All Forum Posts by: Ariel Smith

@Ken Fitz Do not use the seller/OWNER as your agent! Dual agency can already be tricky when an agent is representing both seller and buyer's interests but you're saying that this agent is the owner as well? Guess whose interest they have in mind? Not yours.

Either pay an attorney or let an agent represent you.

@Anthony Barbato You should also ask if the seller is willing to cooperate with a buyer's agent if you want to have a realtor represent you in the sale. This way, they will pay out the commission and you still get to be represented for free.

@Kyle McCorkel you are definitely on the right track with your thinking. I would want to know the average lease length that these tenants are looking for. Do they stay for a few months at a time on rotations or are they there for a traditional school year (August - June)? This will determine whether or not to offer the units fully furnished. I find that if tenants are staying close to a year, they typically have their own furniture and see it as more of a permanent move, as in they are not keeping another primary residence somewhere. If they are staying for a few months at a time, I would definitely offer the units furnished since it will be more of a temporary stay. 

I think reaching out to build a relationship with the medical center is a great idea. For a rental I manage in my area, we have connections at Stanford Medical that reach out to my owner directly and ask her if she has available housing. They have an approved list of owners they contact when they need something in particular and she is one of them. Another way to market to this niche is through traditional avenues like Craigslist, Airbnb, VRBO, CHBO, etc. or by posting on the university's housing boards. There are also a large number of Facebook groups you can join to market your properties as well.

@Megan McCrea I'll PM you!

@Jade White do not host open houses when you don't have the listing and it is not marketed properly. That is just a recipe for disaster for the reasons you already mentioned, plus the seller will honestly just probably think you are incompetent (which is not true) simply because nobody showed.

@Keong Kam welcome from the Bay Area! Happy to have you and to see what you end up doing with your out of state investment journey!

@Ed Suarez my suggestion would be to find a mentor! I'm not sure which brokerage you work for, but find someone who would be willing to give you guidance and help you learn to find clients. Once you find clients, you can split the deals with your mentor to start so that they can help you with the transaction. Once you gain experience, you can venture out fully on your own. Best of luck!

@Myka Artis congrats on becoming a superhost! I just got mine as well :)

I'm not sure about rental restrictions, but mobile home parks can be tricky because you are renting the land and have no control of how much it will increase (or how often). You are a renter and are at the mercy of the park owner. This could quickly eat into your profits over time so it's something to greatly consider.

@Joey Harrison Hire a realtor on your side to represent you. You will be happy you did in the long run.

@Kevin Lefeuvre thanks for the explanation! I think your assumptions are probably correct in that they probably found another place to stay and are looking to refund their money. I would not refund in your case and just try not to respond anymore and definitely don't leave them a review (it will prompt them to review you) and hopefully they just do not review at all. You did all you could and even went above and beyond in my opinion!