm ready.  Do I put money into whatever the end product might be (french doors or a window/hinged door combination), or just do a straight modern-quality replacement for now?  We're talking $2,500-$3,500 for a straight replacement.  

Is there a cheaper and still decent option, besides just bricking it all in?  All creative ideas welcome!