All Forum Posts by: Brandon Vukelich

@John Lasher I considered it education, like a certification or minor degree. I have not started, completed or participated in a syndication so tough to assess an ROI at this time. I was pretty naive going in and the legal components I learned may have prevented me from expensive legal issues at some point. (aka how to raise money legally) So that was immensely valuable. You could absolutely save the money and over time, learn everything I learned by listening to podcasts, reading books and watching youtube videos (except having the regular check ins with a mentor). So some may say $30k is not worth it but I know others that launched successful syndication businesses from it. To each their own.

Also, this was 2020-2021 when the market was nuts and every syndicator was looking like a rockstar beating expectations on their deals. I was not comfortable with the market and interest rate conditions, so I elected to hold off. I will likely do one in the future so the knowledge is still there when I need it.

Hey Christopher,

Regarding utilities, if they are not on separate meters, I highly encourage implementing RUBS for w/s/t. This has become very commonplace in the Seattle area (I'm assuming your property is there) for many years. Either a percentage, based on # of occupants per unit, unit size, etc. I'm not a fan of just including a flat fee in rent. Tenants are more invested in conserving water if they see a pro-rated bill each month. Otherwise, nothing to stop them from taking 5 showers a day and running 10 loads of laundry. A flat $50/month wouldn't recapture the usage.

We rarely see cable/internet provided. Let the cable company chase the tenant for payment of that service.

Yes, require renters insurance. 

Also if you are selling, hopefully your agent has advised you but good practice to have a vacant unit to open the buyer pool to owner-occupied buyers/house hackers. If all three units are on long-term leases that don't expire soon, you'll likely exclude many potential buyers. Best wishes on the sale!

@John Lasher if you want to focus on MF, especially in the North Florida markets, I highly recommend you speak to Beau Beery. He's not a coach for investors but he's my coach as a commercial multifamily broker. He KNOWS multifamily and even wrote a book on how to be a solid MF investor. Speak to him before you hire a guru.

Also, I went through the Michael Blank mentor program a few years ago for $30,000. Like you, I wanted accelerated learning and a network. It taught me high level knowledge of syndication and a lot of the legal aspects, which I found very valuable in order to speak to a higher level of investors, beyond mom & pops. I also got the deal analyzer, which was handy and a free t-shirt. LOL!

Best wishes on your journey!

Go on Amazon and search "The Rockstar Real Estate Agent Roadmap" book. :) It doesn't talk or teach about making millions as an agent but helps you understand what a career typically looks like and things to consider before jumping in. Best wishes on your real estate journey!

I've been a BP Featured Agent for many years, targeting multifamily investors and house-hackers. It has taken some fine-tuning of my profile but for me and my market, the leads have been an incredible source of revenue, especially since 2020. I only pay for BP leads and all other business comes from my sphere/referrals. I'm convinced that making tweaks to my BP profile along with actually being a multifamily investor myself contributes to my lead conversion success. I still get junk leads but that is to be expected on just about every online lead platform. In 2024, I noticed an increase in BP leads that have been high net worth investors reaching out wanting to 1031 into bigger properties. The lead avatar will be different for every market. For me, over 90% work in tech and have $150-500k for an acquisition and...99% of the leads are buyers. I've only had one listing transaction from my BP leads.

Most are complete noobs or have limited REI experience with a rental or two. They take a lot of nurturing, educating and patience. I have a 3-step process I put them through before we actually agree to work together. Most take 6-9 months to find the right asset to buy but occasionally some convert within 90 days. Plus I have many repeat BP leads/clients.

Definitely think it is a step in the right direction and hope more states follow. Although in WA, is it pathetically easy to get licensed so it may not solve much here if we went that route. I have no problem with wholesaling and do it on occasion myself but I hate hearing stories of elderly or clueless people being taken advantage of by some skeezy wholesalers. When I meet with property owners, I give them all the options: quick cash sale, seller financing, list it publicly, etc. Most only talk to one wholesaler and think a quick cash offer is their only solution, usually leaving way too much on the table.

Ditto @Nathan Gesner. Regarding the original post, there is no "status quo" for compensation or terms. To each their own. For me, it is very client specific. That is how I've operated for years, well before the NAR fiasco and as agents, we have always been advised from referring to status quo, standard, typical, etc when it relates to commissions.

It continues to amaze me how many buyers/investors believe the agent value is finding them "deals." That should rarely be the priority in the agent-client relationship and what makes a "good" deal is a relative term. I realize many opportunities lately are going to be found in our MLS, Zillow, FB groups, wholesalers' distribution lists, etc. I'll send my off market or wholesale deals to non-exclusive buyers but only after my VIP list of buyers/investors have had a first look and decided to pass. This is a two-way relationship business. Unless you're a very seasoned investors, the value in committing to the right agent should be in their vast local market knowledge, expertise of their lane, transactional experience and so on. I'm not just paid to help navigate the 15- to 90-day transaction but the value comes in the 15 years as a licensed broker plus the 20+ years as an investor. Being a solid investor friendly agent doesn't solely rely on pitching people off market opportunities.

Thanks again @Michael Baum. Yes the lack of identical apples-to-apples comps has been an issue in the area for years. Appreciate you taking a quick look but Steilacoom is a different market than North Tacoma. The unobstructed water views for both front STR units can be challenging to determine additional value compared to other 3-unit properties without views. With the massive increase in STR properties in the US, I am hopeful that lenders and appraisers will evolve to apply income/exp metrics to STR deals specifically, on top of generic property comps.

@Nathan Gesner Yes, I'm fairly confident if we were to hold long term, we'll do just fine. I want to exit as I don't get any personal use from the STR being 20 mins from home and would rather apply the capital to another opportunity in multifamily (LTR) or another STR in Hawaii where my brother is a broker and now manages STRs. My regret is not buying one in Hawaii or somewhere else where my family could spend some vacation time. Plus STRs are not the model for me. We bought it because it is a beautiful property in solid location and I wanted to learn the STR model. It's too much like the hospitality business rather than a rental. If I didn't have two amazing biz partners, I would have already likely sold it.

BTW, I could have mentioned earlier, when we refi'd in 2022 the appraiser came in at 1,300,000 and verbally told me that he struggled as he believed the property was likely worth more based on the location, views, income. I was able to push back and provided more data, he adjusted to $1,335,000.

@Michael Baum yep, we're good. Just looking to sell in the near future and trying to wrap my head around what a potential STR buyer will expect. If the $107k NOI was an 8% return, I'm looking at a rough $1.33MM value, possibly?

@Bonnie Low I was not including debt as I want to know how a cash buyer would look at the deal. Yes, our prop taxes went flat in 2022 but ramping back up again.

@Nathan Gesner See above. I removed our debt (P&I) all other expenses have been factored. We purchased for $1.1M in 2020. It is a unique property with unobstructed water/bay views in the best neighborhood of Tacoma. I'm a broker and can run comps all day long for straightforward LTR properties, I know small multifamily in our market. I'm just not a pro at STR valuations. As I mentioned to Michael, I'm attempting to see if our returns and operations are relatively inline with the expectations of experienced STR operators. We would like sell when we believe the value is close to $1.4MM or better.

 I second Flynn Family Lending. Great people.