All Forum Posts by: Terri Pour-Rastegar

I'm a little late to this game, but here are the tools I use. And the key here is "tools"--not "tool". I do not have the benefit of acess to the MLS.

I do not use Zillow, as I have found them to be far off from my personal, intimate knowledge of the Charlotte NC market (I live here and invest here).

I do use Homes.com, trulia.com and realtor.com. I also always run comps from the county website where the property is located. Mecklenburg's is pretty good--it's called polaris. It's part of their GIS system. I combine the data from those sources and make my own determination.

I'm usually dead-on with my figures if I stick with this sytem.

Hmmmm.... so you all seem to have extra liability coverage on your properties. I carry a $2M umbrella policy in addition to individual Landlord Policies. Do you think that does the trick, or should I have extra liability coverage on each property too.

Here's an example of one of my policies (with State Farm, NC):

Premium = $473
Deductible = 1% ($1,352)
Dwelling = $135,200
Dwelling extension = $13,520
Personal property = $6760
Loss of Rents = actual loss
Business liability = $300,000
Annual Aggregate = $600,000
Medical Payments (ea person) = $1,000 (I guess that should be more)

I get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals throughout the community of elderly folks in my favorite neighborhood. They like how I restore the old mill houses and get good tenants as their neighbors, so I've gotten a good reputation.

Of course, I'm often dealing with older folks or their kids. They're usually needing to leave the home they've lived in most of their lives, and emotions and anxiety run high. So I avoid any pushy sales tactics, and I put all my cards on the table. I make sure I know what I think the house is worth before I even show up on their doorstep. I spend all the time I need to sit and chat, so they can get comfortable with me. If their children are not involved, I nearly insist that they get involved. I do not want to be accused of taking advantage of anyone. After all of that, I tell them what I think the house is worth on the market, but that they need to spend $X to get it ready, then wait for an offer, and then pay the listing agent $X. Then I say that I wish I could pay them what it's worth, but that since I'm an investor, I must pay less. So, I can offer them $X today, and close in so many days, or whenever they're ready (one lady needed a few months, and that was fine with me).

Sometimes, the homeowner has been pleasantly surprised at how much their home is worth and has decided not to sell it to me. That's OK too--I refer them to my favorite real estate agent and help them get a great deal. So, I didn't buy the house. They still passed my name on to their friends and neighbors, and that gets me more leads. More than that, I made a sweet little old lady (and her family) very happy and a little richer. You can't put a price on that.

I also take the time to determine if they need help clearing the house out or moving or whatever. Sometimes they breathe a sigh of relief when they learn that they can take whatever they want out of the house and that I will clear out whatever they leave behind. It's a day of labor and a dump fee (or tax-deductible donation) for me, but it's a major load off their shoulders.

If they sign a contract, I'll often have the yardwork taken care of from then on, too.

I don't know how much of a "tactic" this is. I guess it's more of a strategy.

I know I'm a little late to this thread, but here's my 2 cents.

In the 10+ years I've been a landlord, I've quite often received more than one application, and it is usually difficult to decide which tenant to accept. (Not a bad problem to have). Once I make my decision, I simply notify the rejected tenant that "a more qualified applicant has been accepted." Rejection does not have to be based strictly on income, credit score, references, etc.

Also, I do judge books by their covers--I don't feel there is anything wrong with it. If you are slovenly dressed, likely that's how the house will look if you rent from me. If you're car is full of crap and dirty, guess how the house is going to look. If the kids you drag along with you to see the rental are filthy and disrespectful of their own parents (or me), your family will not likely have respect for my property either. Yes, sometimes, I have probably judged prospective tenants wrong by some of these measures. I can live with that because usually I'm dead-on.

And if you have an 'excellently qualified' tenant, don't be afraid just because they may quickly become homeowners and leave you. So what? First of all, 3 of my fabulous and long-term, tenants are excellently qualified--I even asked them why they don't just buy a house, and they just don't want to bother with the hassle. For those others who could buy a house--and want to one day--they stay 3, 4 years or so, take excellent care of the property, pay top dollar for rent, and then buy a home and leave mine. I send them a house-warming gift, put a sign in the yard, and jack the rent up. I do not see a problem here. Everyone is so afraid of turnover. Yes, if you have a new tenant in a place every 6-12 months, you have a problem. Review your methods. But every few years? No big deal.

By now, I'm sure you've chosen your tenant, and I wish you complete success.

