All Forum Posts by: Ken Breeze

Get smarter on section 8. Make no assumptions. Your Tenant is your client. She’s a human being, say hello and meet her. Things are often it as they seem. We have a responsibility and obligation to create he world that we want to live in.

Location. Location. Location. I know it’s boring to hear it again and from everyone, but it’s true. Your Airbnb strategy has to work even without a short term rental plan. Research the area, demographics, jobs, companies moving in, Starbucks and malls, restaurants, hospitals, schools and all other life amenities near by. Don’t invest in MSAs under 250k population. You’re looking for growth.

Allow non dangerous breeds. Charge extra and demand insurance. Love- and drug-, apologies, cigarette/vape “addicts” (fans) will pay for their “freedom”.

Keep the clause. Let the PM do their job. They will vape anyway. People are people. Five them a tad of fresno in heir full lives (no judgement, life can be hard). Just add preventative measures and insurance responsibilities to the tenant wanting this freedom/addiction. Smokers and pet lovers will pay extra for this freedom.

@Nina Atenburger I'm glad you're taking screenshots of some of my posts since BP keeps deleting some of my stuff. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's a bit annoyed about their too strict posting regulations. I won't get into the details of how much it pizzles me off. It's demotivating and at some point becomes irrelevant to try to "add value" to the community. It's just too dang complicated.

That said, how's everything going on your travels and how is Berlin coming along? I hear that when renting a place in Germany, and you live in it, you have the right to short-term sub-rent as much as you like, even if the lease spells out the contrary. From my understanding that paragraph snuck its way into all lease agreements and became a common thing so that everyone thinks it's law - it's not.

But then again as AirBnB-ers, we need to have a google alerts set to update us on policy changes wherever we have vacation real state.

As a commercial multifamily syndicator, I always account for Plan A, an AirBnB option with 2x or 3x normal rent, plus Plan B, a conservative long-term rental underwriting and business plan in case policies change and I need to phase over to long-term tenants.

Let's keep in touch.

Good call @Hunter Beck I'll jump on that bandwagon since we're working on a few deals in various Texas sub-markets as well. @Chris Quinn I sent you a message to hook up. Cheers, Ken

Hey @Hunter Beck I can't give you much detailed lending advice, but @Harjeet Bhatti already took care of that ;-)

In your bio you say you're looking for buy and hold real estate and above you mention you're looking for a home. Do you mean SFR, small MFR or commercial MF (CRE)? The whole game changes for the better (interest rates, possibilities, partnership, OPM, etc.) when you shift to commercial (5+ units).

I looked at Bryan/College Station a few times and it fell through our buying criteria having less than 250K in population. Some of my peers won't touch anything under 750K. I am also curious to find out more on the primary University character of the location. How does that play out? Not knowing the details, it seems risky to bet on a pretty much single type of demographics - students.

Thoughts?

Yep, I'm a commercial multifamily syndicator always seeking private equity investors and cosponsors to grow our portfolio together and thus am a bit bias on what real estate strategy to focus on since it has the biggest leverage and scaling possibilities of all strategies. I hope you won't hold that against me ;-) 

Let's keep in touch.

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Great subject @Stephen Swiatek, this is a can of worms or a Pandora's Box privacy topic. Love it ;-) Forgive me for going a bit deeper on this one ;-) but I believe it's relevant and important enough for us to divulge even into a separate reaaaaaal long discussion thread. That said...

For anyone interested, there are huge concerns from the European perspective: devices like Ring are prohibited in the EU. There is no general video or audio surveillance allowed on the continent of 440 million citizens which represent a huge market. And this is just the beginning. There will be a much bigger challenge coming our way with the challenges of surveillance, AI, IoT and privacy in the years to come.

We are all bias towards our agenda, as am I, due to our backgrounds and past experiences. Having grown up as the generation after the so-called "Lost Generation" of post-WWII Germany, one might want to explore why Europeans and other countries have a different stance on privacy issues. 

We've seen the dark side. With huge and unstoppable government and private entities silently conquering and controlling our lives, reading the words I write and as you read them, delivering food and anything to our doorsteps with drones or driverless cars, gathering more and more information on your every secret, we might want to think twice before we continue to let Big Brother (Aldous Huxley anyone) into our backyards, pools, and bedrooms to watch and record our every move - forever. 

There's a great and concerning movie from 1970 named  "Colossus - The Forbidden Project" that foreshadowed what we have let happen all in the name of convenience. But that's more fuel for another thread. This stuff goes real deep. To the core. It's not just a doorbell with a camera.

It's all about perspective -  How about setting up and leading a successful neighborhood watch? You may want to leave some privacy to your tenants - that builds more trust than cameras and spy software. People will do bad - with or without cameras because we are humans. BTW, fake cameras, signs, and decals are a great deterrent, are way cheaper and protect your customer's privacy. 

But there are also alternatives:

• Install a home security system.
• Get a dog.
• Landscape wisely.
• Put up motion detecting outdoor lights.
• Install window and door alarms.
• Put in smarter locks.
• Install fake security cameras.
• Look like you’re home.

The better question is: how does your tenant feel about it? Why not run an online survey via email or SMS, engage your tenants and ask them if they would mind cameras and a ring doorbell system. They may see benefits for themselves: living in a more secure neighborhood or voice concerns and suggestions. Get them on your side, involve them, empower your community and let them decide.

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