All Forum Posts by: Brian Briscoe

@Julie Marquez - I wish I had your eye for colors.  And I live in a house that was very nicely painted... but we are finding a lot of hidden gems behind the paint...

Oh, one addition as it's too late to edit.  In my home (granite, hardwood, stainless steel appliances, etc.)…   walls are grey with crown molding and decorative trim in the living spaces and master bedroom.  Other bedrooms are grey-ish, no molding or trim (besides baseboards).  Basement has plain white paint with regular old carpet.  We're okay with that.  We spend most of our time in the living spaces and enjoy the nicer finishes there.  Most of the guests at our house also spend the majority of the time in that area (except the twin boys next door, they go straight for the toys in the kids' bedrooms).

The further away you are from the main living spaces, the less important paint colors are.

Some tenants care and some tenants don't.  Beige is a color that was in vogue several years back... if you have a B-class paint in a C-class asset, you're probably going to be fine doing a touch-up job.  If you have granite and stainless, you need to go grey.

As many have mentioned, grey is the "in" color now... it may rent quicker if painted (though you'll never be able to verify) and you may get a small bump in rent for repainting.  There's a multifamily operator in my neck of the woods that offers to paint an "accent wall" in the bedroom or living room for an additional $10/month.  Sometimes it helps to get creative...

Now, on a personal level, I'm active duty military, so we've been frequent renters and occasional buyers of SFH... wall and carpet color don't matter to me one bit... but they DO matter to my wife. Incidentally, our house is painted various shades of "agreeable" grey with white accents, but there's only three or four shades of grey, definitely not 50....

Okay, your criteria...  

Good schools/good for families... every major city/suburb will have pockets where this is true.  Same for diversity (though the two don't always align).

States with landlord-friendly policies -- look at a political map.  Red states tend to have better laws for landlords.

Growth -- money, jobs, and people, in general, are moving from North/Northeast to South and Southeast, and from West Coast inland.  

Overall, I'm with @Joe Cassandra... Go for the Carolinas: Charlotte, Greenville, or Charleston.  I'm in DC, and the Carolinas is where we own multifamily...

 Always a pleasure to speak with you Yonah!

@Timothy J. Cudjoe

Yes and Yes. Definitely a little bit of both.  I love talking about it, I love helping others invest and make solid returns, I love the excitement closing on larger and larger deals, I even write about it.  So, yes, it is a passion of mine.

But, it is also an means to an end.  I want to be financially free.  I want to have time to dedicate to whichever worthwhile cause is most important to me at the time.  I want to have time to dedicate to my kids.  I want to travel and see new places and meet new people.  Real estate also fuels that dream.

@Andres Osorno

Agree with the above... tenant has entered into an agreement with the agent and you are under no obligation to pay.  It's the same in real estate transactions -- the seller is not obligated to pay the buyers' agents fees.  It is customary that they do though.  If a buyer enters into an agreement with a buyers agent and the seller refuses to pay, the buyer will be left paying the bill.

Follow-on point... Really just thinking outloud here... if you have a large portfolio and want agents to keep bringing you qualified tenants, maybe you reach out to them, let them know your criteria, and also let them know what extra bonus you're willing to pay.  If they have additional financial incentive to go to your properties first, they probably will...  Of course, this should be part of a larger marketing plan based on local dynamics.  You may not need to do so to get qualified tenants.

@John Underwood - I see you're from Greer!  Upstate SC is one of our focus areas for acquisitions.  We have 55 units in Spartanburg and are under contract for 80 in Pickens.  Would love to connect.

@Stephen Spearman - smart move showing your apartment instead of the adjacent one with the tenant.  In situations like these, creativity is what keeps people afloat.  Even though the problem is solved, I'll add a few more thoughts... If showing the apartment a week before move-out gets you a tenant a week earlier, you can calculate the change in revenue.  Then, you could potentially offer to send the current tenant to lunch while you show the property (understand restaurants are open in that area) .  In most areas (and most restaurants), one weeks rent is worth more than buying lunch.  Finding a solution that's mutually agreeable may save you time and put more money in your pocket.

@Stephen Spearman

State law in SC (according to my PM) is that the tenant can deny entry, even with proper notification, in a declared state health emergency. You’re rolling the dice by pushing the issue. Best to wait... it’d be best to wait anyway....

BTW, let’s chat soon. We’re interested in Clemson for our next acquisition.

Brian

Special guest this week is Yonah Weiss, cost segregation professional, social media expert, and host of the Weiss Advice podcast. Come learn how he has dramatically grown his business through social media platforms.At approximately 8:00, we'll begin our virtual networking, in which will divide the group into individual zoom rooms of 3-4 people to give everyone an opportunity to meet and establish relationships with like-minded individuals. See you all online!!