I am looking for a comprehensive checklist of the questions to ask and information to confirm before moving forward with the acquisition of an apartment complex. I have a potentially great deal sitting in front of me, but I'm sure I'm not hitting all the important points. This would be my first MFH, and it's a doozy--in a good way. ;)

I appreciate the help. Of course, if I get this thing, I'm going to need someone to help me fund it too--I'd be grateful for recommendations in that department. Many of the commercial lending contacts I've had no longer handle projects of this magnitude ($3M+).

Thanks!!!

MikeOH, no, I'm not gullable in the least bit. You've gotta read the whole thread--there's more to it than this. All of the landlords, owners, property managers at these places said he was never a tenant at these places. The one place where he lived for just 2 months was a temporary roommate situation.

Rich hit the nail on the head with this one. Although investors do buy-sell-rent properties across all price points and in all kinds of neighborhoods, especially as a newbie, you should stay away from either market extreme--stick with the houses that attract first- or second-home buyers. These homes will also give you multiple exit strategies, if you buy them right; the two easiest being: either sell it or rent it out. No matter what you buy, always have at least 2 exit plans to save your butt.

I will add this: drive through the neighborhoods you're considering investing in. Would you live there? Well, maybe not, but only because you could afford a nicer home, maybe. But think: would you let your single-mother girlfriend or your sister live there? If your answer is no, I generally say keep looking. The exception to this is if this is an up-and-coming neighborhood. An experienced realtor who knows this neighborhood well will be able to help you in that (but do your own homework too--never rely solely on what a realtor or seller tells you). You can also look up this information on your county's website (generally)--call your local clerk of records to find out where this information is. This is how it works in the US anyway--I am not sure about Mumbai.

Those were my 2 cents. Hope it helps. Let us know how it goes!!!

BTW, when I first saw your name, I thought maybe you were Persian (until I saw you're from Mumbai). My in-laws are Persian, and "Mubarak" means "congratulations" or "it's time to celebrate." So you have a very celebratory name! Is it the same meaning in your heritage?

All excellent lines of reason! And they all explain why I have SFHs and will always continue to acquire more, but am also really wanting to get ahold of a MF--any size.

The problem is finding one for what I consider a decent price. I'm a pretty stingy investor (aren't we all?), so I have yet to find any that cash flow well enough for me to sink decent money into it. If anyone comes across a good deal in the Charlotte NC area, let me know!!!

Great discussion!

Technically, I find good deals all of the time, but I guess they're not really good deals afterall, if the homeowners can't truly understand the real value of their property in today's market.

I've never had a problem selling my properties--even on my own without a realtor. I don't generally let financing be my problem--I have a friend who is a terrific lender, and she can fund just about anything. If she can't, she won't blow sunshine up your skirt--she knows the programs like the back of her hand. I run my properties by her, and she tells me what kind of borrowers can handle the deal.

Contractors . . . it's a sticky situation that's improving . . partly because I've finally grown a spine, as my husband says. It's a work in progress.

My #1 problem is lack of time. For example, with this latest property I had for rent, I received a minimum of about 25 phone calls, plus emails, every day. I don't understand it, frankly, cuz this house is in the hood, and I priced it at the top of the market just to see what happened. Well, it worked! Signed my new tenant today, in fact.

Sorry . . . I guess I rambled a little bit here. ;)

You all touched on exactly how I've been feeling about this. This guy's landlord references are excellent--the landlords raved about him. His credit is good--I don't expect excellent. He makes plenty of money. When I met him, he was clean-cut, and his car appeared well maintained and clean. You can learn alot about a tenant in the first few minutes of meeting them.

But I do a very thorough application process--and it's exactly the same for every single tenant, no matter what. In fact, in advance, I warn them that I will immediately reject an application for any one of the following: missing or deceptive information, excessive problems on credit reports, bad landlord references, or even one single eviction or filing. And I collect an application fee every time. That eliminates a lot of people right up front.

I've liked this guy from the first meeting, through a few phone calls, and throughout all of his screening . . . until the eviction report. When I got it, it just didn't sit right with me--it completely contradicts everything else I'd learned. This had to be a mistake.

At the end of the day--this day, to be exact--I decided to follow my insticts and take a chance and sign him up. To play it safe, I went with a month-to-month lease (which I've been leaning towards anyway). That way, if he doesn't work out, I can end it pretty simply.

Thanks for reminding me that it's OK to go with your gut once in awhile. Now let's hope he turns out to be the good tenant his landlords said he is . . .

Thanks again!!!